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Put aside thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

With NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympics for the first time in over a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

This situation raises the prospect that there may not be a game held in the primary venue until the competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The competition that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and secure. It’s also about checking concession stands, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand-new modern arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the postponements and concerns, expensive tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was announced last February, with the world’s top hockey league permitting its athletes to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.