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Forget about thin ice. For now, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a ten years, building work on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there may not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The event that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will stage secondary matches during the games.

Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s also about checking food outlets, bathrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the delays and worries, high-priced tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the premier hockey organization allowing its athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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