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

As NHL athletes gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than a decade, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there may not be a match held in the main arena until the competition begins for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be very close to the start of the Olympics, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being established inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

In spite of the postponements and concerns, expensive passes are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the premier hockey league permitting its athletes to participate in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey competition is set to take place from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.