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Put aside thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a ten years, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

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

“It’s going to be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The competition that was supposed to test the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host secondary matches during the games.

Typically, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and ensuring that the rink is ready and safe. It’s also about checking concession stands, bathrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed modern arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey organization allowing its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

The men’s Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. Women's tournament runs from 5-19 February.