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Forget about poor conditions. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a ten years, building work on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a game held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be very close to the start of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not only about the playing surface and ensuring that the rink is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become the nation's biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

In spite of the delays and worries, expensive passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was announced last February, 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 competition is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. Women's event occurs from 5-19 February.