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

As NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a ten years, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

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

This situation raises the prospect that there might not be a match 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.

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

The competition that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being set up inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s also about testing food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new contemporary stadium.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and worries, high-priced passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey organization allowing its athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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