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Forget about poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.

As NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the first time in over a ten years, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned 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 may not be a match held in the main arena until the competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

“It’s going to be very close to the beginning of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The competition that was intended to test the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being established inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the rink is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about testing concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, is slated to become the nation's largest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and worries, expensive passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the premier hockey league permitting its players to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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