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Forget about poor conditions. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

With NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there might not be a game held in the main arena until the competition begins for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The event that was intended to test the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host lesser games during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the rink is ready and safe. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, bathrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

In spite of the postponements and concerns, high-priced passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at 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 cost more.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey league permitting its athletes to compete 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 event occurs from 5-19 February.