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Forget about thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL players preparing to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a decade, building work on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

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

This situation creates the possibility that there may not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

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

The event that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s additionally about testing concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern arena.

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

Despite the delays and concerns, high-priced passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the premier hockey organization allowing its players to participate in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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