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Put aside 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 more than a ten years, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact arena – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

This situation raises the prospect that there might not be a game held in the primary venue 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 extremely tight to the start of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The competition that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and secure. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, bathrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed modern arena.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become the nation's largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible 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. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

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

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