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Forget about poor conditions. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a ten years, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been relocated 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 puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be very close to the start of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The event that was supposed to test the Santagiulia ice was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.

In spite of the postponements and worries, high-priced tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was announced last February, with the premier hockey league allowing its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

The men’s Olympic hockey competition is set to run from 11-22 February. Women's event occurs from 5-19 February.