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Put aside thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, building work on the primary hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

This situation raises the prospect that there might not be a game held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The event 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 Fiera hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is ready and secure. It’s also about testing food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and concerns, high-priced passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey league permitting its players to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is set to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.