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

As NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in more than a decade, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact arena – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there might not be a match held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be very close to the start of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment 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 massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the games.

Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and secure. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern stadium.

This new facility, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the postponements and concerns, expensive tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the premier hockey organization permitting its players to compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

The men’s Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. Women's tournament runs from 5-19 February.