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Forget about poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.

With NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been moved to a more compact venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there may not be a match held in the main arena until the competition begins 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 Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The competition that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will stage secondary matches during the games.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the rink is ready and secure. It’s also about testing concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship 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 sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.

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

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