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

With NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a smaller venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

This situation creates the possibility 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 – one day before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the timeline is very tight. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.

Usually, new Olympic venues 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 rink is ready and secure. It’s also about checking food outlets, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary stadium.

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

Despite the delays and worries, expensive passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

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

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