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Forget about thin ice. For now, there’s no ice.

With NHL players preparing to return to the Olympics for the first time in over a ten years, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there might not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

“It’s going to be very close to the beginning of the games, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and concerns, expensive passes are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – 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 passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

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

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