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Put aside thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.

With NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

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

The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a game held in the primary venue until the competition begins for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the start of the games, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a massive convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.

Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the ice and ensuring that the rink is ready and secure. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

In spite of the postponements and worries, expensive passes are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men's championship final on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

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

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