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

As NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympics for the first time in over a decade, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

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

The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a game 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.

“It’s going to be very close to the start of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host lesser games during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the playing surface is ready and secure. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become the nation's largest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and concerns, high-priced 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 priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey organization allowing its players to compete 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 occurs from 5-19 February.