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

With NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than 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 primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a match held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the start of the games, the timeline is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part 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 exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is prepared and safe. It’s also about checking concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.

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

Despite the postponements and worries, expensive passes are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the premier hockey organization permitting its athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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