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Forget about poor conditions. Currently, there’s no ice.

With NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in more than a decade, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a more compact arena – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there might not be a game held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said 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 transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being established inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.

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 only about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and worries, expensive tickets are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the premier hockey organization permitting its players to compete in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

The men’s Olympic hockey competition is set to take place from 11-22 February. The women’s event occurs from 5-19 February.