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Forget about poor conditions. For now, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a ten years, construction on the primary hockey arena 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 originally planned for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there may not be a match 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.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

This new facility, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest 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 sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was announced last February, with the world’s top hockey organization allowing its athletes to participate in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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