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

With NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact arena – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

This situation 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 schedule is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred 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 Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to holding podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the rink is ready and secure. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand-new modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and worries, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback 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 Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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