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Put aside thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.

With NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympics for the first time in over a decade, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a game held in the primary venue until the competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours 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,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The competition 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 location, which is being established inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the rink is prepared and secure. It’s also about checking food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the postponements and worries, expensive passes are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only 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 permitting its athletes to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event occurs from 5-19 February.