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

As NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

This situation 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 – one day before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the beginning of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.

Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing food outlets, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand-new modern stadium.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become the nation's largest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the postponements and worries, high-priced passes are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey league permitting its players to participate in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. Women's event occurs from 5-19 February.