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Forget about thin ice. For now, there’s no ice.

As NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

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

This situation raises the prospect that there may not be a game held in the primary venue 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 very close to the beginning of the games, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The event that was intended 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 venue, which is being established inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.

Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s also about checking food outlets, 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 largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and worries, high-priced passes are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $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 are priced higher.

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

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