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Put aside poor conditions. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympics for the first time in more than a ten years, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-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 venue – 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 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.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being established inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host lesser games during the Olympics.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s also about checking concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

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

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its players to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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