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

With NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, building work on the primary 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-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there may not be a game held in the primary venue until the competition begins 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 highly compressed. 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 moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being established inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the rink is ready and secure. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

Despite the postponements and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the premier hockey league allowing its players to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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