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Forget about thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

With NHL athletes gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than a decade, building work on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

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

The issue raises the prospect that there might 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 very close to the start of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The competition that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host lesser games during the Olympics.

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

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the postponements and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship final on 22 February – the final day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

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

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