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

As NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been arranged 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 preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The event that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the rink is ready and secure. It’s also about testing concession stands, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and concerns, expensive tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal game 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 sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

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

The men’s Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. The women’s event occurs from 5-19 February.