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Put aside thin ice. For now, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL athletes gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a decade, construction on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been moved to a more compact venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a game held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The competition that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the rink is prepared and secure. It’s also about testing food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is scheduled to become the nation's largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and worries, expensive tickets are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship final on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other sports event at the Milan-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 premier hockey organization permitting its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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