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Forget about poor conditions. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in more than a decade, construction on the main hockey venue 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 facility originally planned for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there may not be a game held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

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

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being established inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host lesser games during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the delays and worries, expensive passes are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the final day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the premier hockey organization permitting its players to compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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