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

As NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a ten years, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved 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 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 inaugural event.

“The timeline will be very close to the start of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is ready and secure. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

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

In spite of the postponements and concerns, expensive tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Seats 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). This exceeds for any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its athletes to compete 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. Women's event occurs from 5-19 February.