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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 Olympics for the first time in more than a ten years, 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-seat Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a match held in the main arena until the competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

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

The event that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being established inside a massive convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the Olympics.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the playing surface is ready and secure. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

In spite of the postponements and worries, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship final on 22 February – the final day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the premier hockey league allowing its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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