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Forget about thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a game held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being established inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.

Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, bathrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

In spite of the postponements and worries, high-priced passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship final on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey organization allowing 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. The women’s tournament occurs from 5-19 February.