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Forget about thin ice. For now, there’s no ice.

As NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, building work on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there may not be a match held in the primary venue until the competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“It’s going to 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 competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not only about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the postponements and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the final day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the premier hockey league allowing its athletes to participate 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. Women's tournament runs from 5-19 February.