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Put aside poor conditions. Currently, there’s no ice.

With NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a ten years, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a game held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to 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 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. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being established inside a massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Typically, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the rink is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, is slated to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and concerns, high-priced passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

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

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