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Put aside poor conditions. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

With NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade, construction on the main hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been moved to a smaller arena – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

This situation raises the prospect that there might not be a game held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“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 recently.

The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host lesser games during the games.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about testing concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern arena.

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

In spite of the postponements and concerns, expensive passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its players to compete in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.