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

As NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a more compact venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The event that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fair 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 trialled 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 rink is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. Following 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, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – 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 tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

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

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