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Forget about poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.

As NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade, construction on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been moved to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there may 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 inaugural event.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the start of the games, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.

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 playing surface and ensuring that the rink is ready and secure. It’s also about testing food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become the nation's largest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced last February, with the world’s top hockey league allowing its players to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. Women's event runs from 5-19 February.