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

With NHL athletes gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games 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 main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a more compact 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 primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be very close to the start of the games, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The event that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.

Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the rink is ready and safe. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand-new modern arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and worries, expensive passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its players to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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