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

With NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a decade, building work on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there might 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 beginning of the games, the timeline is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host secondary matches during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s also about testing food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern arena.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a private company, is scheduled to become the nation's biggest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the postponements and worries, expensive tickets are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men's championship final on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the inaugural and final events 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 compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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