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Put aside thin ice. For now, there’s no ice.

As NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympics for the first time in over a decade, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a more compact arena – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there may not be a match held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be very close to the beginning of the games, the timeline is very tight. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled 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 safe. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become the nation's largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and worries, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

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

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