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Forget about poor conditions. For now, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL players preparing to return to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade, building work on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no additional trial has been scheduled 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 preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be very close to the start of the games, the schedule is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become the nation's biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

In spite of the delays and worries, high-priced passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

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

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