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Forget about thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

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

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

The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The event that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s also about checking concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the postponements and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its players to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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