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

As NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the first time in over a ten years, building work on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been moved to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue creates the possibility 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.

“It’s going to be very close to the start of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The competition that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host lesser games during the games.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about testing concession stands, bathrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

This new facility, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the delays and concerns, expensive tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship final on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the premier hockey organization allowing its players to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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