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Forget about thin ice. For now, there’s no ice.

As NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a decade, construction on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

This situation raises the prospect that there might not be a match held in the primary venue until the competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being established inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

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

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

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