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

With NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade, construction on the main hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

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

This situation raises the prospect that there may not be a game held in the main arena 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 extremely tight to the start of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and secure. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern arena.

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

In spite of the delays and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men's championship final 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 sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.

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

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