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Forget about thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL athletes gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a ten years, building work on the main hockey venue for the Milano 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 moved to a smaller venue – 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 main arena until the competition begins for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be very close to the start of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment 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 massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.

Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the rink is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled 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, expensive passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final 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. Solely passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was announced last February, with the premier 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 take place from 11-22 February. Women's tournament occurs from 5-19 February.