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Put aside thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in more than a decade, construction on the main hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary test event 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 scheduled yet.

This situation raises the prospect that there might not be a game held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be very close to the start of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano 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 Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to holding podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and safe. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and worries, high-priced passes are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets 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). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey league permitting its players to compete in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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