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Put aside poor conditions. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a decade, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a match held in the main arena until the competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The competition that was intended to test the Santagiulia ice was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.

Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and secure. It’s also about testing food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new modern arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and worries, expensive tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets 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). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

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

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