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

With NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than a decade, building work on the primary hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

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

The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a game held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be very close to the start of the games, 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 under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host secondary matches during the games.

Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the year before to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, is slated to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

In spite of the delays and concerns, expensive tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at 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 opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the premier hockey organization allowing its athletes to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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