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Forget about thin ice. For now, there’s no ice.

As NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a decade, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no additional trial 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 preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The event that was intended to test the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the under-20 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 exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the rink is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's largest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

Despite the postponements and worries, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

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 participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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