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

With NHL players gearing up to return 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 cutting it close.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been relocated 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 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.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the start of the games, the timeline is very tight. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

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

Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and ensuring that the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s also about testing concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the postponements and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing 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 Milan-Cortina Games. Only tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced last February, with the premier hockey organization allowing its athletes to participate in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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