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Forget about thin ice. For now, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, building work on the primary hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

This situation raises the prospect that there might not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The event that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being established inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.

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

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the delays and worries, expensive passes are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. 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 for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its players 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. Women's tournament runs from 5-19 February.