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Put aside thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a decade, building work on the main hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

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

This situation creates the possibility that there might not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be very close to the start of the games, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being established inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host lesser games during the Olympics.

Typically, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Seats 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). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was announced last February, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its players to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

The men’s Olympic hockey tournament is set to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.