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

With NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a decade, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been moved to a smaller 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 preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

“It’s going to be very close to the start of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface 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 convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and secure. It’s also about checking food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's largest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

Despite the postponements and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

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

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