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Put aside poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.

As NHL athletes gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympics for the first time in more than a ten years, building work on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers 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 arena – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there may 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 inaugural event.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the start of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The event that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part 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 convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is ready and secure. It’s also about checking concession stands, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand-new modern arena.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

In spite of the postponements and concerns, expensive passes are already being purchased for events 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). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.

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

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