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Put aside poor conditions. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

With NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympics for the first time in over a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a match held in the main arena until the competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the beginning of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The event that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the playing surface and ensuring that the rink is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary 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 possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

In spite of the postponements and worries, high-priced tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely 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 world’s top hockey organization permitting its athletes to participate in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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