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

With NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a ten years, construction on the main hockey venue 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 that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

This situation 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 – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the start of the games, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the games.

Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and ensuring that the rink is ready and safe. It’s also about checking concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become the nation's largest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

In spite of the delays and worries, expensive passes are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

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

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is set to take place from 11-22 February. The women’s tournament occurs from 5-19 February.