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Forget about thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, construction on the main hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a game held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, bathrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

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

Despite the delays and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey organization allowing its athletes to participate in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

The men’s Olympic hockey competition is set to take place from 11-22 February. Women's tournament runs from 5-19 February.