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Forget about poor conditions. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a decade, building work on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

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

“The timeline will be very close to the start of the games, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan 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 sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s also about checking concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become the nation's largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the postponements and concerns, expensive tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship final 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 athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

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

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