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Forget about thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

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

The issue raises the prospect that there might 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 – one day before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be very close to the start of the games, the schedule is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s also about checking concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the postponements and concerns, expensive tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds for any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey league permitting its players to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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