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

As NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a ten years, building work on the main hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a match held in the primary venue until the competition begins for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

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

The competition that was intended to test 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 location, which is being established inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and concerns, high-priced passes are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia arena. 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 sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the premier hockey league allowing its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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