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

As NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in more than a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

This situation raises the prospect that there might not be a game held in the primary venue until the competition begins for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the start of the Olympics, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The event that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event 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 host lesser games during the Olympics.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the postponements and concerns, high-priced passes are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

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

The men’s Olympic hockey tournament is set to run from 11-22 February. Women's event occurs from 5-19 February.