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Forget about poor conditions. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL players preparing to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than a ten years, 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-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue creates the possibility 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 extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the timeline is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the rink is ready and secure. It’s also about testing concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and worries, high-priced passes are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the premier hockey organization permitting its players to participate in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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