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

With NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympics for the first time in over a decade, building work on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there may not be a game held in the main arena 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 beginning of the games, the schedule is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The competition that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being established inside a giant exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.

Typically, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is ready and secure. It’s also about testing concession stands, bathrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the postponements and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano 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 permitting its athletes to compete 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. The women’s tournament runs from 5-19 February.