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Forget about poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.

With NHL athletes gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a smaller venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there may not be a game held in the main arena 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 beginning of the games, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The competition that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new modern arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become the nation's biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the delays and worries, expensive tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the premier hockey organization allowing its athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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