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

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

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there might not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the start of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the rink is prepared and safe. It’s also about checking food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

In spite of the postponements and worries, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

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

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