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

As NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, building work on the primary hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

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

The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a game held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

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

The event that was intended to test the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is ready and secure. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become the nation's largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and worries, expensive tickets are already being purchased for events 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 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was announced last February, with the world’s top hockey league permitting its players to participate in the Winter Games 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.