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

With NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympics for the first time in more than a ten years, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

This situation 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.

“The timeline will be very close to the beginning of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee 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. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being established inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and secure. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

In spite of the delays and concerns, expensive passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.

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

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. Women's event occurs from 5-19 February.