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Put aside poor conditions. For now, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a ten years, building work on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there might not be a match 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.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the start of the games, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a massive convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is prepared and secure. It’s also about testing food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and worries, high-priced passes are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

The comeback 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 first time since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is set to take place from 11-22 February. The women’s event occurs from 5-19 February.