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

With NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympics for the first time in more than a ten years, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials announced 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 additional trial has been arranged yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there might not be a match held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being established inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the games.

Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the rink is ready and safe. It’s also about testing food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become Italy’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, high-priced passes are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

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

Men's Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.