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Forget about poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.

As NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a decade, construction on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been moved to a more compact venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a match held in the primary venue until the competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the start of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

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 set up inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the games.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the rink is ready and safe. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

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

Despite the postponements and worries, expensive passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

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

The men’s Olympic hockey tournament is set to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event occurs from 5-19 February.