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Put aside thin ice. For now, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL players preparing to return to the Olympics for the first time in over a decade, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

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

The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a game held in the primary venue until the competition begins 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 start of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament 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 Olympics.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and safe. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new modern arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the postponements and concerns, expensive tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was announced last February, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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