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

With NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a decade, building work on the primary hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-capacity 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 might not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the start of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being established inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host lesser games during the games.

Typically, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s also about testing concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become the nation's biggest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the delays and concerns, expensive passes are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men's championship final 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 sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey league allowing its players to compete in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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