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Forget about poor conditions. For now, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympics for the first time in more than a ten years, building work on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

This situation raises the prospect that there might not be a game held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the start of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The competition that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the games.

Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to hosting medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and secure. It’s also about testing concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

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

Despite the delays and worries, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the premier hockey league allowing its players to participate in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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