The Bolzano fan scene meets on Saturday at the exhibition center. © Vanna Antonello

Fan march & special train: The derby electrifies the masses

Ice hockey South Tyrol is heading straight for its peak of the season so far: on Epiphany, the arch-rivals Bolzano and Pustertal will meet in the Sparkasse Arena, and well over 3000 tickets have already been sold. We'll see what's happening in the two fan camps in advance.

04 January 2024

From: fop

“We are number one in Italy. And we want to stay that way,” HCB boss Dieter Knoll recently emphasized several times. With this statement he sums up the importance of the upcoming duel between HC Bozen and HC Pustertal: It's about supremacy in domestic ice hockey. And the fans know that too.

They will be heading to the south of Bolzano in droves on Saturday. Around 5000 spectators are expected, and even a new league-wide attendance record is possible. This is currently the game between Vienna and Klagenfurt in October, which was attended by 5100 fans. By Thursday morning, HC Bozen had already sold 3.300 tickets - even though the tickets are currently only available online and sales at the stadium box offices only begin on Friday from 16 p.m. “The three stands in the lower tier are already full,” says Bolzano’s head of communications Luca Tommasini SportNews-Demand.

“The stands in the lower tier are already full” Luca Tommasini, Communications HCB

Not only the two clubs, but also the respective fan scenes are mobilizing for the third comparison of the season between the Foxes and the Wolves. The Bolzano Ultras are calling for a joint march on Saturday evening. The supporters in red and white will meet at 18.30:19.45 p.m. at the Messeplatz and then march together across Marco-Polo-Strasse to the nearby Sparkasse Arena. The first puck drop will take place at XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. (SportNews ticks live).

The HCP fans will once again fill the guest sector in the Sparkasse Arena to the last seat. © Andreas Kemenater

An increased presence of security forces around the trade fair will ensure that the two fan camps do not come together. Because not far from the meeting point in Bolzano, train-travelling supporters from the Puster Valley are expected shortly after 19 p.m. You take a public train from Innichen via Bruneck, as well as other Puster and Eisacktal communities to the Bozen Süd train station. There are various access options along the route. For the return journey, the HCP then organized a special train that transported the yellow and black supporters back east at 22.30:XNUMX p.m.

“We are expecting 300 to 400 Puster fans.” Patrick Kirchler, Public Relations HC Pustertal

Patrick Kirchler, the PR representative of HC Pustertal, says opposite SportNews: “We are expecting 300 to 400 Puster fans who will head towards Bolzano.” Since the majority of them will travel by train, HC Pustertal has provided away fans with an extensive information package on its homepage.