The Sparkasse Arena will be the venue for the Ice Hockey World Championships. © Social Media

Bolzano is looking forward to a real ice hockey festival

The countdown is slowly but surely running down: On Sunday, April 28th, the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship 2024, Division I, Group A in Bolzano will officially start with the first match day in the Sparkasse Arena. The euphoria among hosts Italy is great.

18 April 2024

From: pm/det

On Thursday morning, the title fights and the diverse supporting program were presented during a joint press conference by the Italian ice sports association FISG and the Bolzano Trade Fair in the South Tyrol Lounge of the Bolzano Trade Fair in the run-up to the leisure time.

After the opening games on Sunday, April 28th, the World Cup will continue with four more match days, which will take place on April 30th and May 1st, 3rd and 4th. There are three matches scheduled on each of the five match days, each starting at 12.30 p.m., 16 p.m. and 19.30 p.m. In addition to Italy, South Korea, Japan, Romania, Slovenia and Hungary are fighting for one of the two promotion places in the top division.

OC boss Marcello Cobelli on preparations for the World Cup

From a domestic perspective, all eyes are on Italy. The host wants to achieve promotion to the world group in front of a home crowd. Stefan Zisser, the national team's sporting director, is optimistic. “Compared to the World Cup in Nottingham a year ago, the atmosphere is completely different. A problem at the time was that the Bolzano players had to rush to Nottingham immediately after losing the final. This year things are quieter in that sense,” said the former ice hockey star.

At the end there was a group photo of those responsible. © Max Pattis

Italy's final squad has not yet been finalized and some players still have to be cut. After the test match on Saturday against South Korea (19 p.m. in the Würtarena in Neumarkt), the squad for the World Cup should be made.

The opening ceremony

The Ice Hockey World Championship will be officially opened on Saturday, April 27th from 17.30:1994 p.m. as part of a festive ceremony that will take place on the centrally located Waltherplatz in Bolzano. In addition to the participating national teams and political representatives, there will also be some former players who played at the last World Cup in Italy in XNUMX.

The Sparkasse Arena is normally the home of HC Bozen, but now the national team wants to cause a sensation there. © Vanna Antonello

Of course, Slapy shouldn't be missing here: the mascot, which was in use 30 years ago and which will also accompany this year's World Cup, is the sponsor of the event.

The fan zone

A fan zone will be set up on the square in front of the Sparkasse Arena, which will be open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight. All fans get their money's worth here: gastronomically and musically. There will also be a merchandising stand, a shooting area and an area where inline skating will be possible. On Tuesday, April 30th and Friday, May 3rd, a DJ will warm up the audience between 19 p.m. and midnight, while the World Cup will conclude on Saturday, May 24th with a performance by another DJ and a concert by the band “Peufla”. (also here from 4 p.m. to midnight).