Austria to play once again in the world’s most modern ice hockey arena in Tampere

The internationally renowned ice hockey city of Tampere, well known not only since the introduction of the Champions Hockey League, is picturesquely located in south-western Finland on a narrow isthmus between two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. With around 241.000 inhabitants, Tampere is Finland’s third-largest city after Helsinki and Espoo.

Around 180 kilometres separate the “sauna capital of the world” from the capital, Helsinki. Tampere is known as the sauna capital because there are more than 50 public saunas in the region, making it a wonderful place to relax. Not so for Austria’s national team stars, however, who must play seven games in ten days during the World Championship preliminary round and will work up quite a sweat even without a sauna.

But Tampere has more to offer than just saunas. The lake district makes this area a wonderful region for hiking and cycling. Those wishing to holiday here can rent beautiful wooden houses by the lakes in summer: outdoor activities are very popular in and around Tampere.

The university city also has plenty to offer culturally, with Finland’s largest open-air theatre located in Pyynikki Park. The city’s two theatres are also an important part of Finland’s arts and cultural scene. Tampere is home to the Tampere Hall, Northern Europe’s largest concert and congress centre. It is the home of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, one of Finland’s two fully professional symphony orchestras.

Music lovers are also well catered for at several festivals, including annual and biennial music festivals such as the Tampere Jazz Happening, the Tampere Vocal Music Festival, the Tampere Beatles Happening and the Tampere Biennale.

Finnish Hall of Fame at the Ice Hockey Museum

Numerous museums at Museum Vapriikki are also of interest to visitors. For ice hockey fans in particular, the Ice Hockey Museum, the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame, which showcases the history of Finnish ice hockey, is a major attraction.

Speaking of ice hockey: the city’s sporting flagships are the two ice hockey clubs Tappara and Ilves, the two most successful teams in Finnish ice hockey history. Both Tappara and Ilves have played their home games at the World Championship venue, the Nokia Arena, since December 2021. The arena is currently regarded by experts as the world’s most modern ice hockey venue.

During the World Championship from 12 May to 28 May, the Nokia Arena will host all Group A preliminary-round games involving Austria, France, Sweden, Denmark, the USA, Germany, Finland and Hungary. In the final stage, the Nokia Arena will host two quarter-finals, both semi-finals, the bronze-medal game and the final.

Up to 13.500 fans can watch ice hockey at this still very new gem of an arena, which also hosts concerts and other major events. At last year’s World Championship, capacity was just under 11.500 fans. 279.924 tickets were sold for the World Championship in Tampere in 2022. According to the operator, up to one million visitors are expected at the 50.000-square-metre site in a “normal” event year without an Ice Hockey World Championship.

In addition to the main arena, the Nokia Arena offers a hotel with 273 rooms, 70 of which naturally have private saunas, an international casino, numerous restaurants and various event facilities. Central Deck and the Nokia Arena were designed by star architect Daniel Libeskind and built above the tracks of the Finnish railway in the city centre.

An advantage for fans is that the main railway station is not far from the arena, making it very easy to reach by public transport. The arena’s modern centrepiece is its large LED cube, while the digital perimeter boards and ice projector also provide an extraordinary ice hockey experience through a Live Media System. Real-time data, such as shot speed, are transmitted to the LED components.

One thing is certain: it will not only be Austrian fans who once again experience an ice hockey celebration of the highest class in Tampere. Austria begin their 2023 World Championship campaign against France on Saturday, 13 May, at 11:20 for brunch.

86th IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship

12 May 2023 – 28 May 2023, Tampere (FIN) and Riga (LAT)
Group A, Tampere: Finland, USA, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, France, Austria, Hungary
Group B, Riga: Canada, Czechia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Latvia, Norway, Kazakhstan, Slovenia

Schedule
Dates and times refer to our local time zone, with the local time shown in brackets.

France vs Austria
Sat, 13 May 2023, 11:20 (12:20)
LIVE on ORF1 (highlights on 18 May at 22:00 on ORF SPORT +)

Sweden vs. Austria
Sun, 14 May 2023, 19:20 (20:20)
LIVE on ORF SPORT +

Denmark vs. Austria
Tue, 16 May 2023, 15:20 (16:20)
LIVE on ORF1 (highlights at 23:15 on ORF SPORT +)

USA vs. Austria
Wed, 17 May 2023, 15:20 (16:20)
LIVE on ORF1 (highlights at 22:00 on ORF SPORT +)

Austria vs. Germany
Fri, 19 May 2023, 19:20 (20:20)
LIVE on ORF SPORT +

Austria vs. Finland
Sat, 20 May 2023, 15:20 (16:20)
LIVE on ORF1 (highlights at 22:15 on ORF SPORT +)

Austria vs. Hungary
Mon, 22 May 2023, 19:20 (20:20)
LIVE on ORF SPORT +

All information and the full schedule can be found at www.iihf.com