For the third time, Austria is playing in this jewel box at a World Cup

Austria managed to stay in the top flight twice in a row in Tampere, Finland. After appearing at Nokia Arena, which was considered the most modern ice hockey arena in the world in 2022 and 2023, Austria will play in the 87th World Ice Hockey Championships in Prague and will rock the ice at the O2 Arena there.

Austria has mixed memories of the hall in Prague, which held 17,413 fans at this year's Ice Hockey World Cup: In 2004, the then ÖEHV team, led by captain Dieter Kalt and a young Thomas Vanek, played in the Sazka Arena, as ÖEHV. The new arena built in 2002 was big, especially in the preliminary round. After Austria defeated France 6-0, it tied with Canada 2-2.

In the last group match, the red, white and red team led Switzerland 4-1, but in the end there was a 4-4 draw. With the victory over Switzerland, Austria would have qualified for the quarter-finals because at that time the points from direct duels were transferred to an intermediate round. In the final table, Austria reached eleventh place.

In 2015, despite two wins after penalty kicks against Switzerland (4:3) and against Germany (3:2), the red, white and red team had to be relegated from the first division due to direct duels against Latvia (1:2 after extra time) . time) and France (0:2) was lost.

After 2004 and 2015, the O2 Arena, where HC Sparta Prague usually plays its home matches, became the venue for the Ice Hockey World Cup for the third time. The multifunctional square is located in the northeast of Prague in the Libeň district, about ten kilometers from the center. Organizers recommend using public transportation at the World Cup.

From Prague, ice hockey fans take Line B (also called Yellow Line) of the Prague Metro towards “Černý Most” (final station) to “Českomoravská” station. From there, the World Cup Stadium can be reached on foot in just one minute.

The hall is also well connected to Prague city center by tram and train. The stop in Arena is Arena Libeň jih train station for tram lines 7 and 8 – at night line 92). Lines 12 and 31 also go to Divadlo Gong Station – Line 94 at night.

Since 2019, the O2 Arena, which welcomes 600,000 people to events every year, also includes a state-of-the-art conference center – O2 Universe, where in addition to sporting events, cultural events, congresses, business meetings and corporate events are held.

Fan zone next to the World Cup stadium

For international ice hockey fans, Czech organizers have built a large fan area next to the World Cup Arena. On match days involving two matches, the fan zone is open from 14:00 until the end of the evening match; Lots of programming. Entry to the World Cup Arena on World Cup match days is one hour before the start of the match in question.

UFTA invites you to the Austria House in Prague

This Irish pub will be the meeting place for all Austrian fans for the duration of the World Cup. Following the opening ceremony, the red, white and red fans will travel together to the stadium in Prague's Lipin district when they take on Switzerland in a match from 8:20pm. A day of traditional costumes is scheduled for May 19 before the duel with Norway. As always in international matches and world championships, Austrian fans will guarantee a good atmosphere!