Nokia Arena in Tampere will serve as main venue of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship also next year.
photo: Andre Ringuette / HHOF-IIHF Images
The 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will be co-hosted by Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia.
The 2022 IIHF Annual Congress approved a joint bid of Finland and Latvia to host the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship replacing St. Petersburg after the hosting rights had been withdrawn from Russia.
The next Worlds will take place at the biggest venues of two of the world’s most passionate hockey countries in Tampere and Riga from 12 to 28 May 2023.
Finland and Latvia are ready to fill in at short notice and will use the organizational experiences and staff from the 2021 and 2022 editions. “It is a privilege and we are grateful to jointly host the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship,” Finnish Ice Hockey Association President Harri Nummela said about the bid of the two Baltic Sea nations.
“We are happy for your trust and are ready to host the World Championship with the best conditions for the teams and the best atmosphere for the fans,” said Latvian Ice Hockey Federation President Aigars Kalvitis.
The 2022 IIHF Annual Congress approved a joint bid of Finland and Latvia to host the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship replacing St. Petersburg after the hosting rights had been withdrawn from Russia.
The next Worlds will take place at the biggest venues of two of the world’s most passionate hockey countries in Tampere and Riga from 12 to 28 May 2023.
Finland and Latvia are ready to fill in at short notice and will use the organizational experiences and staff from the 2021 and 2022 editions. “It is a privilege and we are grateful to jointly host the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship,” Finnish Ice Hockey Association President Harri Nummela said about the bid of the two Baltic Sea nations.
“We are happy for your trust and are ready to host the World Championship with the best conditions for the teams and the best atmosphere for the fans,” said Latvian Ice Hockey Federation President Aigars Kalvitis.
Nokia Arena in Tampere is planned as main venue of the Finnish-Latvian bid to host the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
photo: Andre Ringuette / HHOF-IIHF Images
The newly opened Nokia Arena in Tampere will serve as the main venue same as during the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship and will host one preliminary-round group, two quarter-finals, all semi-final and medal games. Up to 11,695 fans have filled the arena during the current tournament and in total 230,179 came to the 34 games in Tampere.
For co-host Latvia it will be the chance to host the World Championship with fans since last year’s event had to be played in mostly empty arenas due to Covid-19 restrictions. Arena Riga with a capacity of up to 9,550 spectators will serve as the Latvian venue same as in 2006 and 2021 and will host one preliminary-round group and two quarter-final games. Fan zones are planned next to both arenas. Latvia is well-known for its passionate fans travelling to the World Championship and thanks to them also had the second-highest average attendance at the recent World Championship only behind host Finland.
For co-host Latvia it will be the chance to host the World Championship with fans since last year’s event had to be played in mostly empty arenas due to Covid-19 restrictions. Arena Riga with a capacity of up to 9,550 spectators will serve as the Latvian venue same as in 2006 and 2021 and will host one preliminary-round group and two quarter-final games. Fan zones are planned next to both arenas. Latvia is well-known for its passionate fans travelling to the World Championship and thanks to them also had the second-highest average attendance at the recent World Championship only behind host Finland.
Arena Riga hosted the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in 2006 when it was opened and in 2021.
photo: Andre Ringuette / HHOF-IIHF Images
Riga and Tampere are 501 kilometres apart and connected with a 70-minute direct scheduled flight between the two cities. Teams who have to move to the cross-over quarter-finals or to the semi-finals will be transported with charter flights.
The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships of the upcoming years:
The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships of the upcoming years:
- 2023: Tampere (Finland) & Riga (Latvia), 12-28 May 2023
- 2024: Prague & Ostrava (Czechia), 10-26 May 2024
- 2025: Stockholm (Sweden) & Herning (Denmark), 9-25 May 2025
- 2026: Zurich & Fribourg (Switzerland), 15-31 May 2026