Bratislava Mayor Milan Ftáčnik handed over the symbolic key to the Bratislava Orange Arena to IIHF 2011 World Championship Organizing Committee Chairman Igor Nemeček. The organizers of the World Championship can prepare the arena as per their needs as of Monday. Building matters are resolved, only technical matters remain. "The arena is ready for the 2011 IIHF World Championship," said Milan Ftáčnik when handing over the key.
"When we started with the reconstruction of the arena two years ago there were many voices of doubt. Today we can see that everything is ready, we are awaiting the final technical adjustments which have no direct connection to the construction of the arena, but with security and the 2011 IIHF World Organization," said Igor Nemeček.
The Ondrej Nepela Arena (which is to be renamed the Orange Arena during the 2011 IIHF World Championship) now boasts three ice rinks and the largest icemaker in Europe. The dressing rooms are also ready and are some of the best on the old continent. The home-team dressing room in particular is equipped well above standard, including a regenerative suit and a gym, and will serve during the World Championship for the needs of the Slovak national team. The Arena itself now features a fully functional video screen and videoband and the details are being fine tuned in the skyboxes. The auditorium is ready to admit its full capacity.
The test run for the arena will be the two warm-up games before the Championship itself. First of all the Slovaks will be up against the Austrians on the 21st of April and three days later they will face Belarus.
