The 2012 IIHF World Championship tickets will be released at 9 am on April 26, via Lippupiste’s channels excluding R-Kiosks. All tickets will be sold in packages that include tickets to 2-4 games. All packages will include one Team Finland game as long as Finland is still in the medal race.
“We’ve got numerous inquiries about ticket sales and as we get closer to the Bratislava tournament, the excitement just builds up even more. If you want to see the games at the arena, it’s best you act fast,” says Mika Sulin, general secretary of the tournament.
The 2012 tournament will be co-hosted by Finland and Sweden, with Hartwall Areena in Helsinki being the venue for the final rounds. Finland will play all their games in Helsinki while Sweden will play their preliminary round games in the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. The final groups will be determined after the 2011 World Championship, based on the IIHF ranking. Also, the tournament schedule will be finalized after the 2011 tournament.
Packages named after hockey legendsThe picket package prices vary between 265 and 545 euro. In the preliminary round, each package, named after Finnish hockey stars, such as Teemu Selänne, will include tickets to four games, one of which is a Team Finland game. Players, voted by fans, will also be featured in the tournament’s advertising.
More information on the Stockholm games' ticket sales will be available in April.
New tournament systemThe 2012 tournament will also have two groups of eight teams, instead of four groups of four teams. The teams in one group will play their games in Helsinki, the teams in the other group in Stockholm. The teams will play a round-robin in each group, seven games each, and 28 games in total. The four best teams will advance to the intragroup quarterfinals. The four lower finished teams will see their tournament end, the two last-placed teams in each group will be relegated to Division I.
The winners of the quarterfinals will play the rest of their games - semifinal, final, and a bronze medal game - in Helsinki.
Of the 64 total games played in the 2012 tournament, 34 will be played in Helsinki.
Ticket packages and prices for Helsinki