ZURICH – Hockey fans can now secure their tickets for the inaugural Victoria Cup at the PostFinance Arena in Berne, Switzerland. Official ticketing to the public will start on July 3, 2008, at 10am at www.ticketportal.com.

The inaugural Victoria Cup will feature NHL challenger New York Rangers taking on European champion Metallurg Magnitogorsk on October 1. The day before, the Rangers will meet Switzerland's SC Bern in an exhibition game.

“We are very pleased that we have agreed a co-operation with ticketportal as the official 2008 Victoria Cup ticketing partner,” says Craig Thompson, CEO of Ovation Sports, who organises and markets the Victoria Cup as well as the Champions Hockey League on behalf of the IIHF.

“This is a moment we have been looking forward to for a long time: we have received a large number of national and international ticket requests for the inaugural Victoria Cup showdown between the New York Rangers and Europe’s best club and we are pleased to have such a strong partner in ticketportal to help us satisfy this demand. Tickets are expected to be sold very fast.”

On the occasion of its 100 year anniversary, the IIHF introduced the Victoria Cup, a trophy meant to become an annual showdown played between Europe’s club champion and an NHL challenger. “The Victoria Cup will be a joint venture between the IIHF and the NHL and it will be the first annual world club competition for a trophy endorsed by both the IIHF and the NHL. This competition will also carry a substantial financial reward,” said IIHF President René Fasel. The 2008 Victoria Cup is one of the main events during the IIHF’s 100 year celebration. The cup is named after the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal where the first organised hockey game was played on March 3, 1875.

The first edition of the Victoria Cup will be held on October 1, 2008, in the PostFinance Arena in Berne. The defending European club champion Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Russia) plays the New York Rangers for the Victoria Cup. It has been 17 years since a Russian club has last played an NHL team and it is expected to be an emotionally charged contest.

The 2008 Victoria Cup offers another major milestone on September 30, 2008, when SC Bern faces the New York Rangers. It is the first time in history that an NHL team will play a Swiss club and the first time in 49 years that an NHL team plays in Switzerland. SC Bern won the regular season last year and has been the best-attended club in Europe for seven consecutive years, averaging 15,939 spectators in the 2007-2008 regular season.

The 2008 Victoria Cup offers two unique events on consecutive nights.
Tickets go on sale at 10:00 on July 3, 2008, at www.ticketportal.com, the ticketportal call centre (Tel.: +41 (0)900 101 102 – CHF 0.99/min) and at the ticket retail outlets across Switzerland.

“It is of great honour that we have been selected by Ovation Sports as official ticketing partner for this historical event. We are ready to satisfy the anticipated demand and look forward to delivering a seamless booking service for our customers,” says Andreas Angehrn, CEO of VisionOne AG, who is operating www.ticketportal.com.

Event Schedule 2008 Victoria Cup in Berne (times may be subject to change):

September 30, 18:00, Exhibition game: SC Bern vs. New York Rangers
October 1, 17:00, Legends game: Switzerland vs. Russia
October 1, 19:30, Victoria Cup: Metallurg Magnitogorsk vs. New York Rangers

For travel to and accomodation in Switzerland and Bern, contact the IIHF Travel & Events office.

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