before 2 h hours|Source: CT24, CTK, iihf.com
Czech hockey fans
Are tickets still available? How to get to the arenas? And how are fake tickets caught? The organizers of the World Hockey Championship have issued a number of recommendations for fans who are going to visit the championship in Prague and Ostrava from May 10 to 26. The ČT24 website offers detailed information for hockey fans ahead of the biggest domestic sporting event of the year, including instructions on where to watch the match live outside the arenas and news from Czech Television, which will offer all 64 matches live.
The championship has not yet started, but it is already certain that the attendance record for a single World Cup will be attacked. This is evidenced by ticket sales so far. National hockey in the Czech Republic attracts and the current maximum of 741,690 fans has been valid since the last domestic championship in 2015.
“Sales for the regular part of the tournament are better than nine years ago. I think it is also due to the fact that we have well-distributed teams in both groups, which are attractive to both sides with regard to neighboring countries,” stated the general secretary of the Czech Ice Hockey Association, Jan Černý, in March, pointing out, for example, the presence of the Czech and the Canadian team in Prague and the Slovak or Polish team in Ostrava.
According to the general secretary of the event, Vladimír Šafařík, the goal is to bring attendance closer to the “magic number” of 750,000 fans. “But it’s not like we’re putting extra pressure on creating a new record, even though it would of course be interesting for us in terms of marketing. It is clear that it is a plus when something like this is successful,” added Miloš Židík, a member of the organizing committee.
Optimism in terms of attendance is primarily fueled by the development of advance ticket sales. For the Czech matches in the basic group, the red “unavailable” tile is already lit on the sales portals. The national team’s duels are sold out, as are the quarterfinals on May 23 in Prague’s O2 arena from 8:20 p.m. If the Czechs were to advance to the knockout stage, they would almost certainly play at this time. Chances of winning tickets to the Czech match are then offered only by the partners of the championship and the hockey national team as part of their competitions.
Outside the Czech matches, fans can still buy a ticket for matches in the basic groups. Of the more attractive duels in Ostrava, tickets were available at the end of April for the matches between the Germans and the Swedes and the Germans and the Americans. In Prague, fans will still get to see the Canada match. An affordable variant from 190 crowns are matches called “family game”, which are played in the morning.
The knock-out stage matches of the tournament, i.e. the quarter-finals, semi-finals, bronze medal match and the final, are still available. Ticket prices fall into the more expensive price group, from 2,390 crowns for the quarter-finals to the best seats for the final with a price of 8,990 crowns. There are still a few tickets available for the VIP section for the matches of the basic groups and the knockout stages.
Detection of counterfeit tickets
The organizers appeal to fans to buy tickets only from official sellers, especially on portals Ticketmaster and Ticketportaland thus avoided potential problems with fake and repeatedly sold tickets.
Police officers expect the biggest problems with counterfeiting before the start of the championship, when many matches will be sold out and fans will try to buy tickets at any price. Police officers will also deal with the sale of tickets by traffickers directly in front of the halls.
A special car will then be parked in front of the O2 arena, in which cybercrime experts will solve cases with invalid tickets. The entire project will be provided by several dozen workers.
“Nine years ago, at the previous hockey championship in Prague and Ostrava, most tickets were printed, today they are mostly in electronic form. This increases the risk of fraud in the event that the interested party acquires them from a risky source in cyberspace,” noted Václav Písecký, head of the cybercrime department of the Prague police.
“The police team will try to collect as much information and evidence as possible from the unfortunate people with the fake ticket. However, it does not mean that such a person will then get into the hall or that the money will be returned to him immediately on the spot,” emphasized Písecký.
Organizers: Leave the cars at home
The World Hockey Championship means an onslaught on traffic, so a message came to the fans: “Don’t drive, don’t stand in queues, take public transport.” In addition to speeding up the transport, it’s also about better conditions for the residents of Prague 9 during the tournament.
Lenka Jiroutová, director of the transport department for the World Hockey Championship, said that during the championship from May 10 to 26, all streets around the Prague arena will be closed. It will be an imaginary triangle bounded by Českomoravská, Freyova and Sokolovská streets.
Only residents will be allowed to enter this area, parking is possible under the O2 arena and also in the adjacent Harfa shopping gallery. However, the operation of the metro, which will run at shortened intervals, will be strengthened.
“We know it’s tempting, but fans shouldn’t try to drive to the game at all costs. In the best case scenario, it could happen that they don’t make it to the opening bulls, get stuck in a queue or don’t find a place to park,” said Jiroutová. “Whoever doesn’t drive to the arena and chooses public transport wins,” she added.
Also in Ostrava, the organizers recommend transportation by public transport. The Ostrava Transport Company (DPO) will shorten the intervals between some connections. From May 9, a discounted hockey ticket will also be available for fans. It will cost 250 crowns and will be valid for seven days.
“On days when hockey matches will be played, we will send vehicles with a larger capacity on lines 2, 7, 11 and 12. At the same time, we will also introduce a booster tram line X. It will run along the route Nádraží Vítkovice, Sport Aréna, Dolní Vítkovice and Plynární,” explained DPO spokesperson Tereza Šnoblová.
After the end of the evening matches, the dispatch of the transport company will take care of the coordinated transportation of the spectators. “Boarding will be at the Sport Aréna stop in Závodní Street. Trams continue in the directions of Dubina, Výškovice, the center and Poruba. The number of connections will be based on the number of fans at individual matches,” said Vlastimil Bijota from the WC organizing committee in Ostrava.
If out-of-town fans do go to Prague and Ostrava by car, they can use the recommended P+R parking lots. In Ostrava, the Dolní Vítkovice, Lipový dvůr and Závodní parking lots. There are more options in Prague. “From the parking lot at Černý Most, it’s only five stops by metro,” recommends Lenka Jiroutová, director of the transport department for the World Hockey Championships, as one of the options.
Connection Košice – Ostrava-Vítkovice
In addition to the tram lines, the DPO will also strengthen the bus connection between Ostrava and Leoš Janáček International Airport in Mošnov in Novojičín, where the arrival of Latvian fans is expected. And another option for fans from abroad, specifically for a large group of Slovak fans, will be the Czech Railways (ČD) connection in cooperation with the Slovak railway company ZSSK.
The train will travel on the route Košice – Ostrava-Vítkovice – Košice. There will be an express train back to Košice even after the late evening duels in the Ostravar arena. “This way, fans do not have to wait for the nearest morning train and arrange, for example, hotel accommodation in the city where the match is taking place,” said ČD spokesman Petr Šťáhlavský. Dráhy will also run special Pendolino connections between Prague and Ostrava for the transport of fans, as well as athletes and referees between the venues of the two basic groups.
Traffic and safety information for visitors to the Hockey World Cup (source: ČT Sport)
Security forces are also prepared for the championship. “On game days, around a hundred police officers will take part in the measures to ensure public order,” said Colonel Josefa Jelínková, district director of the Prague 3 police. The police have already conducted a model exercise in the O2 arena in case of risky situations.
Moravian-Silesian police officers will then use, among other things, special cameras and software that can recognize faces. Cameras will be installed in the fan zone. Police officers will use them mainly when solving specific cases. “The cameras only visually capture the face, but in no case does it identify a specific person, the face is not associated with a specific name,” assures the director of the Moravian-Silesian Police, Tomáš Kužel.
Firefighters are planning a smaller station with twelve members in the immediate vicinity of Prague’s O2 arena, and there can be up to four technicians inside. “They will focus on any dangerous occurrence of chemical substances in the arena. At the time of the match, we will monitor the inside of the hall with a special device that will tell what amount of substance is there. The measure can be aimed either at air conditioning or, in the worst case, at stopping the match and evacuating the hall. But that would have to be a very serious incident,” says Brigadier General Lukáš Prudil, Regional Director of the Fire Rescue Department of the capital city of Prague. The medical rescue service of the capital city of Prague will have four patrols on each floor of the O2 arena.
The police practiced for risky situations during the hockey championship (source: ČT24)
Due to the security measures, rules also apply to fans as to what items they may not take into the halls. They are pictured on every ticket, they are also listed on the official website of the championship in the section Information for fans. The organizers recommend taking only your ticket, wallet, documents and phone with you to speed up checks at the entrance.
It is not possible to take luggage larger than 30 x 20 x 10 centimeters into the O2 arena. However, at both arenas, three to four storage rooms, deposit boxes, will be available for excessive luggage. Postponement will cost 50 crowns and payment is only possible in cash.
- Prohibited items: cameras, laptop, drones, stroller, skateboard, weapons, umbrella, flammables, smokehouses, food, PET bottles, drums (over 60 x 40 centimeters), air tubes, horns, flags (over 3 x 2 meters)
For fans who cannot make it directly to the match, the fan zones at the arenas in Prague and Ostrava offer a rich program: matches on a large screen, concerts or games for prizes from the sponsors of the championship. The fan zones will always be open from 2:00 p.m. until the end of the last evening game, or from 11:00 a.m. on days when three games are played.
CT sport will offer all matches live
The viewer at the TV screen will also receive a detailed service from the home championship: ČT sport broadcasts all matches live, interviews and analyses. The former outstanding personalities of the national team, striker Jakub Voráček and goalkeeper Pavel Francouz, who are saying goodbye whether or not they have finished their professional careers, will also offer observations to the fans. Together, the balance of both hockey players in the number of games played in the Canadian-American NHL stopped at 1,144 games.
“We are expanding the team of experts. There will be a revival of his numbers and the way we will gloss the matches. Already during the season, we tested Petr Koukal and Rostislav Olesz. Recently also Jakub Voráček and we will welcome Pavel Francouz as a special expert in the studio. During the World Cup, we will also have an expert on the Slovak team in Ostrava, namely Boris Valábik, who worked for the Slovak RTVS, which lost the television rights to the World Cup,” explained the chief commentator of ČT sport, Robert Záruba.
Czech television will take advantage of the fact that the world championship is in the Czech Republic, which will be reflected in the program. “We have a studio in both arenas in Prague and Ostrava. This is a shot for multiple people. Our reporters will also be in other places around the hall and in the fan zone. We will offer a column called ‘For hockey as it is’ focused on a behind-the-scenes look at the tournament,” Záruba added.
Czech Television broadcasts all 64 matches of the World Cup live, more prestigious matches on the ČT sport channel and simultaneous duels via ČT sport Plus, i.e. on the web, in mobile applications and within HbbTV. Also website ctsport.cz will bring the richest video content in the Czech Republic from the World Cup in Hockey. In addition, hockey fans can look forward to a series of topical podcasts with expert analysis and opinions.
