The arenas in Bratislava and Košice are going all out to get ready for the start of the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship on 10 May . On Monday, 15 April, the Organizing Committee moved into both arenas and have started final preparations on ice and off to be ready to welcome the world.
 
The floors are being renovated at both the main rink and the practise rink at the Ondrej Nepela Arena in Bratislava. As well, new lighting is being installed as are new boards, which will meet the requirements of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
 
Steel Arena in Kosice is also undergoing a facelift. The boards were replaced in February and there is new cladding in the colours of the World Championship on the exterior walls of the arena. The main theme of this design includes a hockey player, Macejko the mascot, and a silhouette of the St. Elizabeth Cathedral, a famous Kosice landmark.
 
A new marketing campaign for the 2019 IIHF WM called FACES has also been launched in the last few days. Promotions for this will appear inside both arenas and in the official Fan Zones, as well as on billboards throughout Slovakia.
 
“The main elements of the FACES campaign are painted faces of fans from the 16 countries participating in the championship,“ explained Lukas Donoval, director of partnerships and special projects. „We want visitors to recognize something familiar when they are in the arenas or Fan Zones. The campaign represents hockey as a game of many faces, a game that brings a lot of emotion.“
 
The Organizing Committee collaborated with the renowned advertising agency Wiktor Leo Burnett on the FACES campaign.
 
A new attraction at Rybné námestie in Bratislava has also opened with a 2019 WM theme. A building called Rotunda has been set up close to Bratislava’s New Bridge. It not only celebrates the World Championship, it is also a great place for fans to take photos.
 
“We at the Bratislava Tourist Board are happy to offer a destination that we know will be popular with visitors,“ said Alzbeta Melicharova, chairman of the board of directors for the Bratislava Tourist Board. „On the outside, you’ll see the painted faces from fans of the 16 participating nations, and inside is a photo display of unique places in Bratislava and the surrounding areas. We’re confident this will be a place every fan will want to visit.“

Tickets still available

Even though tickets for games featuring Slovakia and the other top nations  are sold out, fans can still buy tickets for other games. Prices start at €10 and are easily accessible now. The Organizing Committee has ensured that fans can still buy tickets through the Ticketportal network, the official store of the tournament. Tickets, however, can no longer be bought online and picked up at a later date.
 
“The major crush of ticket sales has passed, and that will make it easier to renew sales in our official stores once again,“ explained Michaela Grendelova, 2019 WM director of communications. „Starting Wednesday, fans can buy tickets to a specific game through Ticketportal stores, or they can buy them online, in which case they pay right away and print at home.“
 
Tickets will be sold in these ways until the start of the tournament. The sale of remaining tickets in select official stores and online will continue during the championship, and sale at the entrance of the stadiums will also be an option daily starting at 9am.