The IIHF bid commission has just visited Denmark and Latvia as part of the evaluation process of the joint bid for the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships. The commission was impressed by the set-up presented.
“I’m really impressed. I didn’t know what to expect from Denmark as it is the first time I’m here with hockey. I saw the game yesterday, I’ve seen the hotels and now I’m going to see the plans for the arena and it is really a good experience,” says Peter Lüthi on the site visit to Denmark and Latvia.
“The IIHF Bid Commission seemed very impressed by concept of the joint bid from Denmark and Latvia which is based on outstanding facilities, a strong event organization and an activation plan that involves not only the Danish population and further develops Danish hockey but also focuses on contributing to the development of ice hockey in small countries,” explains Henrik Bach Nielsen, DIU President.
Denmark will be main host and Latvia co-host of the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Denmark ranks #12 in the current IIHF World Ranking and Latvia #11. Both countries have participated in the World Championship continuously for many years.
A state of the art multi arena, Copenhagen Arena, will host the finals and semifinals as well as 30 preliminary matches. The new and modern Copenhagen Arena is currently under construction and will be finalized in 2015. Denmark will also play host to the World Congress that will be staged during the days of the finals in May 2017. Latvia will host the rest of the matches in Riga.
The bid was presented for the IIHF Event Committee in Zürich, and the host will be selected at the World Championship in May 2013 during the IIHF Annual Congress in Stockholm.
The joint bid has full and strong support from the national governments, the national Olympic Committees and the cities of Copenhagen and Riga, the national sport event organization, Sport Event Denmark, and the Latvian Fans’ Organization.
For more information on the joint Danish and Latvian bid for 2017, please contact:
Interview: http://youtu.be/QQrvYsFMQO4
Contact:
Henrik Bach Nielsen, President, Danish Ice Hockey Association: +45 4046 4785; hnie@stofanet.dk
Kirovs Lipmans, President, Latvian Ice Hockey Federation: lipmans@grindeks.lv