Sweden hosted the Ice Hockey World Championship with Finland in 2012 and 2013. It ended with a public fiasco after criticism of high ticket prices.
Tre Kronor took gold in 2013, however neither the quarterfinals against Canada nor the semifinal against Finland at Globen were sold out. The deficit landed at 17 million kronor and a subsequent austerity package of 10 million kronor for Swedish ice hockey.
"Done our homework"
In 2013, we had to redo the entire ticket strategy from 2012, but with very short notice. It basically only sold single tickets at relatively low prices, says Tony Wiréhn, who stepped in as general secretary before the tournament in 2013.
He has the same role for this year's World Championship where Tre Kronor play their premiere tonight against Slovakia in Avicii arena in Stockholm.
We think we've done our homework this time, says Wiréhn.
The organization has investigated what ticket prices are acceptable to the general public and ice hockey enthusiasts. Talks have also been held with other organizers – such as handball, which has held several successful championships in Sweden.
We've done very thorough investigations. It laid the foundation for our ticket strategy and price level we set. It wasn't without being a little nervous about how it would go when we released the tickets in October, but when we sold almost 100,000 tickets directly, it felt like we had hit it pretty right, he says.
"Tough to correct"
A total of 34 matches will be played in Stockholm – the remaining 30 will be played in Danish Herning. The audience capacity in Avicii arena is expected to land around 12,500 spectators, and some time ago it was reported that over 200,000 tickets had been sold for the games in Sweden.
If you go out wrong with the prices at such an arrangement, it's not fatal, but it's tough to correct.
Tre Kronor's team is full of NHL stars, and in group opponent Canada, superstars like Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon shine.
It shows somewhere the value and interest in the tournament.
What do you hope for – what do you want to see in terms of black numbers?
Of course, we hope to be able to get a surplus that we can reinvest in Swedish hockey. There is also a long-term investment – to create increased interest in hockey in general, says Tony Wiréhn.
The Ice Hockey World Championship is decided in Stockholm and Danish Herning from May 9 to 25. In addition to one group match each, the cities have two quarterfinals each. Semifinals and medal matches are played in Avicii arena.
Sweden's matches:
May 9: Slovakia (8:20 PM).
May 10: (4:20 PM).
May 12: Finland (8:20 PM).
May 14: Latvia (8:20 PM).
May 16: Slovenia (8:20 PM).
May 17: France (4:20 PM).
May 20: Canada (8:20 PM).
The group in Herning: Denmark, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, USA, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Norway.
