At the beginning (2000/01), there were ten Austrian teams. But Zell am See, Lustenau, Kapfenberg, and Zeltweg gradually dropped out because they economically ran out of steam. By 2003, the league had seven Austrian teams, and a strong sponsor, Erste Bank (one of the largest banks in Central Europe), joined the league. In the 2006/07 season, the league welcomed its first foreign club – HK Jesenice “From the very beginning, it was exciting, and even today it remains thrilling. We are writing an exceptionally interesting international hockey story,” begins Christian Feichtinger, who has been the league’s CEO from the start. In Europe, only Gernot Tripcke, who also became CEO of Germany’s DEL in 2000, matches his longevity. “It hasn’t always been positive. We lost a few teams, like the Italian Asiago most recently. But otherwise, we have a stable structure of twelve teams. Plus, we recently welcomed a club from Hungary’s capital (Ferencvárosi TC). That gives us great joy,” says Feichtinger.
Over the past two decades, nine Austrian teams have participated (Dornbirn is currently absent) and ten foreign clubs, five of which are no longer on the hockey map. “From a sporting perspective, they were all fine, but each had different challenges. Jesenice lacked enough local players because several were playing, for example, in Bremerhaven in the DEL. Zagreb had financial problems. Znojmo had issues with the city and the arena. Bratislava Capitals suffered two tragic events, which deeply affected everyone, and the owner decided to end the project. Traveling to Asiago was difficult, and the club’s performance was insufficient,” continues Oliver Pilloni, general manager of Klagenfurt, another heavyweight in the ICEHL.
The newest member of the ICEHL is Hungary’s Ferencvarosi TC (FTC-Telekom). “It has provisional membership for two years. Before the 2027/28 season, the general assembly will decide whether this organization becomes a full member of the league,” explains Feichtinger. For now, the problem is low fan interest in the Hungarian capital. In the 2025/26 season, the three home games averaged only 971 spectators. “They are certainly not satisfied with attendance. But the beginning is always tough, and the whole project needs time to develop. It’s very important for the club to record wins; then perhaps the fans will come. Otherwise, Ferencváros Budapest is a huge multi-sport club (football, hockey, volleyball, handball, basketball). Sport-wise, they are fine, and we’ll see what the future brings,” adds Pilloni, the longest-serving GM in the league. In the 2024/25 season, ICEHL games averaged 3102 fans (including play off), an 11% increase over 2023/24. “Anything above 3,000 per game is a good number. We reached similar figures as before COVID-19,” says the satisfied 55-year-old Christian Feichtinger.
The Vienna Capitals have the largest arena in the ICEHL. The Steffl Arena can hold 7,022 fans 
Bolzano plays at the Sparkasse Arena, which has a capacity of 7,000 seats. It was opened in 1993 
The multifunctional MET Arena in Székesfehérvár was completed in 2024 and can hold 6,000 people 
The Linz AG Eisarena was opened in 1986. Can accommodate 4,865 people 
Klagenfurt plays in the Heidi Horten Arena, which has a capacity of 4,409 seats 
Tivoli Hall (4,200 seats) is the HK Olimpija arena. It was opened in 1965 and renovated in 1995 
Graz plays its games at the Merkur Eisstadion, which has a capacity of 4,126 spectators. 
Vorarlberg plays in the Vorarlberghalle, which has a capacity of 3,890 seats. It was opened in 1977 
The Villacher Stadthalle is an arena located in the city of Villach. It has a capacity of 3,465 seats 
The wealthiest club is EC Red Bull Salzburg. Eisarena Salzburg, has a capacity of 3,400 people 
Pustertal plays in the Intercable Arena, which has a capacity of 3,100 seats. It was opened in 2021 
Innsbruck is based at the TIWAG Arena. The stadium was built in 2005 and can hold 3000 people 
The smallest venue belongs to Ferencvárosi TC. The Tüskecsarnok Hall can hold only 2,000 fans
In 2020, the partnership with Erste Bank ended, and in March 2022, Win2day (an Austrian online lottery and gaming platform) became the league’s main sponsor. In November 2024, the league management extended the partnership with Win2day until 2027. However, the contract was signed before the new federal government’s package of austerity measures, which also affects sports funding. “Thank God, it doesn’t affect our contract,” says Feichtinger. From the 2025/26 season to 2028/29, the Austrian public broadcaster ORF owns the free-to-air television rights (30 games). All games are streamed by Sportdeutschland.TV. Allegedly, all thirteen Win2day ICEHL teams today have higher budgets than in the 2024/25 season. Germany’s DEL2 plans revenue of nearly €70 million for the 2025/26 season (excluding playoffs). The Czech Extraliga has revenue exceeding €80 million. “ICEHL has revenue somewhere between €50–60 million,” Feichtinger proudly reports. These figures are roughly the same as the “hockey Bayern Munich” SC Bern (around €55 million, but more than half of its revenue comes from gastronomy, as the club operates 21 restaurants in Switzerland’s capital).
For the first time in league history, all four participating countries (Austria, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia) will have their national teams in the top group at the 2026 World Championship in Switzerland. Additionally, Salzburg, Klagenfurt, and Bolzano are competing for a place in the Champions Hockey League round of 16. Is ICEHL improving in sporting terms? “It is undoubtedly better than in the past. Domestic players are stronger, and where the league is strong, we also have capable foreign players,” persuades the soon-to-be 60-year-old Pilloni. From January 2022, a maximum of ten foreign players can participate per team. The rest must be domestic players, of whom at least two must be under 24. “You don’t have to field all ten foreign players. In Klagenfurt, we haven’t had more than six or seven foreigners in recent years. It’s very important to have a core of quality domestic players because you can’t win the league with only foreigners. In the last six years, Salzburg won the league four times, and our Klagenfurt twice because we had a core of excellent domestic players,” continues Oliver Pilloni, who has been Klagenfurt’s GM since 2007 (with a two-year break from 2012–2014).
A disadvantage of the Win2day ICEHL is the odd number of teams. Out of thirteen, one always stands out. “We’ve learned to live with that. Each team plays 24 home games, then the preliminary playoff and playoffs. Of course, we would like to stabilize at fourteen, but I don’t want to take just anyone. We only accept those who really fit with us. Asiago ended because its infrastructure didn’t improve. Our goal is to grow in our region, meaning from north to south and west to east in the current four countries. We discuss potential league expansion with the national federations. They are responsible for determining whether a potential new club meets the criteria to enter our league. The next application deadline is January 15, 2026,” explains Feichtinger.
Rumors suggest that Romanian club Gyergyói HK is interested in joining the Win2day ICEHL. The club from Eastern Transylvania won the Romanian league and the Hungarian-Romanian Erste Liga in the 2024/25 season. At the end of August 2025, they opened the modern Remeta Arena for 2,200 fans. With a budget of around €3 million, the organization invests heavily in youth development. Juniors compete in leagues in Slovakia and Hungary, and in Érd (20 km from Budapest), Gyergyói HK has a partner team, Kárpáti Farkasok (arena with only 300 seats). Both organizations are owned by Hungarian entrepreneur Attila Balázs (net worth €190 million). His company, Bayer Construct, contributed to the construction of the Puskás Arena in Budapest. The airport in Remetea, administratively part of Gyergyóremete, was funded by Attila Balázs himself.
Will the Romanian hockey shark, eager for more meat, join the Win2day ICEHL? “I know who Gyergyói HK is. We had one joint meeting about a year and a half ago. But so far, they have not officially joined the league. However, we haven’t finalized anything yet,” claims Christian Feichtinger. “This topic is not on the table. From Vorarlberg to Gyergyói is 1,700 kilometers. That’s an enormous distance. We have wanted clubs from closer regions, like Bratislava, Znojmo, or Jesenice in the past,” concludes expert Oliver Pilloni.
