Calgary, Edmonton to co-host World Cup of Hockey in 2028
Posted Mar 16, 2026 12:42:40 PM.
Last Updated Mar 20, 2026 03:41:45 PM.
The world’s best hockey players are coming to Alberta.
Edmonton, Calgary and Prague, the capital of Czechia, will co-host the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, the NHL announced Monday.
It will be the largest international sporting event hosted in Alberta since the 1988 Winter Olympics, the province says.
It will also mark the tournament’s return after being dormant since 2016, when Canada won on home ice in Toronto.
The round-robin will be split between Calgary and Prague, with each city hosting seven games — six round-robin and one elimination contest. The two semifinals and final are set for Edmonton.
“If you look at the cities of Calgary and Edmonton and the province of Alberta having a great history of tourism — you have the Stampede in Calgary, we’ve spent a few Junes in Edmonton recently, people come to the Canadian Rockies — for the province, this is going to be a way to get even more visibility,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in a joint NHL/NHLPA press conference in Florida.
Calgary native Cale Makar, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and David Pastrnak, from Czechia, took part in the announcement in a video shared by the NHL on social media.
The games are expected to take place at Calgary’s new Scotia Place, Edmonton’s Rogers Place, and the O2 Arena in Prague.
Scotia Place, located across from the Saddledome, opens in September of 2027, five months before the World Cup gets underway. It will be fully built in time and ready to host the games, Robert Hayes, president and CEO of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, assured CityNews.
Bettman toured the new Scotia Place construction site earlier this month in Calgary.
“We’re going to be in extraordinarily strong, state-of-the-art buildings for all of it,” the NHL commissioner said. “So when you put the whole package together, particularly the Alberta component, it really was a bid that stood out and was gratifying to see.”
Albertans ‘live and breathe hockey’
The joint bid was supported by funding from all three levels of government.
Prairies Economic Development Canada earmarked $8 million for activities and programming associated with the tournament. PrairiesCan Minister Eleanor Olszewksi says that money will contribute to community events, fan experiences, and tourism campaigns.
The Government of Alberta committed $15 million as part of a new fund, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith explained, while the cities of Calgary and Edmonton committed $2.5 million each toward the rights fee.
All parties involved were present at a press conference in Edmonton Monday afternoon.
“Alberta is the right choice to host the World Cup of Hockey,” said Smith. “This bid was earned; few places in the world live and breathe hockey the way Alberta does.”
The World Cup is projected to generate a $375 million in economic impact for Alberta.
The tournament, which will be a total of 17 games, is expected to feature eight countries, with Russia’s inclusion still up in the air.
“We’re going to see how things develop. Time will tell. There isn’t an immediate need or urgency to make that decision, so let’s see how things play out,” said Bettman.
An original group of 25 applicants bid to host the tournament. The expression of interest phase for the World Cup’s host cities and venues began last June, the NHL said.
The World Cup of Hockey has been played three times: 1996, 2004 and 2016. The U.S. won the inaugural tournament, followed by back-to-back wins for Canada.
The long-term plan is to have an international competition with the NHL’s top players every even-numbered year, alternating between the World Cup and the Olympics. NHL players returned to the Olympic stage in Milan last month after a 12-year absence.
“There is no international competition in sports that matches the passion, skill, and excitement of hockey’s best-on-best coming together to represent their countries,” said Bettman. “Last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off and the recent Winter Olympics were just the latest examples.”
–With files from The Associated Press
