World's Top Women's Hockey Players Will Compete in the Mohawk Valley in Spring 2024
Prestigious International Competition Returns to New York After 30 Years
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that Utica was selected as the host city for the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championship, tentatively slated for April 4-14, 2024. USA Hockey will host the event in conjunction with the Upper Mohawk Valley Memorial Auditorium Authority and the Adirondack Bank Center and the Utica University Nexus Center. The IIHF World Women's Championship is the premier international tournament in women's ice hockey. Utica will welcome ten international teams, 350 players, 30,000 local spectators and 20,000 overnight spectators to the Mohawk Valley.
"The 2024 IIHF World Women's Championship in Utica will mark the next chapter of New York's winter sports legacy," Governor Hochul said. "As the home of the 1994 IIHF World Women's Championship, as well as the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics and this year's FISU Winter World University Games, New York State is proud of its commitment to winter sports and tourism. Now, thanks to significant State investments and upgrades to local infrastructure, Utica and Oneida County are gearing up to host thousands of athletes and spectators for the world's most competitive women's ice hockey tournament and welcome the world to the Mohawk Valley."
International Ice Hockey Federation President Luc Tardif said, "On behalf of the IIHF, I would like to congratulate the City of Utica for earning the honor of hosting the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship. It is wonderful to be back in the United States for this important women's tournament, and even more so to return to the state of New York, which has more recently hosted the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship and the IIHF World Junior Championship but has not hosted the Women's Worlds since way back in 1994. The last time the IIHF Women's World Championship was hosted by USA Hockey was back in 2017, which, history has shown, was one of the most important and exciting IIHF events ever. A lot has changed in the women's game from 1994 to 2017 to today, and although fans will certainly be thrilled to witness another chapter in the exceptional United States-Canada rivalry, we also encourage people to watch the teams from Europe and the Far East that are catching up and closing the gap. Finland and Sweden, Czechia and Switzerland, Germany and Japan have all had exceptional performances in Brampton, Ontario, in 2023, and we expect these nations to challenge the North Americans even more in 2024."
In December 2022, Governor Hochul announced the grand opening of the new $64 million Utica University Nexus Center in downtown Utica, which was supported by $22 million through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative. The 170,000 square-foot tournament-based recreation and sporting complex is utilized for ice hockey, box lacrosse, soccer and other field sports and draws competitive teams from across the U.S. and Canada. The Nexus Center is projected to host 24 hockey and 24 lacrosse tournaments each year, welcoming more than 320,000 annual visitors and generating over $26 million annually in direct visitor spending.
New York State has supported the Adirondack Bank Center with $10.5 million for improvements to the facility. Additionally, Utica's Downtown Genesee Street was selected as the winner of the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) award in 2019, which is helping vault the city toward a brighter future by attracting new businesses, residents and visitors to Utica.
These investments build upon and continues Governor Hochul's deep commitment to leveraging and celebrating New York's rich winter sports legacy, including recent support of the 2023 FISU World University Games recently held in Lake Placid and at venues across North Country.
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