Buffalo to Host 2025 World Para Ice Hockey Championship

Buffalo is set to host some of the most intense and physical hockey action in the world this month when it welcomes the 2025 World Para Ice Hockey Championship. For those who haven’t seen para hockey, or might think they know what it is solely by name, the event is an opportunity to showcase the sport and open some eyes.

The event will take place May 24–31 at LECOM Harborcenter and feature 130 athletes from around the world, led by the United States and Canada while including China, Czechia, Germany, Korea, Norway and Slovakia.

“The misconception for those who’ve never seen it before is when you put the word para on it and they think it’s like a charity game, and it’s not that at all,” said Dan Brennan, USA Hockey sled hockey general manager. “When the teams get out there, they play extremely hard. It’s a very physical game. There’s nothing soft about it. Unlike able–body hockey, when our guys go into the boards, they go into the lower part where the boards don’t move versus the glass that bends and pushes you back.

“People will be thrilled to see the skill level — especially in the last five years it has really changed the game to a much more skill-based game — and I think especially when we play Canada, they’re going to see a heck of a battle.”

This will mark the fourth time the event has taken place in America. Buffalo hosted in 2015 and becomes the first U.S. destination to host it twice.

“Our overall history of supporting and hosting adaptive sports plays a part,” said Patrick Kaler, president and chief executive officer at Visit Buffalo Niagara. “We’ve hosted a myriad of other types of adaptive sports, from wheelchair hockey, basketball, lacrosse, curling to water sports as well. I think that’s one of the things that has put us on the map for being able to host adaptive sports in Buffalo. We’re a big city, but without a big city feel. And we’re very accessible.”

Buffalo a Perfect Fit

There are several reasons Buffalo won the bid aside from its history of hosting successful adaptive sports events.

The Marriott at LECOM Harborcenter is attached to the facility, making the trip to the arena as easy as pushing an elevator button. The Harborcenter is a training facility for the Buffalo Sabres as well as several area colleges and universities, and features two NHL-sized ice sheets. It’s located in an entertainment district that includes restaurants and a brewery on the waterfront, which gives visitors plenty to see and do between games.

“The Harborcenter is a very unique hotel inside an arena,” said Brennan, who has traveled with the team for 19 years. “When you’re dealing with athletes with disabilities, to be able to just get in the elevator and you’re down to your locker room immediately is something really special. So that was a huge part of Buffalo winning the bid. But overall it’s a great hockey city and our guys are really looking forward to playing there.”

Another advantage Buffalo has is the community support. The city loves its Bills during football season, but the Sabres have a loyal hockey fanbase. Youth, adult and amateur hockey events also take place regularly in Buffalo and the sport is the number one generator for sports tourism in the city.

“The community support will be huge on this,” Kaler said. “We typically host an amateur hockey event every weekend out of the year. So we are definitely a hockey town. And this is a very special hockey tournament. In para ice hockey, these athletes are truly unique in what they do on the ice and they are serious about their sport.”

“Historically we’ve always had a good fan base and players in Buffalo,” Brennan added. “In the past we had a bunch of players from the Buffalo area, so it’s one of the regions that really got sled/para hockey going.”

Kaler is expecting good crowds at the 2,000–seat Harborcenter arena and says this event will total about 2,400 room nights with an estimated economic impact of about $1.85 million. Kaler and his team are looking to spotlight the city to visitors in hopes of bringing them back.

“This puts us on the world stage,” Kaler said. “These are the types of events where people will go back home and talk about it with their friends and family. It’s our opportunity to really showcase our destination, to show what we have to offer and that we are the city of good neighbors. Some people may not know about Buffalo, or they may have ideas of what they think Buffalo is. In May, they’re going to find some of the best weather. We’re a lakefront city with amazing views of Lake Erie, so the sunsets are going to be fantastic. It’s just a great way to start off our summer season.”

USA Hockey Happy to be Home

Brennan says it means a great deal to the Team USA players and their families to be playing on home soil. At last year’s World Para Ice Hockey Championship in Calgary, host Canada stunned the favored U.S. side in the gold medal game 2–1, handing the Americans their first loss in three years.

“It’s very important to win gold,” Brennan said. “It was a great lesson for us last year because for a while there we were getting pretty complacent. We hadn’t lost a game in three years. It was not the best time to lose, obviously. But here we are now and I think our guys have really learned from it. They’re back to being very hungry and really making each other accountable to be ready to play. It’d be very disappointing if they didn’t come home with gold.”

While the competition on the ice is fierce, the tournament also provides a chance for players from eight nations to spend time together over the course of the week. Brennan says over the past few years USA Hockey has trained with Norway and the Czech team and the NGB has gone out of its way to help the sport and expand it.

“I think it’s the most wonderful part of being involved in an international sport,” Brennan said. “If you don’t take advantage of those relationships, you’re really missing out. In the end, we all need each other. And when the game’s over, they should be able to enjoy each other’s company and talk about their similarities, not just the differences.”

Brennan says during his 19 years with USA Hockey, the games against Canada have been the most physical, brutal and competitive that he’s seen, but both teams have a lot of respect for each other. As the two nations battle in Buffalo next week, there’s the real-world issue of United States and Canada relations souring in recent months due to the political climate.

“In Buffalo, the Canadians are our friends. We have always had our ‘Buffalo Loves Canada’ campaign. That’s something that we are still pushing out very strongly,” Kaler said. “And the good thing about sporting events such as this is that we can put those types of political differences aside and come together for the overall sportsmanship, for the overall spirit of what this tournament actually means.

“So I think this will truly be a showing of what para ice hockey means to these athletes and we want them to have a great experience in Buffalo and in the United States. Whether they’re from Canada or Korea or the Czech Republic — whatever country it is. This will hopefully help strengthen our overall sentiment towards our friends in Canada, no matter what is being said in Washington, D.C.”