IIHF World Championships rake in 8.2 million euros

It was a very good year for organizers of the IIHF World Championships, who made a healthy profit despite protests about skyrocketing ticket prices.

According to a report from Finland's national public broadcaster YLE, the Finnish Ice Hockey Association collected more than 8.2 million euros in profit from the 2012 World Championships, which were co-hosted by Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden. The governing body of Finnish ice hockey said earlier this year it had sold more than 300,000 tickets for games held in Helsinki. The federation intends to re-invest the profits into grassroots Finnish hockey, with 70 percent of the money earmarked for junior coaching at the club level. Twenty percent will go toward other junior expenditures while the final 10 percent will be put into the development of additional operational structures. Organizers came under fire early in the competition for charging exorbitant amounts for tickets. Fans of the host team protested outside Helsinki Hartwall Arena after they were made to pay the same amount for games against France and Kazakhstan as they were for games against Canada and the United States. The Finnish Ice Hockey Association moved quickly to address the issue, reducing ticket prices for the France and Kazakhstan games. On the ice, the tournament was deemed a monumental success. Russia defeated Slovakia 6-2 in the final, while the host Finns dropped a 3-2 decision to the Czech Republic in the bronze-medal game. Sweden and Finland will join forces again to host the 2013 edition of the World Championships.