HC Kometa Brno
Rink: Winning Group Arena
Capacity: 7,700
Built: 1982
League: Extraliga
City: Brno, Czechia
Home Of: HC Kometa Brno
Games Attended: 1
Only Game: October 2, 2026 vs BK Boleslav
Unique Arena: #124
Extraliga Arena: #1
First impressions can really set the tone for something. While going to hockey games has been a major part of my life for the last twenty years, I knew I would be in for a whole new experience when I finally made the trek across the pond to see a game in Europe for the first time. If you had asked me years ago what country would I see hockey in Europe for the first time, I would have imagined that Czechia (formerly the Czech Republic) wouldn’t have been very high on the list. When talk of a fall 2026 trip to Europe began, the original plan was to go to Germany. But life throws curveballs, and sometimes things work out better with Plan B than Plan A ever could have. So in October 2026 I boarded my first ever trans-Atlantic flight to Vienna, Austria and took a bus to across the Czech border to Brno. On pretty much zero sleep I found myself in front of Winning Group Arena ready to take in live hockey in Europe for the first time.
Winning Group Arena is a circular building located in the heart of the city with an exterior platform about a third of the way up the building that actually doubles as a concourse. Under this there is actually a Billa grocery store, which is a chain we got very familiar with during our time there. The team store is actually a half a block away in another building entirely but was one of the more impressive ones we saw during our trip.
To get into the arena you head up a set of exterior stairs to the large concrete patio where your tickets are scanned, and you’re effectively in the rink before ever stepping foot in the building. This exterior area has many concession stands and tables, plus it’s the main area people congregate pre-game and at intermission. Be warned, smoking is permitted here and most people outside took advantage of that. If you don’t like second-hand smoke this area isn’t for you. It’s best to know what section and gate you need before entering the actual building as most doors lead directly to a small group of sections. You cannot get around the entire building without going outside. While this was fine for our early October game with temps in the high teens, it would prove quite chilly in the winter months.
Once entering the building you’re met with an arena that has a very similar layout to the Aud in Utica. Each side of the ice has a set of seated grandstands that stretch to the back wall. The circular shape of the building means centre ice has many more rows than down by the corners. Each end of the rink behind the nets are standing room only terraces packed with some of the most vocal fans I’ve ever come across. These terraces are also incredibly steep. One misstep will send you on a nasty tumble. The rink isn’t very big, so they’ve done their best to not have any wasted space at all, hanging small balconies all over the corners to add more seats. Total capacity of the arena is listed at 7,700 but the actual seated capacity is only 4,700.
The roof of the rink is a sight to behold. It’s another setup very similar to the Auditorium in Utica or Madison Square Garden in Manhattan but somehow more impressive. The steel grey trusses and catwalks contrast so much with the light brown sound dampening panels which makes the roof just pop nicely. The fans are the star of the show here, though. The two terraces were packed with chanting, singing, jumping, drumming fans the entire game. This rink being my first European hockey experience meant I was going from 0 to 100 right away.
While there were things I would get used to the rest of my time in Czechia, I found no other group of fans had the numbers and enthusiasm quite as high as those from Brno. Some other teams were impressive, but Kometa just seemed a slight step above. Their main hype man (every team has one) organizing the chants stood on a conductor’s platform facing the crowd with a microphone in his hand shouting instructions to the mad lads that followed him. The dude had a real metal singer stance and wouldn’t be out of place on the stage at Ozzfest. Later in the trip we would see him again leading a large group of fans on the road in Prague, and by the end of it all I wanted to run through a wall for this dude, he is good at is job for sure. At one point in the third period OHLAG pulled out the decibel reader app on his phone and got a reading of 105. For such a small building it was pretty damn loud on the ears.
HC Kometa’s time at Winning Group Arena is nearing an end, as later in the 2026-27 season they are set to move to a new arena that is set to have a capacity of 12-14,000. While I have no doubt the Kometa fans will bring the same enthusiasm to their new rink, I do hope the much larger and streamlined building doesn’t kill the overall vibe. Winning Group Arena has gained a reputation as one of the best atmospheres in all of European hockey and the rink feels much older than its 1982 construction date. Before our trip started, OHLAG and myself had been told by many with more experience that it was the best atmosphere they’ve ever come across in Europe, and after experiencing a game there for ourselves I can see why it has such a good reputation. What an introduction to live European hockey, I couldn’t have asked for more.
Games Attended
