Knoxville Ice Bears Opening Night 2026: The 25th Season Home Opener Is October 16
Opening night for the Knoxville Ice Bears lands on Friday, October 16, 2026, at 7:30 PM when they host Evansville at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. This is the team's 25th season, and if you've never taken the kids to minor-league hockey, this is one of the easier nights to start.
I've taken my three to plenty of Ice Bears games over the years, and the coliseum is small enough that you actually get a good view of the ice without shelling out for expensive club seats. Kids under a certain age are easy to spot here, too, because the whole thing is loud and fast and nobody expects anyone to sit still. The between-whistle stuff — mascots, music, giveaways, the occasional on-ice stunt — keeps younger attention spans from wandering.
A few quick notes if you're planning it from Maryville: it's about a 40-minute drive up I-140/40, so treat it like a late evening out and plan bedtime accordingly. The coliseum is at 500 Howard Baker Jr. Avenue in downtown Knoxville, and there's paid parking in garages nearby. The gates open well before puck drop, so it's worth getting there early for a look around and to settle seats.
Tickets go on sale through the Ice Bears' official site. I'm not going to quote exact prices here because they shift by seat and night, but minor-league hockey stays one of the most affordable ways to get kids to a real sporting event around here. If opening night fills up or a Friday doesn't work, the Bears play Fayetteville the following Saturday (Oct 24) and have a whole season of theme nights — corgi races, Paw Patrol night, Star Wars night — that land squarely in kid territory.
If you've got a child who's never seen live hockey, one tip: ear protection helps for the littlest ones. The building gets genuinely loud. But that's sort of the point.
Check the schedule ahead of time at knoxvilleicebears.com, buy your tickets in advance, and enjoy the chaos. It's a great reason to get the family out of the house once the season turns.