HC České Budějovice

HC České Budějovice are a professional men's ice hockey club, based in České Budějovice, Czech Republic. They are members of the Czech 1.liga after reforming when the original club, now known as Mountfield HK, moved to Hradec Králové over a sponsorship dispute.

Bandy era in České Budějovice
The long history started in 1911, when group of young gymnasium students devised a plan to start a bandy team. Their first hockey rings were situated exactly where Malše river merges into Vltava river. Dr. Zdeněk Černý was the first coach, manager, as well as a player of the team. The bandy club lasted until World War I. Some of the first victims of the war were players from České Budějovice, such as Áda Schrabal, Karel Selinka, Jan Vrkoč, and Leo Feigl.

Adaptation to ice hockey
On December 3, 1921, SK České Budějovice played its first amateur ice hockey match in Strakonice.

On January 10, 1928, a club known as AC Stadion České Budějovice was founded by the merging two clubs in České Budějovice - Viktoria and Slovan. The club joined Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League, the nation's top ice hockey league, in 1936. In their first season, they finished third behind LTC Praha and AC Sparta Praha.

Lone championship & decades of failure
In the 1950–51 season, the club, now called SKP České Budějovice, won its first and only championship in any top-tier league. The club has failed to finish higher than third place (1952–53) in the highest league ever since.

After a disastrous 1962–63 season in which team the won none of the 32 games, the club was relegated to the Czechoslovak Second League until 1968. Overall, HC České Budějovice had been relegated to the second-tier league five other times since the 1958-59 season; in each case the club re-earned promotion to the top league the following season.

Although they lost in the semifinals of the 2007–08 Czech Extraliga season, HC České Budějovice qualified for the 2008–09 Champions Hockey League as the winners of the regular season. However, their success was short-lived, as they finished eleventh and survived a relegation round the following season.

War of the Beers
Following the 2012–13 season, the Czech Extraliga reached a sponsorship deal with Radegast to sell its beer in all Extraliga arenas. This agreement conflicted with the naming rights deal České Budějovice already had with Budweiser Budvar Brewery for their arena. Under the agreement, the club and the city of České Budějovice would face stiff penalties for selling any beer other than Budvar products. Unable to resolve the dispute, the club decided on June 18, 2013 that no agreement could be reached between the parties involved and voted to immediately relocate to Hradec Králové for the 2013-14 season.

In July 2013 plans were unveiled to resume professional hockey in České Budějovice, with a club playing in the Czech 1.liga.

Champions
Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League Championship (1): 1951 Czechoslovak Second Ice Hockey League Championship (5): 1960, 1968, 1970, 1992, 2005

Runners-up
Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League Championship (1): 1953