KHL to expand into China for 2016.

[Sean Monahan]

2 hours ago, Losing With Pride said:

They do.  They even have a National Team...that isn't very good.

If Toronto FC or the Whitecaps offered Ronaldo $104,000,000 a year I think he would take that.  I believe he is making $52,000,000 in salary alone.

 

I think they could certainly entice some Russians, but I don't think you'd be able to pry a Stamkos away even for ~20mil a year. I still think he'd stay here for his ~10 mil and the allure of playing in the NHL. 

[D-Money]

I think it's a pretty good idea. The Chinese population is enormous, any chance to tap into it is a risk worth taking.

Just because there is no home-grown talent shouldn't be a deal-killer...because there will be continue to be none until something like this sparks interest.

I think there is a large portion of the Chinese population just itching to get more involved in sports. Look at how basketball exploded when Yao Ming made it.

[Sean Monahan]

10 minutes ago, D-Money said:

I think it's a pretty good idea. The Chinese population is enormous, any chance to tap into it is a risk worth taking.

Just because there is no home-grown talent shouldn't be a deal-killer...because there will be continue to be none until something like this sparks interest.

I think there is a large portion of the Chinese population just itching to get more involved in sports. Look at how basketball exploded when Yao Ming made it.

I can't argue that the potential is huge, I just don't know if the timing is right given the financial and economic standing of the rest of the league. 

[Alflives]

On December 15, 2015 at 10:31 AM, Wild Sean Monahan said:

I can't argue that the potential is huge, I just don't know if the timing is right given the financial and economic standing of the rest of the league. 

They are putting a KHL team in Richmond?  . 

[Stierlitz]

There is similar topic http://forum.canucks.com/topic/363858-growing-hockey-in-china-good-for-the-game/ . This is not about money actually - Chinese government is trying to make competitive national team for Winter Olympic Games 2022 in China.

[Stierlitz]

Just found an article http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/expansion-coming-to-the-khl-team-set-to-play-in-china-in-2016-17/

"The first expansion team for the 2016-17 season has been awarded, but it won’t be playing in Las Vegas or Quebec City. The KHL announced Monday the league will have a team from Beijing joining the league, and the new club will begin playing in September 2016, according to TASS.

Beijing’s KHL team, which is yet unnamed, will play at the 18,000-seat MasterCard Center in Beijing, which currently plays host to the Chinese Basketball Association’s Beijing Ducks. The arena was also host to the basketball tournament at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The team will be backed by Russian and Chinese businesses, and the league will also be supplying Beijing with a development academy.

“The task is to build a hockey vertical: a KHL team, a second team playing in the Chinese league, a team in the youth league and mass involvement so that all who wish can play ice hockey and there should be more ice rinks that are public and open for all,” vice president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, Roman Rotenberg, told TASS.ru. “This is a priority task.”

The KHL currently features 28 teams, with most situated in Russia. Other countries with KHL clubs include Kazakhstan (Barys Astana), Belarus (Dinamo Minsk), Latvia (Dinamo Riga), Slovakia (HC Slovan Bratislava), Finland (Jokerit) and Croatia (Medvescak Zagreb)."