The NHL is heading to Beijing next week for a big announcement. If reports are correct, then the trip will be just one of many to China over the next few years.
NHL to announce 2017 exhibition games in China, per reports
The league is angling for wealthy Chinese investors.
Photo by Beijing Tourism Administration/Getty Images
Per reports from Fortune and The Globe and Mail, the league will announce two exhibition games in China this September. The Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings will play one game in Beijing and one game in Shanghai.
NHL officials are finalizing details for a pair of September exhibition games between the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings in Beijing and Shanghai. Commissioner Gary Bettman is planning a trip to Beijing later this month to announce the games, which will fit with a broader effort to increase both Chinese corporate sponsorship and interest in hockey, and may one day even result in the NHL helping the Chinese set up its own league.
The NHL may be following the NBA’s lead here: Two years ago, the NBA inked a $700 million five-year online streaming deal with China. And Chinese soccer teams spent a boatload of money on international superstars last year. The Chinese sports market is growing, and the NHL wants in on the opportunities.
Stay up to date on the NHL’s Olympic saga
Sign-up for our NHL newsletter and get good NHL content every morning!
More importantly, that kind of cash flow could help the NHL’s current ownership problems. From Fortune:
In the short term, however, the NHL primarily views China as an untapped investor with cash to spend. As recent economic problems at franchises like the Phoenix Coyotes attest, NHL teams could use the money. “There’s no doubt there have been a number of expressions of interest from Chinese business entrepreneurs who are interested in investing in the league,” the NHL’s deputy commissioner Bill Daly said.
It’s doubtful the NHL expects to create a franchise in China anytime soon. But the market is certainly big enough to warrant its interest.
Meanwhile, this move (and the timing) shoots all kinds of holes into the NHL’s current argument for skipping the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Last month, Gary Bettman spoke at length about how stopping the NHL season to send players to South Korea wasn’t in the best interests of the league’s North American fans.
And yet, on top of the upcoming exhibition games, the league is reportedly still quite interested in participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
So is the league skipping the 2018 games to appease North American fans? Or is it picking and choosing participation based on market sizes and investment opportunities?
Impossible to say for sure, but it’s another reminder not to take everything leagues tell you, the fan, at face value.
See More:
