HC Red Star Kunlun 2016/17 Thread

[IamherefortheFinn]

Honestly, the Red Stars are an expansion team which should have started next season. I think the KHL voted on this too late and a lot of the issues on the organization problems is in regards to having just a couple months to plan everything. Waiting for a year or voting for the team earlier, would have done much more for the club to market the game more. We're seeing a lot of the tickets given away due to these factors of lack of marketing because of the time constraints IMO.

My friend once told me a saying that his Russian acquaintance told him when he was visiting there "In Russia nothing works but everything gets done". The decision of starting already this season is just one of the less than optimal things regarding this expansion team. All things considered i have to be a bit impressed how well they have done. They have a winning team in a venue that is in the top10 of the KHL. Now they just need a couple of more people in the stands and those people to actually pay for the tickets And maybe a couple of more and better Chinese players. And it would not hurt to be financially self sufficient either but a lot of other teams have this problem too. And hey, this way we don't have to wait for a year more.

but even with that said, every place has to start somewhere. Rome wasn't built within a day, but with some intelligence, common sense, and good marketing, it became one of the best civilizations on earth.

Slavery, fights to death in the Colosseum, crucifying people... Don't get me started on the history... Maybe one of the greatest empires but not one of the best.

 

[ult]

Calling it a top 10 venue is very generous...

 

[IamherefortheFinn]

Calling it a top 10 venue is very generous...

Generous? If anything i was being conservative.

I was trying to think arenas in the KHL that are roughly in the same ballpark as LeSports Center. I came up with the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, The Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, the arena in Minsk and the two new ones in Moscow. What others can be compared to Kunlun's home arena?

After all according to Vorky's post it will have a capacity of 14k later on and the venue is only 8 years old. And as it was build for the Olympics, i don't think the Chinese were trying to save money building it. It does have some sight-line and aesthetic issues as it was build for basketball, but what i can tell from the recap of the game and the pictures ITT, they are not that bad.

 

[ult]

Generous? If anything i was being conservative.

I was trying to think arenas in the KHL that are roughly in the same ballpark as LeSports Center. I came up with the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, The Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, the arena in Minsk and the two new ones in Moscow. What others can be compared to Kunlun's home arena?

After all according to Vorky's post it will have a capacity of 14k later on and the venue is only 8 years old. And as it was build for the Olympics, i don't think the Chinese were trying to save money building it. It does have some sight-line and aesthetic issues as it was build for basketball, but what i can tell from the recap of the game and the pictures ITT, they are not that bad.

There are no arenas in KHL with 6000 seats with restricted view out of 14000.

And it's not only about the capacity. Most, bar a couple of very old rinks, are better for viewing hockey that LeSports center.

Arena-Minsk (15500), SKA's arena (12300), VTB Ice Palace (12100), Barys Arena (12000), Bolshoy Ice Dome (12000), Hartwall Arena (13000), Arena Omsk (10300), Arena Riga (10300), Nepela Arena (10000), Arena 2000 (9000), Tatneft Arena (8900), Ufa Arena (8000), Arena Metallurg (7700) are all better.

 

[IamherefortheFinn]

There are no arenas in KHL with 6000 seats with restricted view out of 14000.

And it's not only about the capacity. Most, bar a couple of very old rinks, are better for viewing hockey that LeSports center.

Arena-Minsk (15500), SKA's arena (12300), VTB Ice Palace (12100), Barys Arena (12000), Bolshoy Ice Dome (12000), Hartwall Arena (13000), Arena Omsk (10300), Arena Riga (10300), Nepela Arena (10000), Arena 2000 (9000), Tatneft Arena (8900), Ufa Arena (8000), Arena Metallurg (7700) are all better.

I forgot about the arenas in Sochi and Astana, they should had been in my list. I'm too lazy to do proper research but i did watch some google images from those other arenas. Let's just say that i'm not totally convinced that all of those are better than LeSports center. And since you listed only 13 arenas yourself, i don't think that calling Kunlun's home arena top10 is that far fetched.

 

[ult]

I forgot about the arenas in Sochi and Astana, they should had been in my list. I'm too lazy to do proper research but i did watch some google images from those other arenas. Let's just say that i'm not totally convinced that all of those are better than LeSports center. And since you listed only 13 arenas yourself, i don't think that calling Kunlun's home arena top10 is that far fetched.

Don't bother with google search. They have old pictures. Arenas in Kazan, Magnitogorsk, Yaroslavl, Omsk have all gotten new ultra HD scoreboards and LED rings. Also there are a bunch of smaller arenas which are just good. Nothing special, they have cushioned seats, good cafeterias and so on, but more importantly all seats have 100% unobstructed view.

 

[mtngoat]

...
Only 7832 fans, and Teastick even wasn't one of them...

umm... that's him @5:26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMNQjJRUh0Q

 

[Acallabeth]

I guess an Oilers jersey would obstruct the view on these nifty moves

 

[Teastick]

umm... That's him @5:26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymnqjjruh0q

lol:d:d:d

 

[IamherefortheFinn]

There are no arenas in KHL with 6000 seats with restricted view out of 14000.

And it's not only about the capacity. Most, bar a couple of very old rinks, are better for viewing hockey that LeSports center.

Arena-Minsk (15500), SKA's arena (12300), VTB Ice Palace (12100), Barys Arena (12000), Bolshoy Ice Dome (12000), Hartwall Arena (13000), Arena Omsk (10300), Arena Riga (10300), Nepela Arena (10000), Arena 2000 (9000), Tatneft Arena (8900), Ufa Arena (8000), Arena Metallurg (7700) are all better.

I watched Jokerit - Salavat Yulaev today. Ufa actually has a pretty decent arena. Better than i expected. But the arena was not that big TBH. I would rather have Kunlun's big arena in my hometown even with the minor viewing issues and all.

 

[Eye of Ra]

how has viklund been playing so far?

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Any new updates of Finnish dman Joonas Järvinen
Is he gong to play in kunlun's KHL team or not.

His last seasons team HIFK Helsinki has crucial defense issue.
So if he's not playing to Kunlun then it's better re-sing him to HIFK.

 

[malkinfan]

Another dirty performance from Kunlun. Mikulovich runs over Proskuryokov, Daugavins is clipped by a pretty viscous intentional high stick going through the neutral zone and other borderline hits/plays during the game with Torpedo. Whats with this team? Since day one of preseason they could not keep out of trouble, if there is trouble with one team it could be a fluke but this is the 3rd team where they have found trouble. Its going to be a long season for them if they dont learn especially if they try this crap with a team like Sibir, good luck with Menshikov and Artyukhin.

 

[IamherefortheFinn]

There are no arenas in KHL with 6000 seats with restricted view out of 14000.

And it's not only about the capacity. Most, bar a couple of very old rinks, are better for viewing hockey that LeSports center.

Arena-Minsk (15500), SKA's arena (12300), VTB Ice Palace (12100), Barys Arena (12000), Bolshoy Ice Dome (12000), Hartwall Arena (13000), Arena Omsk (10300), Arena Riga (10300), Nepela Arena (10000), Arena 2000 (9000), Tatneft Arena (8900), Ufa Arena (8000), Arena Metallurg (7700) are all better.

I'm watching feed from the Arena Riga at the moment. It is an ok arena. Certainly better than most of the arenas in Finland. But quite clearly not as nice as LeSports center which was build for the Olympics. I think that's pretty easy to see.

And last week i saw a game from Arena Metallurg i think. I would not rate that over Kunlun's arena either. I think that it is pretty safe to say that they have at least a top10 venue.

 

[ult]

Riiight.

 

[Exarz]

LeSports Center is a lovely arena but clearly not fit for hockey. I saw that they won't even play there during the 2022 Olympics, but instead use the Beijing National Indoor Stadium

 

[IamherefortheFinn]

Oh, come on ult, you clearly cherry picket those pics to make the arena in Peking to look bad and the two other ones good.

In the first one the arena is empty and there is no event going on. There is'nt even a jumbotron.

The two other ones are from game opening seremonies. And how about posting pics that show how much bigger the Chinese arena is? Or pics from outside the arenas?

And also Kunluns arena has tons of seats were the wiew to the ice is good, unlike the seat in that pic...

 

[ult]

Oh, come on ult, you clearly cherry picket those pics to make the arena in Peking to look bad and the two other ones good.

In the first one the arena is empty and there is no event going on. There is'nt even a jumbotron.

The two other ones are from game opening seremonies. And how about posting pics that show how much bigger the Chinese arena is? Or pics from outside the arenas?

I don't need to cherry pick, it's just that there are no good pictures from behind the stands, as that arena only had 1 hockey game. It's bad for hockey. And even not talking about the view it's nothing special. And it's not bigger if only 8k seats have full view. While Arena Riga has 10k.

And also Kunluns arena has tons of seats were the wiew to the ice is good, unlike the seat in that pic...

No. It doesn't.

Look at the amount of sectors with restricted view.

 

[mkev400]

Where does any of that say restricted view Ult? I checked back to the provided translation two pages earlier, and the reply RIGHT BELOW your assumption of restricted view only said Not For Sale!
Just because tickets arent sold doesnt mean their view is restricted!

Not selling tickets for certain blocks to fill others up first is not the most uncommon practice in the world! Some arenas just curtain those sections off (see the Quad City Mallards in the ECHL, there is a whole thread about it)!

 

[ult]

Where does any of that say restricted view Ult? I checked back to the provided translation two pages earlier, and the reply RIGHT BELOW your assumption of restricted view only said Not For Sale!
Just because tickets arent sold doesnt mean their view is restricted!

Not selling tickets for certain blocks to fill others up first is not the most uncommon practice in the world! Some arenas just curtain those sections off (see the Quad City Mallards in the ECHL, there is a whole thread about it)!

It is a basketball arena. Hence if you have a seat behind the goal, you can't see the net that is closest to you. All bottom rows are folded and the stands are 4 meters tall, and are neck and neck to the boards. It is not my assumption. It is basic geometry.

It's just like Barclays center. The seats aren't sold for a reason. Both arenas weren't built for hockey.

 

[mtngoat]

Caught a game in Riga earlier this year. Had seats behind the goalie - not the best view as it was somewhat blurred out by the protective netting. Nice arena tho, they even had small area for the dads to deposit their tiny so they could enjoy the game. The red devil was a hoot.


Seating for Kunlun's temp home in Shanghai.

 

[Exarz]

1734 spectators in Shanghai

 

[pulverapa]

1734 spectators in Shanghai

550 the game after.

 

[Dueling Banjos]

This Shanghai experiment is obviously bad, they need to get back to Beijing asap and stay there. It's not a problem in the long run, as long as owners keep being motivated about the team and most of all keep working on building hype, marketing on all fronts. Beijing is a huge place, i am sure crowds can be attracted.

 

[Jokeri]

Cant wait to see a attendance today. 100? 200?