hansomreiste
Registered User
Here is encouraging news - the most financially successful hockey league in the World is also run by oligarchs. I looked up to see who was the owner of the Dallas Stars, and guess what I found: "Tom Gagliardi, Canadian business executive and billionaire." Looks like the KHL is following the correct corporate model!
Clubs run by oligarch is quite normal, I am not expecting CSKA to be run by the bakery around the corner. However, being totally dependent on oligarch money and having money as the only option to lure the players, which is again pumped in by oligarchs, it kinda concerns people. It's like a student living on his/her parents' paychecks without creating and earning to his/her name. In the long run, this is unsustainable. We all know that.
Yes, oligarchs and rich guys will keep having clubs and pumping money but KHL should implement a system where the main source of income is sponsors or simply the people watching KHL. Merchandise sales, TV deals, sponsorship sums, game tickets etc... Luckily for us, KHL seems to be aware of this and taking concrete steps, as vorky reports.
Yet again we come back to the same point: KHL is too much dependent on economy, therefore the wallets of (mainly) Russian people sets the limit for KHL. Think of a crisis. NHL would definitely shrink but still shake it off. At the moment, KHL may not. Just look at what happened in Ukraine Premier League (football) and same as Russia. Where is Metalist Kharkiv? Where is Dnipro? Where is Metallurg... However you call it, I say Zaporijya? Or, why does Kuban have huge debts?
It's all because things in Russia revolve around oligarchs but not people. Let's say, if Liverpool were to go extinct, fans alone could save the club by donating. However, if SKA were to face the same fate, I am not sure if people of St. Petersburg would be able to save the club by paying those huuuuge amounts of money.
It should be obvious by now but again, I want to state this clearly: I am not an anti-Russian or anything like that. I am simply saying that KHL is boomed because of oligarchs and when/if they leave, it will collapse and leave us with Russia Super League again. Was it bad? No way. It was awesome as well. Though not as good as KHL.