Speculation: KHL team in Alaska?

[fedfed]

This is crazy speculation that I can't back up.

I think KHL team in Alaska would be a great fit. There's a suitable arena, loyal fan base and history for the sport in Anchorage.

The travel would be crazy, but not much crazier than travel to Vladivostok is.
Moscow - Anchorage: 4,360 miles / 7 016 km / 9:13 hrs
Moscow - Vladivostok: 3,998 miles / 6 434 km / 8:30 hrs
Moscow - Khabarovsk: 3,827 miles / 6 159 km / 8:09 hrs
(All times at 500 mph speed)

Do 40 minutes make a whole lot of difference? I doubt it.

KHL has done a good job scheduling for the teams located far from the most, keeping both travel expenses and convenience to an "okay" level. Some players said they expected worse.

The time difference would be pretty bad. Vladivostok and Khabarovsk are both in Moscow +7 zone, while Alaska is in Moscow -12 zone. Due to Russia exploring DST all year long, it'd be Moscow -13 (or Moscow +11). That's a pretty crazy difference for the human body, but could be more suitable for TV than the Khabarovsk/Vladivostok difference: most games in Moscow time zone begin at 3-3:30 AM Vladivostok time, while for Alaskans it'd be 7-7:30 AM.

What do you think?

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[An Argument For]

I honestly don't think it has a chance, at all.

There is only one market in Alaska even close to big enough and that is Anchorage with about a quarter of a million people. Plus they already have an ECHL team and a NCAA Division 1 University team. And I don't think either of those are even close to selling out their games. I can't see how you could add a third team so the ECHL would likely have to move and are the local fans ready to just throw all their support behind a "Russian" hockey league? I just don't see them being able to generate the revenue for 7-10 million dollars in salary annually.

 

[Urbanskog]

Just no. Vladivostok and Khabarovsk are already too far away.

 

[RobertR]

Yeah, I think thats a great idea.

Now we just need to wait till Russia occupies Alaska.

 

[Exarz]

No, I don't believe in this!

 

[fedfed]

Just no. Vladivostok and Khabarovsk are already too far away.

The more teams KHL has in Pacific region, the easier the travel becomes for the Pacific teams. Miles travelled are distributed more evenly, which is a good thing.

I honestly don't think it has a chance, at all.

There is only one market in Alaska even close to big enough and that is Anchorage with about a quarter of a million people. Plus they already have an ECHL team and a NCAA Division 1 University team. And I don't think either of those are even close to selling out their games. I can't see how you could add a third team so the ECHL would likely have to move and are the local fans ready to just throw all their support behind a "Russian" hockey league? I just don't see them being able to generate the revenue for 7-10 million dollars in salary annually.

I would think the Aces would move to the K. Of course, it'd probably take Arena Events Oy buying Sullivan Arena.

Also, ask fans in Bratislava, Zagreb and (especially) Riga about "Russian" league. There are very few countries that hate Russia more than Latvia, and it just contributes to team's popularity, games carry a lot more ideological meaning than some local match-up.

The Aces don't draw huge crowds (neither does Valerenga which may join next year), but they wouldn't be far away from the KHL average.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Unless you can find 3 more teams in the area so that majority of KHL matches could be played within the division one more team near the Pacific ocean is a terrible idea. It's enough trouble as it is with two of them.

 

[Sucro]

There was such thread already, it got merged into the Expansion somewhen cause there is no much to talk about. We all know that there are not many free spots in the league and Alaska is far from being a goal for expansion.

 

[fedfed]

Unless you can find 3 more teams in the area so that majority of KHL matches could be played within the division one more team near the Pacific ocean is a terrible idea. It's enough trouble as it is with two of them.

I've heard either Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk or Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky expressed interest. Japan should join at some point, too.

 

[obskyr]

I've heard either Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk or Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky expressed interest. Japan should join at some point, too.

Do you even realize how silly that sounds?

 

[SoundAndFury]

Do you even realize how silly that sounds?

I thought this was a joke, no? Either I was too optimistic or you are missing something

 

[fedfed]

Do you even realize how silly that sounds?

Just as silly as Togliatti and Sochi.

 

[fedfed]

I thought this was a joke, no? Either I was too optimistic or you are missing something

Unfortunately, it was actual news.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Unfortunate, it was actual news.

Well then.. I'm kinda shocked. Not that they expressed interest. I can express interest in dating Megan Fox but that doesn't mean anyone has to take it seriously. Because nobody should.

These towns are tiny and are terribly inconvenient. It's like an NHL team in Montgomery, Alabama. It's nothing even remotely similar to a town like Togliatti which is relatively huge and has old hockey traditions and an VHL team.

 

[Vicente]

If Alaska should have a major league ice hockey team then it should be in the NHL. They are in close distance to places like Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, San Jose etc

KHL should really concentrate on Western expansion or try to get a couple more teams between Khabarovsk/Vladivostok and the other teams of the league - don't know if there are any cities with potentional for a KHL team anyway.

Could they place a KHL team in Irkutsk?

 

[SoundAndFury]

Could they place a KHL team in Irkutsk?

Yeah Irkutsk, Murmansk, North Pole.. Just need some bears who'd agree to play there.

Seriously though. They probably could. As in many places. The point is that they shouldn't.

 

[fedfed]

For the record, I'm against expansion within Russia. Including Sochi and Togliatti.

 

[obskyr]

Just as silly as Togliatti and Sochi.

Nowhere near. There are more people on the Black Sea Coast than in Kamchatka and Sakhalin combined. And some decent hockey infrastructure too.

Togliatti is a better hockey market than a third of the local Russian markets in the KHL, come on.

Unfortunately, it was actual news.

The North Korean option was in the news too. But it never had anything to do with reality.

 

[ozo]

The North Korean option was in the news too. But it never had anything to do with reality.

The heck with reality. If it is entertaining, just print it!

 

[Exarz]

The heck with reality. If it is entertaining, just print it!

Add Syria and Somalia while we're on!

 

[Hemsky001]

Are you for real?

 

[SoundAndFury]

Are you for real?

Are you for real asking is he for real?

 

[fedfed]

Nowhere near. There are more people on the Black Sea Coast than in Kamchatka and Sakhalin combined. And some decent hockey infrastructure too.

Togliatti is a better hockey market than a third of the local Russian markets in the KHL, come on.


The North Korean option was in the news too. But it never had anything to do with reality.

Okay, there are more people in Miami than in most American cities and there's a good infrastructure, yet Miami is horrible hockey market. Same with Sochi.

Togliatti had 3.5k attendance in VHL. It's 57% of arena capacity. I'd rather have somebody invest a lot in Orsk, small city, but they love hockey there.

The fact that Togliatti was a hockey town 10 years ago means nothing: Moscow and Voskresensk were as well. Where they are now? Well, in 2012-13 Mytischi were the most attended arena in Moscow metro area.

VHL attendance numbers via http://www.sports.ru/tribuna/blogs/donton/548530.html

 

[Toffu]

I personally never heard for the city Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, but i see the map now. Its close to Japan.

I think KHL needs to force western expansion. One swiss team from first league is more valuable than 3 teams from far, far, faaar Russian east, right?

 

[obskyr]

Okay, there are more people in Miami than in most American cities and there's a good infrastructure, yet Miami is horrible hockey market. Same with Sochi.

By the European standarts, Miami is a tremendous hockey market. The Panthers draw more than 600k per season, that's a 1/3 of the SHL or NLA total attendance.

Togliatti had 3.5k attendance in VHL. It's 57% of arena capacity. I'd rather have somebody invest a lot in Orsk, small city, but they love hockey there.

Most of the major Russian clubs would actually have more or less the same figures in the VHL. Then again, it's not even Orsk you were talking about in the first place, it's Petropavlovsk-freaking-Kamchatsky.

The fact that Togliatti was a hockey town 10 years ago means nothing: Moscow and Voskresensk were as well. Where they are now? Well, in 2012-13 Mytischi were the most attended arena in Moscow metro area.

The Soviet championship was a joke, it had tiny arenas and, as a result, really low attendance numbers. It wasn't an actual pro league, rather a developmental system. Voskresensk in particular had a great hockey school, but as a market it wasn't remarkable for anything except for its notorious fans. There's no point in resorting to that "bring Khimik back" bs as serious argument, especially when you don't even support the idea.