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Jokerit back to Liiga + finnish KHL players

Seems odd that at this time Helsingin Jokerit won’t be playing in a major league in Europe for atleast the next 2 seasons or longer.

Jokerit has a lot of history, it’s just sad that they could be on the verge of becoming nonexistent if they don’t find a league to play in.
 
A new 17,000 arena planned in the eastern docklands of Helsinki, a project independent of Jokerit (and HIFK) but could host a hockey team from 2027 onwards.
 
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Maybe, on the other hand Harkimo got the previous Jokerit arena ready in only three years back in the day and the constructor of this proposed one recently completed a similar arena in Tampere as well as a shopping mall and a number of tower blocks in this proposed location in Helsinki. The rest is essentially just political friction but at this point the stars are aligning better than with HIFK and their Garden Helsinki arena project.
 
Maurice of Nassau said:
Seems odd that at this time Helsingin Jokerit won’t be playing in a major league in Europe for atleast the next 2 seasons or longer.

Jokerit has a lot of history, it’s just sad that they could be on the verge of becoming nonexistent if they don’t find a league to play in.
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How about the baltic leagues? Would be better than nothing I guess. Maybe give them a boost.


Can they have a sham team with a different name for a while?
 
Maurice of Nassau said:
Jokerit has a lot of history, it’s just sad that they could be on the verge of becoming nonexistent if they don’t find a league to play in.
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Even if Jokerit in their current iteration become defunct, someone will buy the rights and bring them back.

The real problem is I don't think I can handle Jokerit and Jukurit being in the same competition.

Albatros said:
A new 17,000 arena planned in the eastern docklands of Helsinki, a project independent of Jokerit (and HIFK) but could host a hockey team from 2027 onwards.
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Doesn't make sense when the "Hartwall" Arena is there. Ownership problems are temporary.
 
Ajax84 said:
Even if Jokerit in their current iteration become defunct, someone will buy the rights and bring them back.

The real problem is I don't think I can handle Jokerit and Jukurit being in the same competition.



Doesn't make sense when the "Hartwall" Arena is there. Ownership problems are temporary.
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The Helsinki Arena is becoming outdated as each day passes. The Nokia Arena is a more modern version. There is demand for a new, bigger arena in Helsinki.
 
Does "outdated" just mean that there aren't enough luxury boxes? I know the national team would like a larger arena, but international games are almost non-existent, and it's not like Jokerit games are regular sellouts. Besides, once you get past 10,000 or so seats, there's only bad seats left. A sold-out smaller arena also has a better atmosphere than a half-empy giant arena.

I don't care for Hartwall or the Nokia arena, though. Too steel-and-glass generic, and no standing area. I haven't been to the Nokia arena, but I don't like the video boards- the audience should create their own atmosphere, not have it fed to them.
 
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Ajax84 said:
Does "outdated" just mean that there aren't enough luxury boxes? I know the national team would like a larger arena, but international games are almost non-existent, and it's not like Jokerit games are regular sellouts. Besides, once you get past 10,000 or so seats, there's only bad seats left. A sold-out smaller arena also has a better atmosphere than a half-empy giant arena.

I don't care for Hartwall or the Nokia arena, though. Too steel-and-glass generic, and no standing area. I haven't been to the Nokia arena, but I don't like the video boards- the audience should create their own atmosphere, not have it fed to them.
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Nokia Arena has a standing area.
 
Ajax84 said:
I know the national team would like a larger arena
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Their presence was always a scam to start with. Kummola owned a share of the arena and made sure that national team events took place there. He also owned the company responsible for marketing and thus got his share of the invariably high ticket prices as well.
 
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Mestis is further away from the finnish Sm-liiga than Allsvenskan is from Elitserien, but it's the common rules. Newly built teams cant join Sm-liiga straight away as they need to prove their business model etc. in lower league
If they are creating new team of Jokerit, they should purchase Hartwall Arena now right away. If that is still not possible then the top priority should be playing in former Espoo Blues arena which is a good arena too.
 
Without an arena it doesn't make all that much sense to have a pro team. A year in Mestis could be an interim solution, but after a year they'll need a sustainable solution anyway.
 
Whiskey In the Jar said:
Mestis is further away from the finnish Sm-liiga than Allsvenskan is from Elitserien, but it's the common rules. Newly built teams cant join Sm-liiga straight away as they need to prove their business model etc. in lower league
If they are creating new team of Jokerit, they should purchase Hartwall Arena now right away. If that is still not possible then the top priority should be playing in former Espoo Blues arena which is a good arena too.
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No one can buy it right now. All sorts of political issues behind it's sale.
 
Jussi said:
No one can buy it right now. All sorts of political issues behind it's sale.
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i hope they find a way to sort that out. I assume that Finnish hockey and Liiga are far better off with Jokerit in Liiga and in Hartwell
 
Albatros said:
Without an arena it doesn't make all that much sense to have a pro team. A year in Mestis could be an interim solution, but after a year they'll need a sustainable solution anyway.
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I agree. The arena issues must be solved first. Hartwall arena being the top contender. As some Canadian nhl commentators said there must be ways to get Jokerit right back to sm-liiga I agree with that too kinda. Jokerit market area or fan base is bigger than 1/3 or half of the very small clubs combined so they bring much of the needed interest back to sm-liiga.
It may be too risky to start at lower league levels and it takes too long time. So Jokerit likely need brand new owners backed by Sponsors, perhaps some well known finnish former jokerit players like Selanne and Tikkanen could be part of the new ownership. Then they should go directly back to Sm-liiga after having negotiations with them (skip lower league levels) and play at Hartwall Arena right from the start. Im sure sponsors would like that kind of deal too the most. If the team plays in much inferior arenas it has impact on sponsors definitely. Only arena that is within acceptable levels of inferior would be the former Espoo Blues arena i think.

Jussi said:
No one can buy it right now. All sorts of political issues behind it's sale.
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Okay. But Chelsea football club was purchased by Americans and it was wayyy bigger deal compared to Jokerit or Hartwall. So it looks like there are definitely ways to make these kind of purchases.
 
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Mestis application withdrawn, probably no pro team next season either. Wouldn't have been a good fit anyway.
 
I have been following Jokerit in the KHL for quite a while and it is sad to see them gone for now.
 
Jokerit have submitted an application for Mestis. The application will be addressed in a meeting on 28th of February. If it's approved, Jokerit can apply for Mestis license. Deadline for that is 31st of March.
 
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