New Arenas in the KHL-VHL-MHL Part II

[Zine]

From 24 down to 22 actually. And they had almost 30 at one point. The negative trend is clear.

Is it a negative? For years we've heard the league is too large for its own good. Day in.....day out. Yet now constriction is negative? Make up your minds. Or are the minds made up we're the evil empire and everything is negative.

 

[jcbio11]

Is it a negative? For years we've heard the league is too large for its own good. Day in.....day out. Yet now constriction is negative? Make up your minds. Or are the minds made up we're the evil empire and everything is negative.

Empire? What are you talking about? What empire?

KHL lost two teams that they didn't plan on losing. This wasn't some planned constriction, it was an absolute failure of the KHL on the EU front where their footprint was completely erased. They spent years and millions trying to get a foothold in that market, it was always their vision to incorporate EU teams into their structure and they failed miserably at it. Zero teams from EU, one from Belarus and China.

 

[Zine]

Empire? What are you talking about? What empire?

KHL lost two teams that they didn't plan on losing. This wasn't some planned construction, it was an absolute failure of the KHL on the EU front where their footprint was completely erased. They spent years and millions trying to get a foothold in that market, it was always their vision to incorporate EU teams into their structure and they failed miserably at it. Zero teams from EU, one from Belarus and China.

No kidding the initial objective was too adventurous. Tell us something we don't know. The others losses (Jokerit and Riga) were out of the leagues control. Still if If we take that into consideration just as many Russian teams were lost as EU. So who gives a crap about number of teams.
We're far removed from the days of Zagreb. The only big recent loss was Jokerit. Getting rid of Riga was a benefit. They are garbage.

But this has nothing to do with building arenas, which was your initial point.....in a thread about KHL arenas mind you.
Number of teams has nothing to do with anything currently relevant, b/c # of Russian teams ebb and flow as well, or the topic at hand..

 

[ult]

SKA Arena (21,500)

 

[Rigafan]

I wouldn't say Riga were rubbish although, they were for the majority of their time but the team definitely made sense to be competing in the league with the likes of Moscow, Minsk etc anyway they are gone and that's that.

People tend to forget the KHL is only formed in 2008. Sure, some teams will come and go, the league will change drastically until it finds its balance. Plus, with the economics of the league being so unique compared to every other hockey league in the world, there will always be some surprises (such as a business going bankrupt etc)

 

[ult]

Lada Arena (6,000) is getting an upgrade.

And before that it got a new rink and a new lighting rig.

 

[Acallabeth]

KHL is going to start the league with the lowest number of teams ever, a negative record of 22. Maybe building new arenas shouldn't be their biggest focus right now.

I would argue an exact opposite: with fewer teams, focusing on creating a new de facto standard for KHL arenas is a great strategy. SKA Arena looks like a fn spacecraft.

 

[jcbio11]

I would argue an exact opposite: with fewer teams, focusing on creating a new de facto standard for KHL arenas is a great strategy. SKA Arena looks like a fn spacecraft.

But wouldn't they just stay empty most of the time? What was the average attendance last season?

 

[Acallabeth]

But wouldn't they just stay empty most of the time? What was the average attendance last season?

Remember that the last season's average attendance might have been brought down significantly by an increase in the number of games.

If the clubs don't sell their arenas out, that there is a growth point in fan attraction. A new comfortable arena is easily one of the most powerful factors for that.

 

[jcbio11]

Remember that the last season's average attendance might have been brought down significantly by an increase in the number of games.

If the clubs don't sell their arenas out, that there is a growth point in fan attraction. A new comfortable arena is easily one of the most powerful factors for that.

The bizzaro logic I see - the average attendance is falling and the arenas aren't used up to their capacity. So let's build even bigger arenas.

 

[Acallabeth]

The bizzaro logic I see - the average attendance is falling and the arenas aren't used up to their capacity. So let's build even bigger arenas.

It seems like you're missing all the context here. The KHL isn't building average arenas for average teams that will have an average attendance.

SKA is the only club that has both been one of the most attended and most successful teams in the KHL history, and clearly aims to become the most attended team in Eurasia. Building the premier hockey venue is a step towards that. The St. Petersburg pride also plays a huge role, as it's very important for the Northerners to beat Moscow in any way.

Sibir has one of the best crowds in the KHL, and Novosibirsk is the 3rd largest city in Russia, but their 6k-seat stadium has been in use for almost 60 years. I definitely expect average attendance in that arena to increase.

Torpedo and Avtomobilist has been consistently filling the arena for 95%+ for years, I think it's clear that they need to upgrade their 50-60 year old arenas with 5k seats.

Avangard is self-explainatory.

So yes, let's build 'even bigger' arenas.

Now, whether we believe the drop in attendance last season was a reversal of the previous upwards trend or anomaly caused by certain external factors is a matter for the KHL attendance thread. But I see no issue with any of the projects discussed in this thread.

 

[Caser]

 

[ViD]

SKA Arena

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

SKA Arena

View attachment 741780

So St Petersburg has an Arena that holds 21000 plus people?

 

[vorky]

So St Petersburg has an Arena that holds 21000 plus people?

yes, it will be finished soon.

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

yes, it will be finished soon.

Only the Montreal Forum...Centre Bell has over 21,000 and had 21078 for Average Attendance last year! Maybe these Clubs,Les Canadiens-SKA St Petersburg can become Power-Houses and meet for a Future World Cup of Hockey yearly? That would be fun could we have 4 skaters aside it would Force the Goon to leave entirely and it become a Speed,Skill game again like some Flying "Frenchmen" use to play! That was Fun to watch and who the old Soviet(Russian) teams use to emulate...The different Series that were played in the 70's,80's...was fun!!!
And the game needs more skill again and more fun and more goals cause that's why we watch games on TV or in person for the exhilaration! No game on Earth is as much to fun and a challenge to play! Watching is crazy enjoyable with all the interactions...no Game is better than Hockey the Best Game On Earth by far...And played on an Ice Sheet to boot with Knife Blades for Edges and Stick to weld and make plays and the Armour of a Gladiator and the courage of a Lion for the Champs! And its Physical as well as Mental! I Love this game I need to go play sometime soon or until my foot gets better...sorry I went off on a rant,tangent...

 

[vorky]

Only the Montreal Forum...Centre Bell has over 21,000 and had 21078 for Average Attendance last year! Maybe these Clubs,Les Canadiens-SKA St Petersburg can become Power-Houses and meet for a Future World Cup of Hockey yearly? That would be fun could we have 4 skaters aside it would Force the Goon to leave entirely and it become a Speed,Skill game again like some Flying "Frenchmen" use to play! That was Fun to watch and who the old Soviet(Russian) teams use to emulate...The different Series that were played in the 70's,80's...was fun!!!
And the game needs more skill again and more fun and more goals cause that's why we watch games on TV or in person for the exhilaration! No game on Earth is as much to fun and a challenge to play! Watching is crazy enjoyable with all the interactions...no Game is better than Hockey the Best Game On Earth by far...And played on an Ice Sheet to boot with Knife Blades for Edges and Stick to weld and make plays and the Armour of a Gladiator and the courage of a Lion for the Champs! And its Physical as well as Mental! I Love this game I need to go play sometime soon or until my foot gets better...sorry I went off on a rant,tangent...

Nice words ...

Back to SKA Arena, its capacity for a hockey game will be 21,500 fans. It has been building on a field of old iconic SKK Peterburgsky which was demolished. If you want to follow the construction of SKA Arena, go to this forum - guys write here in Russian but adding photos & videos, so you do not need to understand what is being discussed.

Btw, KHL clubs are using NHL rink size, not all but many of them (others are using Finnish rink size). The KHL decided to not use a classic IIHF(Olympic) rink size anymore.

 

[vorky]

SKA Arena

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

SKA Arena (21,500)

The pitch of these balcony seats looks insanely steep.

 

[ult]

The pitch of these balcony seats looks insanely steep.

Here's a view from the walkaway behind the last row.

 

[vorky]

 

[ViD]

SKA Arena (21500) nearly completed

 

[vorky]

 

[ViD]

New Torpedo arena

SKA Arena and park around it, shaping up to be pretty nice

 

[vorky]

Just for a record... Spartak will move to new Luzhniki for 12000 seats, reconstruction starts in 2024.