A European "Super-league" for hockey

[Drewcifer]

This was a topic that was touched on in the Olympic Hockey thread. Would a single European hockey league akin to the NHL be a good thing and could it be done?

Personally I think it would be cool (especially having the Stanley Cup champions play the European champions at the end of the season). For a European league to be competitive with the NHL though it would have to be in markets where the teams could generate as much revenue as an NHL team. NHL tickets are not cheap, here in Minnesota single game tickets for the Wild run between $15 and $75, there are also 60+ corporate suite luxury boxes that are sold on a seasonal basis for very large sums. For a European franchise to compete for players they would probably have to be able to sell 15,000 to 20,000 tickets per game 42 times a year at those prices and have a large enough corporate base to sell luxury suites. A good television contract would help.

So what cities could support such a franchise? The one's that come to my mind are Stockholm, Helsinki, Moscow, St Petersburg and Prauge. Are there any others? Obviously that is not enough.

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

You could probably put two or three teams in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

 

[Marla_Singer]

So what cities could support such a franchise? The one's that come to my mind are Stockholm, Helsinki, Moscow, St Petersburg and Prauge. Are there any others? Obviously that is not enough.

What is 100% sure is that this couldn't work with "franchise". It could work only with clubs and a system of promotion and relegation. Let's call this something cultural, but Europeans wouldn't accept a league where teams wouldn't have to struggle to show they actually deserve to belong to it.

 

[pboily]

Seen this way, it almost looks like American Sports Leagues are socialists and the European ones are capitalists...

 

[Winner]

I am not sure this could work. Hockey isn't as popular in Europe. It is very popular in Sweden, Finland, Czech Rep., Slovakia and Russia. It is somewhat popular also in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and maybe in few other countries. Everywhere else, it is not very popular sport. Football, on the other hand, is extremelly popular in all European countries.

 

[MCdread]

I'm a bit alien to the ice hockey scene apart from the ocasional Olympics or World Cup caught on Eurosport, but it seems to me that the premises of the first post are not the correct ones. Teams, leagues and sports get their big money from publicity and TV contracts, not assistances. If there is enough european or evem north american private money from said industries interested in setting up such a competition, it is possible. But I fear that in Europe big money is already taken by football. Almost every country has a professional league and then there are the Champions League, UEFA CUp and national teams competitions. I doubt that the markets where hockey is popular in Europe are good enough for a league competing with NHL. Apart from sports that can come up with some glamour to be comercially explored like F1 or tennis, I guess either basketball or handball are highly competitive and professional sports with good popularity european wide. Well, guess what, basketball doesn't come even close to be compared with the NBA, and the german handball league, the richest in the world is a comercial midget compared with any average football league. When you consider that among the countries where hockey could be moderatly popular, Germany is by far the greatest market...

Of course, the idea would be to overcome part of the problem and set up a continent wide league, right? Well, is european sporting culture prepared for that? I don't know, we kind of like our relegation/promotion leagues, and I can't see how would there be enough rich teams to mantain a system where from one season to the next, possible revenues could drop dramatically if they got relegated.

 

[Grisu]

I am not sure this could work. Hockey isn't as popular in Europe. It is very popular in Sweden, Finland, Czech Rep., Slovakia and Russia. It is somewhat popular also in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and maybe in few other countries. Everywhere else, it is not very popular sport. Football, on the other hand, is extremelly popular in all European countries.

actually, I'd put Switzerland in the very popular group. supposedly Bern has the highest average attendance outside the NHL....and hockey certainly is much more popular here than in germany or austria (though it doesn't show clearly enough in the national team.....yet....)

I'd say that Bern could certainly handle a franchise like that. Zurich could propably do as well, though they'd have to put together the 2.5 top teams they have now....

As long as our national tv (damn them) won't show more games their budget won't rise much, but with a international league, they'd have to broadcast more games

But of course, the problem is that countries where hockey is very popular are usually small (population-wise), except russia, obviously

 

[Grisu]

I just checked: The average spectator attendance this year for the SC Bern is 15'500

 

[Winner]

actually, I'd put Switzerland in the very popular group. supposedly Bern has the highest average attendance outside the NHL....and hockey certainly is much more popular here than in germany or austria (though it doesn't show clearly enough in the national team.....yet....)

I hesitated if I can put you in the first group.

The key is to make it popular in Germany. Maybe we can strike a deal with Swedes, Finns and Russians and let them win in the Championships?

 

[Grisu]

The key is to make it popular in Germany. Maybe we can strike a deal with Swedes, Finns and Russians and let them win in the Championships?

well, first they'd have to get into Pool A again

but you're right: until one of the countries with a big population gets Hockey mad (and germany would be the most likely candidate) chances for such a league are pretty small.

 

[sysyphus]

I just checked: The average spectator attendance this year for the SC Bern is 15'500

That's more than many NHL teams.

 

[sysyphus]

but you're right: until one of the countries with a big population gets Hockey mad (and germany would be the most likely candidate) chances for such a league are pretty small.

Look at it this way: the NHL began in Canada.

 

[Grisu]

That's more than many NHL teams.

unfortunately bern has by far the highest average of all teams, all others are much lower. the average of all teams combined is just at about 6000

only Zürcher SC could get about 10000 as well if their team wouldn't suck so much ...