Beijing hockey fans get frozen out
It doesn’t take a degree in economics to figure out that the financial health of any professional sports franchise is inextricably linked to fan loyalty — particularly for a team attempting to build a following where none previously existed.
It’s not something that happens overnight, but when it’s done right the payoff eventually translates into increased attendance, greater merchandising and sponsorship revenues, higher media profile and, most importantly, a palpable sense of “we’re in this together” that binds the team to its fan base for the long haul.
For most clubs, riding that wave is a no-brainer. But apparently not for Kunlun Red Star, China’s lone entry in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League.
Red Star joined the 27-team KHL with much fanfare on June 25, 2016, at a signing ceremony in Beijing attended by President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Based in the capital and slated to play home games at Wukesong Arena, the new addition to the league, which spans seven nations in Europe and Asia, was heralded as a great first step in China’s drive to become a viable hockey nation by the time the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics roll around.
Red Star’s 2016-17 home debut drew 7,832 spectators, but renovations at Wukesong then forced the team to play its next 14 “home” games at Feiyang Skating Center in Shanghai, where the average crowd dwindled to just 1,100.
When the team resumed playing at Wukesong in December, attendance climbed to an average of just under 6,000 for the remainder of the regular season, with a handful of games drawing crowds of 10,000plus. Red Star responded with a late spurt to qualify for the postseason, resulting in 12,000 raucous fans turning out for its first (and only) home playoff game.
Pro hockey, it seemed, was well on the way to becoming a staple on Beijing’s sports landscape.
Or not.
During an offseason of whirlwind changes — highlighted by the hiring of Canadian coaching legend Mike Keenan — Red Star inexplicably pulled the plug on Wukesong and, with not so much as a cursory xiexie to the legion of loyal Beijingers that supported the team in its inaugural season, announced it would henceforth be based in Shanghai.
No need to guess the rest. Once again, the crowds at Feiyang Skating Center have been as small and animated as witnesses to an autopsy.
Red Star is playing an exciting brand of hockey under Keenan and has a core of crowd-pleasers in former NHL stars Wojek Wolski, Gilbert Brule and Alexei Ponikarvsky, along with ChineseCanadians Brandon Yip and Zach Yuen. But in Shanghai, they’re performing in front of thousands of empty seats.
The team drew just 4,250 fans for its home opener on Sept 9 and bottomed out at a pathetic 1,347 on Oct 4.
According to official KHL stats, Red Star’s five September home games drew an average crowd of 3,073. In October, it dropped to 2,744.
And despite repeated inquiries, the team has not offered a word of explanation for abandoning Beijing.
That’s hardly a hallmark of professionalism.