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CLOSED!

Based on recent actions of Russia in Ukraine, we decided to abandon this project.


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Quebec deserves professional hockey

The people of Quebec are passionate about hockey and have been eagerly awaiting the return of professional hockey for almost 23 years. In this goal, in 2015, Québec City built a first-class sports facility at a cost of $ 370 million to accommodate 18,259 hockey spectators. Quebec fans have demonstrated their interest in hockey, unequivocally, in all possible circumstances. They have waited long enough and they deserve to enjoy the best possible hockey show while having the privilege of being able to support a local team that fully represents them.

KHL for Québec
 

About KHL

KHL is the Kontinental Hockey League. It is the second most important professional hockey league in the world and is located in Asia and Europe. It comprises 29 concessions in 7 countries. It is mostly composed of Russian teams and players. However, professional players and coaches from all nations play in KHL, including Canadian players.


For more information on KHL:
KHL on Wikipedia
Official website
Official broadcaster
Why is KHL interesting for Quebec?
  • The KHL offers a level of play well above that of junior hockey, the highest level of hockey currently available to the population of Quebec. The level is halfway between the American Hockey League and the NHL.
  • The KHL would allow the people of Quebec to see evolve players and a professional team.
  • The potential of an exciting and competitive team is within Quebec's reach, as a team from KHL in Quebec City could interest many professional players who do not want to sign a contract in the NHL, but who were not ready to go and exile. The power of attraction to the players would be high.
  • Unlike the current situation, people in Quebec City could identify with a professional local team that represents them, instead of watching team games from remote cities on television that do not provide any attachment.
  • This would finally allow the Vidéotron Center to establish a professional sport tenant.
Why not wait for the NHL?
  • According to the repeated claims of the NHL and the Quebec bid, the arrival of an NHL team in Quebec City is a distant possibility whose probability is far from established.
  • The people of Quebec have already waited a long time. The last professional team left in 1995. The new arena project has been in existence since 2010 and hockey fans have waited too long.
  • The population deserves to follow their own team, day by day, instead of remaining in the gloom of waiting for the return of an NHL team that never arrives.
Here are some KHL game sequences:



The proposed approach
 



The approach we propose is in two steps, ie obtaining:
  1. An exhibition game
    1. Ideally this exhibition game would be a regular season game of the KHL disputed at the Videotron Center. Better yet, it could be 3 games, forming a kind of mini-tournament.
    2. This exhibition game would ideally take place in autumn 2019.
  2. A KHL franchise for Quebec
    1. Two years later, Quebec would obtain its own KHL franchise, which would begin in the fall of 2021 and play its local games at the Videotron Center.
Obtaining an exhibition game is a crucial step. This would allow the Quebec people to get acquainted with the KHL product and to weigh their own interest. If the interest of the population of Quebec is confirmed, that a local promoter is interested and that the KHL is also interested, Quebec could be quickly granted a concession, which could be ready to play in 2021.

Obviously, these dates are purely hypothetical and serve as suggestions. They are presented in such a way as to give a desirable and concrete idea that such a project could represent. All these dates are obviously in the hands of the KHL and a potential local promoter.



KHL and Quebec
 

Yes, but would KHL be interested in Quebec?
Does it know what Quebec is? Where is Quebec?

In fact, the KHL is very aware of Quebec and its fervor for hockey. This goes back as far as 2009 when KHL founder and president of the time, Alexander Medvedev, mentioned Quebec in interviews:

"We believe that Canada does not benefit enough from hockey. When we went to Quebec City last year (at the World Championship), we really enjoyed seeing how the public supports players, regardless of their origin."

"Quebec deserves to have an NHL club, it's a real hockey city. When the arena fills up to 100% for a junior team, it's all about finding a business model to make an NHL team profitable."
CBC - May 20, 2009

LIRE LA SUITE (in french)
Eighteen months ago, Medvedev spoke of another dream, to own an NHL team.
[...]
Medvedev has not hidden his interest in a city like Quebec in the NHL.
CBC - August 26, 2010

LIRE LA SUITE (in french)
"I find it strange that hockey cities like Quebec do not have an NHL team"
[...]
Yesterday, Le Soleil tried to join the big boss of Gazprom, without success. We know, however, that during his visit to Quebec City last year at the World Championships, he had loved his stay in the capital, a city he had described as "a hockey city".
Le Soleil - May 7, 2009

LIRE LA SUITE (in french)