nino33 wrote:archibalduk wrote:It will be interesting to see how this pans out. We've discussed this a few times and so won't repeat it, but I'd be surprised if the team manages to pull in a decent enough crowd to fund the team and the necessary travel. I'm sure there will be an initial influx of crowds, but presumably it'll settle down - just like the original Manchester Storm at the MEN Arena.
I didn't think in the KHL you have to make enough money to cover the bills
Not trying to be rude/cause conflict, but I've been following the KHL the last few years and not having the money and carrying on (after money comes from "somewhere" but it's not said where) is the norm.....at the end of this past season I believe (from KHL PA announcement) there were 9 teams with outstanding wages and 2 others with outstanding bonus payments (and it all got "fixed" but it's not said how....which is the norm from all I've seen)
Does Britain have any laws that would make information public?
Or would a British KHL team operate under the same conditions as the other KHL teams?
It will certainly require someone with very deep pockets to run this (which there are many of in London, I'm not sure how many are that interested in Hockey though), as London is very expensive city. Saying that, there is obviously a large potential with a large (and pretty wealthy) population nearby, good travel links, etc etc.
I am sceptical as to whether it will ever happen, however one club official did say that he was excited and "the people involved have the money and the experience". It sounds as though they will play out of the Wembley Arena, which requires some work to ensure it is suitable for Hockey. Firstly, there is no ice plant in the arena, and secondly, the floor is not suitable for hockey (something to do with the pipes). This has been a stumbling block for the EIHL (top British league) getting a team playing out of Wembley (it keeps getting announced as 'soon'), because they need to shut down the arena for a few days to work on the floor (I think the concrete is too thick, but I'm not sure). So far, the arena owners have not agreed to shutting down the arena. The arena is owned by AEG (who own a bunch of other teams, including LA Kings), so perhaps they are involved, and also Neil Black was previously involved. He is owner of 2 British clubs but I don't think he has the money to run a KHL team. He does have a lot of experience of running hockey, and is also on the board of the EHC. There might be some money coming in from some other sources (e.g.
http://www.wfblondon.co.uk/wfb-partners ... eague-khl/) but I've no idea.
With regards to the laws, I am no expert, but all companies have to file publicly viewable accounts. For example the accounts of Chelsea FC plc (this is a plc so might have different rules, but I'm ignoring that for the time being) can be found here:
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/comp ... ng-history (this possibly may only work from a UK IP address, I haven't checked). The majority of companies do not have to file such detailed accounts; if they can satisfy 2 of the following:
a turnover of £6.5 million or less
£3.26 million or less on its balance sheet
50 employees or less
then a company can file abbreviated accounts. These contain much more limited detail such as: Fixed Assets (But no details of these), Current Assets (again no details), Creditors (total, not individual), Capital. In the UK, hockey teams are often bankrolled by their owners who give the team a 'loan' (with very limited possibility of ever recovering that money), this would fall under Creditors (amount falling due after more than one year) and the total owed would be publicly available but probably no details of who actually paid this in.