NHL hosts first preseason game in China, with plans to build hundreds of hockey arenas

Global Business

NHL hosts first preseason game in China, with plans to build hundreds of hockey arenas

While the players are focused on the ice tonight, the National Hockey League has set its sights on China – hoping to grow the sport there.

CGTN’s Karina Huber sat down with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman about how the NHL is growing in China.

In September, the NHL hosted its first preseason games in China, with the Los Angeles Kings playing the Vancouver Canucks in Beijing and Shanghai.

This is the first time the world’s top hockey league has played in China.
China has only 11-hundred registered hockey players but interest has been growing fast.

China plans to build hundreds of hockey arenas and set up grassroots programs, ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics.The NHL is only the latest major sports league, hoping to tap China and its 1.4 billion-person market.

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