VHLE -- my 6 starting cities with an eye to expansion

[hockeyis66 143]

With the VHL now adding a 3^rd league which will strictly be in Europe, which cities would I choose to be the original 6 of the VHLE?  The cities cannot be the same ones that are currently in the VHL, but I am ok putting different cities in the same country between the two leagues.  I would also like to have a mix of current countries as well as sprinkling in new countries so that the league can continue to grow and reach different populations of the world with the idea of adding more new countries than existing.

 

My first two cities would be the Nordic duo of Oslo, Norway and Stockholm, Sweden.  They would create an instant rivalry in the league and add one new country in Norway while strengthening the VHL in Sweden to go along with the VHL’s Malmo club.  Oslo is already known for winter sports such as skiing and biathlon and the city already has an ice hockey arena in place.  Even though Norway is not a power house on the international hockey level, adding a team here would go a long way to developing the sport in the country.  Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and ice hockey is one of the most popular sports in the city.  They have hosted Olympic and Nordic Games throughout its history and is just a no-brainer choice to have a VHLE team.

 

For my next two cities, we will travel to the main land of Europe and add Berlin, Germany and Paris, France.  Berlin is the capital and biggest city of Germany and like Stockholm, have hosted major international sporting events throughout its history.  Berlin does have a team in the German Pro hockey league but adding a high profile team to the VHLE will only continue to grow the sport in Germany and make use of an arena already in place.  Paris is another capital city and is just such a major influence on the world’s sporting stage – hosting Olympics, World Cups, French Open and the last stage of the Tour de France – that adding a VHLE hockey team here seems like a natural fit and help to push France onto the world hockey stage as well.

 

The last two cities I will choose are also in new countries as well – Vienna, Austria and Budapest, Hungary.  Vienna is also a capital city and although it is more of a soccer city, this would be a great place to continue to grow the game of hockey in Europe.  Vienna has hosted Ice Hockey championships in the past and would give a great winter sport for the city to cheer during the soccer off season.  Vienna is very close to Budapest, surprise another capital city, that the two would more a natural rivalry as well too.  Like the other cities, Budapest has hosted many international and European championships in its history and not only can the city host a hockey team, it would be a great chance for the VHLE to expand into a non-traditional hockey country to expand the sport in Europe.

 

The VHLE should be very successful and the question on everyone’s mind would be expansion and where to go after these 6 cities.  Italy is the next logical choice and putting a team in Rome with its long international sports history and starting to add a more southern European city would only aid in the growth of the sport.  I would go east next and add Bucharest in Romania as my 8^th city to expand the VHLE to its most eastern city on the map.  This would also allow for two 4 team divisions:

 

VHLE North

Oslo, Stockholm, Berlin and Paris

 

VHLE South

Vienna, Budapest, Rome and Bucharest

 

Then looking to another two to four cities to get to a 12 team league -- Dublin, Madrid, Kiev, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, Amsterdam to name a few

[JB123 722]

Review: Great article, I liked how you first chose Original 6 franchises, then also included possible expansion teams. It was good how you formatted and divided topics to make it easier to read. Only suggestion is an image or two, but overall well done. 9/10