There is money: Mikhail Degtyarev told what the government’s plans are for the Khabarovsk “Amur”

It is known that the governor of the Khabarovsk Territory loves sports, and is generally partial to fencing and hockey. No matter what, he heads the board of trustees of Amur. Even last season, it became noticeable that the hockey club that existed in the region was finally breathing deeply – a reform took place in the club’s management, and its financial recovery took place. Wage debts are a thing of the past, and most importantly, the budget has grown significantly.

This season the team allowed itself a lot of things that it could not afford in the past. The new head coach is a specialist who has proven more than once that he is capable of leading a team of any level to the playoffs. Top players for whom reaching the “race for survival” stage is far from their main task. Their level is the fight for “gold”. Well, the club was given appropriate tasks. One of them is to win the Gagarin Cup by 2026.

To say that the hockey community was excited when they heard about such prospects for Amur would be an understatement. A veritable ninth wave of skepticism, jokes and memes has risen online. How the “middle-class team” swung at the sacred. But as it turned out, the media noise was entirely part of the plans of both the club’s management and the regional leadership.

“In general, I have a normal attitude towards this reaction, even positive. It will be all the sweeter for us to see their sad faces. Perhaps there is a little provocation here to provoke everyone, it will not be harmful to anyone. But we set the task for the club in all seriousness, and together we are steadily moving towards it. You need to understand that without serious tasks, without a global goal, nothing will happen. You can invest billions, you can hire the best coaches and players, but without an idea there will never be a result. We have a clear idea – to be the best team in the KHL. If in Russian hockey we already have the best club in the country, SKA-Neftyanik, then in ice hockey we just have to do this,” Mikhail Degtyarev told the correspondent “Match TV”.

The governor also explained why the hype and memes are good not only for Amur, but also for the region as a whole.

“You know, I was pleased to look at all the memes that appeared after the announcement of “Strategy 2026.” Can you imagine the excitement we created just by talking about the club’s goal? Only through this statement did people in Russia learn that we have a developed region here, that in the Khabarovsk Territory they make combat aircraft, Superjets, corvettes, and mine gold. And now they know that sports are being actively developed in Khabarovsk. Let ordinary people chuckle, but we are successfully promoting our region, including through hockey. “Amur,” by the way, is one of our most important brands. I can tell you one secret: I set the club the task of opening a store with paraphernalia in the center of Moscow. And we will definitely do this, if not this year, then next. That is, in the capital it will be possible to buy merchandise with our Amur tiger in the place where there were recently boutiques of some Louis Vuitton or Yves Saint Laurent. We are considering Stoleshnikov Lane as a location,” shared head of the region.

As for finances, this has recently been the most sore spot for Amur. Surprisingly, to perform well in the KHL you need money, and not a little money. Now the club has them. But giving money is not enough; we must also ensure that it is used for its intended purpose.

“There is money. This is the first thing. Second: yes, the budget has grown, but slightly. The most important thing we have done is to increase the efficiency of spending funds. “Amur” learned to earn money himself. Last year alone, the club earned more than 125 million rubles from merchandise, season tickets, tickets, and various marketing stories. This is a record in the entire history of Khabarovsk hockey. The budget has grown due to new partners, you can see this from the advertising on the Amur form. Many people support us, but I am sure that from year to year the number of people willing to invest in hockey will only grow. Another important part of the budget is that we learned to save money by expelling all ineffective managers from Amur. I don’t want to offend anyone, but I had to disperse a lot of people in order for financial purity to come around the hockey club,” noted governor.

As for Amur’s not-so-distant goals, the main one is to confidently reach the playoffs, and not jump in at the last moment, as has happened a couple of times in the club’s history.

“Yes, we’ll make some noise in the playoffs. The goal has been set – for the team to enter the playoffs confidently, and not at the last moment. To do this, you need to finish the first half of the championship in the top three, so as not to catch up later. This is an intermediate task, for which we are also ready to thank both the coach and the players. The problem must be solved immediately, and, as they say, hit the tug. A good start on the road shows that this rather ambitious intermediate task is also feasible,” he emphasized Chairman of the club’s board of trustees.

The governor also said that a new hockey arena may appear in Khabarovsk – a place for it has already been chosen and this has nothing to do with the state of the Platinum Arena. We can talk more about construction after Amur wins the championship. Then Mikhail Degtyarev is sure there will definitely be no shortage of investors. Also taking advantage of the opportunity, the governor invited Viktor Lopatyuk, well known to hockey and volleyball fans, to Khabarovsk.

“For the “Platinum Arena” it is worth saying a huge thank you to Viktor Lopatyuk. This is an entrepreneur who built a palace with his own money and donated it to the region. You can see for yourself how well he built it: the arena has survived 20 years and is in perfect condition. And he will survive. Lopatyuk has now been abroad for a long time. Taking this opportunity, I would like to officially invite him here to Khabarovsk for hockey, he won’t have any problems here,” he promised governor.