SOCHI, Russia (AP) – Many Russians laughed when Sochi was selected to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. Not only was Sochi one of the warmest places in Russia, it also had no history of winter sports.
But against all odds, Sochi now boasts a professional ice hockey team and a steady following of fans who turn the otherwise deserted Olympic Park into the noisy, busy place it was a year ago during the games.
Russia spent a total of $51 billion on the Sochi Games, much of it on long-term infrastructure projects. Critics questioned the expediency of much of the spending and many fans and sports journalists inside Russia wondered what would happen to the gleaming arenas in a city where sub-zero temperatures make top news.
Russia’s glorious hockey history goes back to a time when millions of Soviet children spent weekends and evenings at outdoor skating rinks which dotted virtually every neighborhood. That was not the case in subtropical Sochi, with no hockey culture or pro team.
But now, fans are streaming to the Bolshoy Ice Dome – venue for the ice hockey tournament at the Sochi Games – to watch their own team: HC Sochi. The new team competes in the Kontinental Hockey League, the Russia-based league considered the world’s second-strongest after the NHL.