800,000 Czech Koruna (US$45,000) are up for grabs in the 2009 Czech preseason hockey cup tournament, Tipsport Cup. As the financial crisis has tightened its grip on Czech hockey, this is not an insignificant amount of money. The tournament could be quite exciting.
Czech hockey has been severely affected by the financial crisis. Major budget cuts have been the order of the day as the Extraliga and 1. Liga teams prepare for the 2009/10 season. It has been estimated that the total budget savings made since the beginning of 2009 amount to CZK 172 mio. (about US$10 mio.), or twice the average budgets of the teams in the Extraliga. HC Liberec will make the biggest budget cuts as the management of the club has been forced to slice 1/3 of the club's budget, a reduction amounting to no less than CZK50 mio. The two powerhouses of the capital, Prague, Sparta and Slavia plans budget cuts of around 20-25 percent. The expenditure cuts will primarily be made on player salaries, staff cost, and, sadly, on youth hockey. The loss of sponsors and inability to attract new sponsors are primarily responsible for the crisis. In this situation, winning the Tipsport Cup will provide a nice supplementary income for many teams.
The 2009 Tipsport Cup is the 7th edition of Czech preseason cup tournament. Last year, Kometa Brno, then a 1. Liga (second tier) team, won the cup after an exciting 5-4 victory over Znojmo. On a sidenote, Kometa bought Znojmo's Extraliga license after the 2008/09 season, and Znojmo has now become a farm team of Kometa.
This year, the prize money of the Tipsport Cup has been raised to around CZK 3 mio. Each of the 20 teams (the 14 Extraliga teams and 6 1. Liga teams) will collect CZK100,000 for participating. The two finalists will be awarded CZK200,000 for reaching the finals and the winner of Tipsport Cup will in addition to the trophy be awarded CZK500,000.
The 20 teams are divided into four groups with five teams in each group. The winners of the groups qualify for the semifinals. Six of the games (incl. the two semifinals and the final) will be broadcasted on Czech TV. The first game to be broadcasted will be on 10 August when HC Pardubice takes on Slavia Praha in a classic Nothern Bohemia matchup. In this game, the fans will get an opportunity to watch Dominik Hasek's, the legendary goaltender, return to Czech hockey.
TIPSPORT CUP 2009
Group A: Sparta Praha, HC Plzeň, HC Mountfield České Budějovice, KLH Chomutov (CZE-1), HC VCES Hradec Králové (CZE-1)
GROUP B: HC Litvínov, BK Mladá Boleslav, HC Energie Karlovy Vary, HC Liberec, HC Slovan Ústečtí Lvi (CZE-1)
GROUP C: HC Slavia Praha, HC Kladno, HC Pardubice, HC Dukla Jihlava (CZE-1), HC Vrchlabí (CZE-1)
GROUP D: HC Vítkovice Steel, HC Oceláři Třinec, HC Kometa Brno, PSG Zlín, HC Znojemští Orl (CZE-1)
SCHEDULE
1st round - 4.8.2009
HC Plzeň – HC VCES Hradec Králové, 17:00
HC MOUNTFIELD – KLH Chomutov, 17:30
BK Mladá Boleslav – HC Slovan Ústečtí Lvi, 17:30
HC Energie Karlovy Vary – Bílí Tygři Liberec, 18:00
HC GEUS OKNA Kladno – HC Vrchlabí, 17:30
HC Eaton Pardubice – HC Dukla Jihlava, (7.8.), 18:00
HC Oceláři Třinec – PSG Zlín, 17:00
HC Znojemští Orli – HC Kometa Brno, 17:30
2st round - 6.8.2009
HC VCES Hradec Králové – HC MOUNTFIELD, 18:00
HC Sparta Praha – HC Plzeň, 17:30
HC Slovan Ústečtí Lvi – HC Energie Karlovy Vary, 18:00
HC Litvínov – BK Mladá Boleslav, 17:30
HC Vrchlabí – HC Eaton Pardubice, 18:00
HC Slavia Praha – HC GEUS OKNA Kladno, 17:30 (Eden)
PSG Zlín – HC Znojemští Orli, 17:00
HC Vítkovice Steel – HC Oceláři Třinec, 17:00
3st round - 11.8.2009
HC MOUNTFIELD – HC Sparta Praha, 17:30
KLH Chomutov – HC VCES Hradec Králové, 17:30
HC Energie Karlovy Vary – HC Litvínov. (17.8.), 18:00
Bílí Tygři Liberec – HC Slovan Ústečtí Lvi, 17:00
HC Eaton Pardubice – HC Slavia Praha, (10.8.), 18:00
HC Dukla Jihlava – HC Vrchlabí, 18:00
HC Znojemští Orli – HC Vítkovice Steel, 17:30
HC Kometa Brno – PSG Zlín, 18:00 (Prostějov)
4st round - 13.8.2009
HC Sparta Praha – KLH Chomutov, 18:00
HC Plzeň – HC MOUNTFIELD, 17:00
HC Litvínov – Bílí Tygři Liberec, (7.8.), 17:30
BK Mladá Boleslav – HC Energie Karlovy Vary, 17:30
HC Slavia Praha – HC Dukla Jihlava, 17:30 (Eden)
HC GEUS OKNA Kladno – HC Eaton Pardubice (21.8.), 17:30
HC Vítkovice Steel – HC Kometa Brno, 17:00
HC Oceláři Třinec – HC Znojemští Orli, 17:00
5st round - 18.8.2009
KLH Chomutov – HC Plzeň, 17:30
HC VCES Hradec Králové – HC Sparta Praha, 18:00
Bílí Tygři Liberec – BK Mladá Boleslav. (14.8.), 17:00
HC Slovan Ústečtí Lvi – HC Litvínov (19.8.), 18:00
HC Dukla Jihlava – HC GEUS OKNA Kladno, 18:00
HC Vrchlabí – HC Slavia Praha, 18:00
HC Kometa Brno– HC Oceláři Třinec, 18:00 (Blansko)
PSG Zlín – HC Vítkovice Steel, 17:00
Semifinal
1st semifinal: 25.8.2009: A1 – B1
2nd semifinal: 26.8.2009: C1 – D1
Final
1.9.2009
PAST WINNERS
2008 - HC Kometa Brno
2007 - HC Moeller Pardubice
2006 - Cup cancelled
2005 - Cup cancelled
2004 - Cup cancelled
2003 - HC Znojemští Orli
2002 - HC Litvínov
2001 - HC Sparta Praha
2000 - HC České Budějovice |
