Quebec earmarks up to $7M to bring Los Angeles Kings to provincial capital for visit

The Los Angeles Kings will showcase part of their training camp and play two pre-season games at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City next year.

The team will stay in Old Quebec from Oct. 2 to Oct. 6, and this, thanks to a provincial government subsidy worth between $5 and $7 million.

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard announced the plan during a news conference Tuesday, arguing the government often backs comparable events such as the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal or Mosaïcultures, a horticulture exhibit that has cropped up in different cities.

Girard said the hockey event will cost up to $10 million total, but it will generate revenue. 

"I have the benefit of seeing all the subsidies that the government grants to sports and cultural events, and I can confirm that we are in the right order of magnitude," he said.

Gestev, the organizer of the event and the recipient of the subsidy, is a property of Quebecor.

Martin Tremblay, head of Gestev and chief operating officer of Quebecor's sports and entertainment division, said it was the Quebec government that launched the initiative. 

Tremblay said it is a privilege to host an organization like the Kings for the last week of training camp.

The province's opposition parties were quick to call a penalty.

"The CAQ is passing the puck to the NHL rather than to the people who are struggling. Yes, I love hockey. But not at this price," said Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesperson for Québec Solidaire, on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The CAQ says it lacks money for public sector workers, but it gives up to $7 million to NHL millionaires, he added.

"Quebecers really like hockey, but they would also like to have a government with a sense of priorities," he said.

Joël Arseneau, a member