Comic Actor Eyes Football

Zhao Benshan, a well-known Chinese comedian, will invest in a piece of land for the Liaoning Football Club's training, and details of the deal will be revealed at a news briefing June 8.

Being a native of northeastern China's Liaoning Province, Zhao successfully made and starred in a lot of comic shows based on ordinary life in northeastern China.

In March, Zhao obtained a land grant from the government and planned to launch a movie production base in Shenyang, the capital city of Liaoning Province.

Since the land was much bigger than the base, and the government said the rest of the land could only be used for educational purposes, Zhao decided to find partners to explore possible business arrangements.

Xu Ming, a bigwig of Chinese football circles and president of Dalian Shide Group Ltd., then introduced Zhao to the leaders of the Liaoning Football Club and both sides agreed in April to cooperate.

According to a source close to the negotiations, Zhao's investment would be as much as 10 million yuan (US$1.21 million) and in return, the club would give Zhao a 5 percent stake.

"I am a fan of Liaoning Football and have deep passion for it. I hope the team will be stronger in the future," said Zhao.

Currently the club does not have its own training base and Zhao's investment will undoubtedly provide a great support for the China Super League team.

However, what the club really wants is not only the land but also Zhao's fame. The club believes that the comedian's status will help to attract sponsorship.

Obviously, the investment in football, as well as the media's coverage, will generate commercial benefits for Zhao's movie base.

"My career still rests on stage and the audience will see me in the next year's Spring Festival gala," said Zhao.

(stardaily)

comedian: 喜剧演员

bigwig: 要人；大人物