China
Cavaliers' Chinese stockholder purchases domestic club
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-24 19:52
CHANGCHUN, Northeast China - Chinese financier Huang Jianhua has bought the Jilin Northeast Tigers basketball club in his latest move to build a sports empire.
"The Northeast Tigers is a good team and players like Yu Shulong and Zhong Cheng impressed me a lot. I hope they could return to the elite club in near future," said Huang after the signing ceremony on Tuesday.
Huang, 46, shot into the U.S. sports headlines with a successful bid to buy a stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers in May. He followed that with a deal enlisting the help of Major League Baseball in setting up a youth league in China.
Huang told reporters that he plans to bring NBA management and operation model to the Northeast Tigers in order to relieve the team's financial stress.
He also disclosed that he would hire NBA star guard Steve Nash's trainer to help coach the Northeast Tigers.
The Jilin team, founded in 1956, won the national champion in 1984. It finished 13th in the 18-team CBA league last season.
