On the cusp of the Winter Olympics in Milan, City News has been hearing about a London ice-hockey club’s remarkable fight to survive.
The London Dragons, originally the team for University of London, train at the Lee Valley Ice Centre in Clapton. They are the most awarded university Ice Hockey team in the UK.
Ice Hockey specifically is seeing a rise in support, with 1.3 million tickets being sold for matches in 2025, according to new research by Two Circles. This contributed to a new annual UK sport attendance record of nearly 80 million.
Inside the locker room
Despite last year’s national rise in attendance and their own successes in the university leagues, following COVID the Dragons have been struggling to keep their teams active due to increasing costs.
On a LinkedIn post, the team stated that membership and commitment to the team can cost each player anywhere between £1,100 and £2,000. The cost to run one team for a single season is mounting to £25,000.
City News went behind the scenes at their most recent training session to chat to the team about their sporting community and their financial hardships.
Artem wearing hockey gear and Dragons’ jersey
Artem Meshcherin, captain of the A team, has been playing ice hockey since he was five. He topped the league last season with 25 points and 14 goals.
“It’s great that we are building a community here in London, people come from all over the place, but we are sharing a passion for the same sport.”
He claims that this season is looking positive in terms of audience attendance: “we have only had one home game, so it’s tough to say right now. But we are definitely trying to make it [the sport] more visible, on university campuses etc.”
Patrick Chapman, one of the players, says: “compared to last season there is an uptake in attendance. It is not huge, but there are good signs.”
“I was not expecting there to be hockey at all here. It has been cool to connect with people from back home. But also, people from Eastern Europe, and the Netherlands, and other countries.”
Artem adds, “It is pretty incredible. London is full of recreational and semi-professional teams. It’s great to see such interest in the sport. There is a lot of potential.”
London Dragons’ white jersey
The team had no choice but to find new income streams when their funding was cut in 2020 due to COVID.
The University of London provided three options for clubs and societies; transfer the club to a different student union, set up charities or close the club.
They recognised the ‘restrictions’ and ‘difficulties experienced’ for students during the pandemic.
Michael D’Aprix, President of the Dragons, says it’s been a struggle to survive: “We have worked with some of our alumni and the University to set up three different charities to keep the team alive. Before COVID, we were going to have five teams and over 100 players.”
Artem claims, “We are looking at more ways to fundraise. We just want to grow the club.”
It’s hoped the newly-formed charities – UL Ice Hockey Trust, Friends of the London Dragons and the London Ice Hockey Trust – will subsidise some costs and help the teams afford basics such as jerseys, ice-time, and referees.
If national attendance trends continue locally, then perhaps the London Dragons will continue to thrive and winning titles.
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HeadlineAre the London Dragons losing their fire?
Short HeadlineAre the London Dragons losing their fire?
StandfirstRising costs are putting the club on thin ice.
On the cusp of the Winter Olympics in Milan, City News has been hearing about a London ice-hockey club’s remarkable fight to survive.
The London Dragons, originally the team for University of London, train at the Lee Valley Ice Centre in Clapton. They are the most awarded university Ice Hockey team in the UK.
Ice Hockey specifically is seeing a rise in support, with 1.3 million tickets being sold for matches in 2025, according to new research by Two Circles. This contributed to a new annual UK sport attendance record of nearly 80 million.
Inside the locker room
Despite last year’s national rise in attendance and their own successes in the university leagues, following COVID the Dragons have been struggling to keep their teams active due to increasing costs.
On a LinkedIn post, the team stated that membership and commitment to the team can cost each player anywhere between £1,100 and £2,000. The cost to run one team for a single season is mounting to £25,000.
City News went behind the scenes at their most recent training session to chat to the team about their sporting community and their financial hardships.
Artem wearing hockey gear and Dragons’ jersey
Artem Meshcherin, captain of the A team, has been playing ice hockey since he was five. He topped the league last season with 25 points and 14 goals.
“It’s great that we are building a community here in London, people come from all over the place, but we are sharing a passion for the same sport.”
He claims that this season is looking positive in terms of audience attendance: “we have only had one home game, so it’s tough to say right now. But we are definitely trying to make it [the sport] more visible, on university campuses etc.”
Patrick Chapman, one of the players, says: “compared to last season there is an uptake in attendance. It is not huge, but there are good signs.”
“I was not expecting there to be hockey at all here. It has been cool to connect with people from back home. But also, people from Eastern Europe, and the Netherlands, and other countries.”
Artem adds, “It is pretty incredible. London is full of recreational and semi-professional teams. It’s great to see such interest in the sport. There is a lot of potential.”
London Dragons’ white jersey
The team had no choice but to find new income streams when their funding was cut in 2020 due to COVID.
The University of London provided three options for clubs and societies; transfer the club to a different student union, set up charities or close the club.
They recognised the ‘restrictions’ and ‘difficulties experienced’ for students during the pandemic.
Michael D’Aprix, President of the Dragons, says it’s been a struggle to survive: “We have worked with some of our alumni and the University to set up three different charities to keep the team alive. Before COVID, we were going to have five teams and over 100 players.”
Artem claims, “We are looking at more ways to fundraise. We just want to grow the club.”
It’s hoped the newly-formed charities – UL Ice Hockey Trust, Friends of the London Dragons and the London Ice Hockey Trust – will subsidise some costs and help the teams afford basics such as jerseys, ice-time, and referees.
If national attendance trends continue locally, then perhaps the London Dragons will continue to thrive and winning titles.
