Red Star Kunlun are due to begin on home ice against Russian side Admiral Vladivostok but doubts had been cast about the readiness of the LeSports Center in capital Beijing.

The venue, which was built to host basketball at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, will also host ice hockey when the city stages the Winter Games in 2022.

"Preparation of the arena is well underway," a club spokesman told RT.

"It is already perfectly set up for KHL matches of the highest level.

"Kunlun Red Star’s first match will take place at the LeSports Center and nowhere else." 

Red Star's first match in the KHL will be an away clash with Amur in Khabarovsk on September 1.

The introduction of the team has been hailed as a valuable opportunity to develop Chinese players ahead of Beijing 2022, in a league which mainly features Russian teams but also includes representation from Belarus, Croatia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Slovakia.

“I think it’s a good step before the 2022 Olympics in Beijing,” said International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) President René Fasel last month.

“Even if we don’t see a lot of Chinese players on that team right away, it’s a great promotion for the sport in Asia.

“A strong China helps to build a strong Asia and it’s good that the KHL is doing this."

China has been receiving support from ice hockey power the Czech Republic ahead of their Beijing Games, in a bid to improve at a winter sport in which they have never excelled.