Totally lost? We’ll catch you up.
See, Washington DC’s hockey team, the Capitals, are in the NHL playoffs this week, and last night they played the Tampa Bay Lightning at home at 8pm.
Only problem is, DC’s Metrorail stops running at 11:30pm, which means Caps fans are cutting it close if they wanna make it home after the game.
Enter the Qatari government, apparent dark horse saint of hockey goons, who reportedly swooped in with a $100k lifeline to keep the Metro running an hour later for the game.
Explain.
Metro has partnered with private companies for sporting events in the past, and Qatar has been heavily invested in DC’s infrastructure since around 2010, when they put up $650m to revamp DC’s convention center.
In other words, they were likely on the short list of contacts for a quick cash infusion.
And, according to public records Qatar is currently in the midst of a $5m PR campaign to diversify their relationship with the US beyond energy and defense.
‘Diversify’ has been Qatar’s motto for over the past decade
Created in 2005, the tiny country’s sovereign investment fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, now manages about $338B in assets — including media, sports, and real estate investments across the UK, France, Singapore, and America.
And when you’re the world’s wealthiest country per capita, you can afford some extra bus fare.
