Ticket/Attendance Discussion: The Sequel

[The Blue Baron]

Yup indeed. During second period action Vs LA and the Refs.

 

[White Out 902]

Yikes.

It wont be long before this is on sportsnet.ca or tsn.ca for people to start saying Winnipeg cant afford the NHL

 

[blueandgoldguy]

I wonder how much Chipman boosted his corporate season ticket base this off season? Wasn't it something like 15% of all season tickets sold?

Meanwhile the Bombers are on the verge of selling out their 4th straight game.

 

[Zippity]

 

[DeepFrickinValue]

Yup indeed. During second period action Vs LA and the Refs.

View attachment 754149

A Blue-out would hide those seats.

 

[The Blue Baron]

A Blue-out would hide those seats.

Only the Rough Riders pull those stupid tricks.

 

[jetsv2]

Yikes.

It wont be long before this is on sportsnet.ca or tsn.ca for people to start saying Winnipeg cant afford the NHL

They were almost 4000 tickets short of a sellout in the 2nd home game of a season. There is a point where the attendance becomes a very legitimate concern.

 

[White Out 902]

They were almost 4000 tickets short of a sellout in the 2nd home game of a season. There is a point where the attendance becomes a very legitimate concern.

Frankly I think after tonight we're already there

 

[jetsv2]

Frankly I think after tonight we're already there

To me, not selling out a Saturday home opener was a much bigger red flag but I agree that they clearly have an even bigger problem on their hands than we thought after last year.

 

[MarkWheeler]

I wonder how much Chipman boosted his corporate season ticket base this off season? Wasn't it something like 15% of all season tickets sold?

Meanwhile the Bombers are on the verge of selling out their 4th straight game.

The difference in quality of ownership/ management from the Jets to the Bombers is mind blowing.

 

[gojetsgo]

I will never understand why people bringing up the bombers attendance when talking about the jets, completely different leagues and situations, makes zero sense to compare the two

 

[blueandgoldguy]

I guess those vague threats in that off-season video didn't make much of an impact?

I will never understand why people bringing up the bombers attendance when talking about the jets, completely different leagues and situations, makes zero sense to compare the two

Its sports entertainment. Pretty easy to compare.

 

[jetsv2]

I guess those vague threats in that off-season video didn't make much of an impact?




Its sports entertainment. Pretty easy to compare.

I'm starting to think those threats came from a place of desperation. They knew how many season ticket renewals they had at that point, they knew how bad attendance was likely going to be to start this year and they panicked.

 

[gojetsgo]

I guess those vague threats in that off-season video didn't make much of an impact?




Its sports entertainment. Pretty easy to compare.

how many home games do each team play a year?
how much does it cost to go to each leagues game?
how many teams are in each league?

 

[jungles]

Have been saying for years as soon as I have trouble offloading the games I can't go to, I was done with season tickets. We are here.

 

[jetsv2]

Have been saying for years as soon as I have trouble offloading the games I can't go to, I was done with season tickets. We are here.

I hit that point in 2018-19 and gave up my tickets after 19-20. I was having trouble some nights giving away tickets to friends and family if I couldn't attend in 19-20.

Really didn't help that when I enquired about getting out of my agreement a year early the immediate and only response from my ticket rep was to tell me they would take me to court if I tried to break it early.

 

[None]

The difference in quality of ownership/ management from the Jets to the Bombers is mind blowing.

I'm reminded of all the tonedeaf responses that the Jets PR has put out over the years when they've been asked about gameday experience improvements. You'd think they'd have learned not to put their feet in their mouths by now but the marketing drive last year proved they haven't learned a single thing.

Anyone remember in like 2013(?) when Scott Brown, the director of communications was asked about on-ice projection? His blithe response was that the Jets basically didn't need to do anything to keep fans, that the on-ice product was enough. The casual indifference to a suggestion of improving the product should've been appalling to anyone and it was coming from the guy paid to specifically not put his foot in his mouth when representing the team's views.

 

[Zippity]

11226 tonight attended

 

[White Out 902]

I'm starting to think those threats came from a place of desperation. They knew how many season ticket renewals they had at that point, they knew how bad attendance was likely going to be to start this year and they panicked.

Yeah but do you really think you're going to get far by threatening people? I think most people reacted the way I did when they saw those videos. Shock, insult, and our defenses went up big time.

 

[The Blue Baron]

Have been saying for years as soon as I have trouble offloading the games I can't go to, I was done with season tickets. We are here.

Same here. I still do the $50 per game share partner package half season. It is only a five game commitment but I could not go tonight because I am ill and the ticket got wasted because I could not find a single person to take it.

 

[jetsv2]

Yeah but do you really think you're going to get far by threatening people? I think most people reacted the way I did when they saw those videos. Shock, insult, and our defenses went up big time.

They threatened to sue me if I didn't renew for the last year of my ticket agreement after the 18-19 season, threats is just how they do business with their fans.

 

[The Blue Baron]

Yeah but do you really think you're going to get far by threatening people? I think most people reacted the way I did when they saw those videos. Shock, insult, and our defenses went up big time.

It will be a very interesting case study to see when and if they go down that route in advertisements again?

 

[None]

They threatened to sue me if I didn't renew for the last year of my ticket agreement after the 18-19 season, threats is just how they do business with their fans.

Y'know a ticket agreement is a contract to buy tickets, right? You already agreed to pay that last year when you signed the ticket agreement. You're not supposed to be able to unilaterally exit a contract.

 

[blueandgoldguy]

how many home games do each team play a year?
how much does it cost to go to each leagues game?
how many teams are in each league?

It doesn't matter. Someone might decide to go to two bomber games instead of one Jet game for the same amount of money. Someone might decide to buy a hundred dollar ticket to sit at the 10 - 20 yard line at a bomber game or pay that same hundred dollar ticket for an upper deck ticket between the blue lines at a Jet game etc etc.

If someone enjoys both the CFL and the NHL and has a limited discretionary budget, they may very well decide to go with the team that has been the best in their respective league the past 3 years....versus the team that appears to be treading water the past 3 - 4 seasons.

 

[White Out 902]

It will be a very interesting case study to see when and if they go down that route in advertisements again?

When I think about all the Goodwill that true north had and the buzz and excitement the Jets had. They actually kind of makes me sad. I don't blame ownership for all this I think there's obviously some financial hardship that people are going through and I think a lot of people are just fed up with the team not doing very well. I have a very complicated thoughts on this that I don't think I could really Express fully by talking to my phone like this. I think if I had to measure it up something like 50% to the blame would go to ownership. I hear a lot of stories about how ownership treats our season ticket holders like shit and when you see all the things that American teams do for their season ticket holders it's hard not to shake your head a little bit.

I also am amazed at how little things like the fact that at the airport there's no giant Winnipeg Jets advertisement there by the carousel anymore. We don't have Sports Talk Radio we don't have post game talk radio. I worry that the team is slipping out of the consciousness of the city a little bit. You can't just build that kind of excitement and rapport with your fan base overnight. Believe me it's so much easier to retain a customer than to make a new one. And it breaks my heart to see True North having broken so many relationships. Just look at the Forum that we're on right now there's so little activity compared to what used to be.

But the end of the day there has to be some accountability from us as the customers too. Either we want the NHL or we don't. I remember what it was like to lose the first Jets and it was absolutely heartbreaking and devastating to the city. For the people that don't go anymore because they don't want to support a team and that's the more successful on the ice I got to tell you, that's a sure-fire recipe to have the team be gone. People who can't afford to go anymore that's one thing and I'm not shitting on those people. But I do question folks that don't want to spend their money because they don't think the team is good enough for going in right direction. You can't base your decision to buy tickets and support the team based on what's happening on the ice, we just don't have enough population to get away with that.

And then of course there is things like covid and inflation and that seems to be hitting some markets more than others. Buffalo has shit attendance tonight but let's be real Buffalo hasn't had a good hockey team since, what Hasek? And no one is ever going to consider Buffalo as a candidate for relocation. The sad fact is that people are going point to us and they are going to shit on us and right now I can see it coming from a mile away. Philly has no problem with attendance tonight, Nashville.

I think it's a shame and I don't really have a lot of solutions, I'm really worried that we're way too far down the track already. As I said before in this rambling post of mine, it's incredibly easy to lose a customer and very difficult to get them back. True north and a lot of Canadian owners have taken their customers for granted and treated them as if they are a given or they were entitled to our money. We didn't sell out game one on a Saturday night, and there's 4,000 empty seats in game 2. At this point every Jet fan should be deeply concerned about the commitment of our city to our team. Ownership absolutely owns a massive part of this and I'm willing to give them the lion share of blame. But we have to ask ourselves do we want the NHL or not?

And this is to say nothing about our Blue Bombers who are very successful organization who treat their fans well and have a very good game to experience, but are playing in a league that people keep saying is dying too. The idea that in 10 years from now there is a not horribly unrealistic chance that the bombers and jets won't exist anymore kind of makes me want to vomit.