Full disclosure: I'm considered poor (been on disability for years) and have only been to a half-dozen Jets games since they came back (all free givaways) Anyway, my (sorry, long-winded!) take on the Jets' dwindling attendance:
Back in May of 2011, I remember all the people gathered at The Forks for the big announcement of the NHL's return to Winnipeg, plus the subsequent celebrations at Portage & Main, later that day. A lot of 20-something "bros" there that day, full of energy, passion, and more importantly, disposable income. The speed in which the team sold all those season tickets was impressive, though not unexpected (except maybe by Bettman!
) We seemed to feel that there was no way we'd lose an NHL franchise a 2nd time.
Fast-forward 8-9 years later. Those 20-something bros are now in their 30's. A lot of them presumably are married, and perhaps with kids as well. Games for them were suddenly a lot tougher to go to, especially weekday games, not to mention extra strain on the family budget. I had neighbors who bought a pair of season tickets back in 2011. Both still work, but age, family commitments, and a few health concerns caught up with them. They would ask various friends, neighbors, and co-workers if they'd want to take a few game tickets off their hands, and there were few takers, again, for the same above reasons. My neighbors felt sorry for my poverty-stricken situation and treated me to those above-mentioned games (BTW, those were tickets that he couldn't find buyers for). My neighbor said that the requirement to make a 3-year commitment for season tickets, combined with the Covid after-effects, kinda spooked them to returning and being around big crowds, and they didn't renew.
The loss of so many defencemen in a short time frame (Byfuglien, Trouba, etc) decimated the quality of the on-ice product. Combined with the pandemic, PoMo quitting, the team missing the playoffs that season, the questionable treatment of season ticket holders by True North, this past seasons' playoff collapse vs. Vegas, not to mention the rapidly rising cost of living, etc, etc, all combined for the perfect storm of unsold tickets/season ticket non-renewals that we see nowadays.
I don't know what the solution is. Perhaps (pipe dreams here) True North may have to show signs of contrition, perhaps even an apology to fans for their taking them for granted all these years. Also, maybe (again, dreaming) TNSE could admit that their recent tone deaf effort to beg fans to buy tickets (combined with a thinly-veiled threat of the team leaving for a 2nd time) was a big mistake. And (ridiculous pipe dream) maybe convince Daddy Warbucks Thomson (net worth: $52 Billion) to subsidize a noticeable reduction in season and walk-up ticket prices for a couple of years, just long enough so they can right the ship. In the meantime, all Chipman & Chevy will have to do is put a team on the ice that shows fans that at least they'll work hard and show up to compete every night (plus improve the game day experience), and fans will return in bigger numbers. We're a blue-collar city. We want something of value in return for our hard-earned dollars. We'd like to think that players will at least put the effort in and try their best in order to justify their paychecks that are certainly out of reach for fans like you and me. Whatever the solution, I think if TSNE keeps ignoring the situation, the long term result could be that we'll be saying goodbye to an NHL franchise for a 2nd time, and then the d-bag fans in Toronto and Montreal will NEVER let us forget it. That'd be almost as bad as losing the team.
Just my $0.02 worth
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