Ticket/Attendance Discussion: The Sequel

[Brominator]

Attendance goes up and down with lots of NHL teams. We had 10+ years where it was essentially fully packed every night, and we got used to that. But it wasn't going to last forever. Lots of factors contribute to the softer attendance recently.

This isn't unique to the Jets. Last night, San Jose had 10400 (60 of capacity) and Buffalo had 12600 (67% of capacity). Do those teams have threads obsessing over their team's attendance with frequent reference to "they'll be moving to Houston"? Nope.

We have an arena and stable ownership. I know we're sensitive because we lost our team once, but people should just take a breath.

 

[Jets 31]

I'm not so sure about that. Ticket prices between the two are broadly comparable and people certainly seem to be voting with their dollars. Maybe the Jets could learn a lesson or two from the Bombers?

You sound like you work for TNSE with your entitlement and disregard for the public's tastes.

The Bombers are well run, no doubt about it but cost wise you can't compare the 2 for season tickets, it's just not even in the same ballpark.

 

[jetsmooseice]

The Bombers are well run, no doubt about it but cost wise you can't compare the 2 for season tickets, it's just not even in the same ballpark.

I'm talking about on an individual game basis. Obviously the Jets season ticket costs more because there are 4x the games for hockey.

sipowicz was trying to make it sound like the only reason the Bombers were selling out is because they charge peanuts for tickets which is obviously not the case. Either way, 2 Jets tickets or two Bomber tickets, you're looking at around a couple hundred bucks on average. Slightly more for the Jets, especially if you want to sit in the 100s. But people don't seem to hesitate to buy the Bomber tickets. Why is that? As someone who has been to a lot of Jets and Bomber games in the past year, I can pretty confidently say that the entertainment value of the Bomber games is generally higher. There is a party atmosphere at Bomber games that simply does not exist at Jets games. Jets games are a relentless barrage of classic rock and being screamed at by the host and PA announcer at every break.

 

[jungles]

I'm talking about on an individual game basis. Obviously the Jets season ticket costs more because there are 4x the games for hockey.

sipowicz was trying to make it sound like the only reason the Bombers were selling out is because they charge peanuts for tickets which is obviously not the case. Either way, 2 Jets tickets or two Bomber tickets, you're looking at around a couple hundred bucks on average. Slightly more for the Jets, especially if you want to sit in the 100s. But people don't seem to hesitate to buy the Bomber tickets. Why is that? As someone who has been to a lot of Jets and Bomber games in the past year, I can pretty confidently say that the entertainment value of the Bomber games is generally higher. There is a party atmosphere at Bomber games that simply does not exist at Jets games. Jets games are a relentless barrage of classic rock and being screamed at by the host and PA announcer at every break.

Those dancers the Jets have are so cringe.

 

[rkp]

I'm talking about on an individual game basis. Obviously the Jets season ticket costs more because there are 4x the games for hockey.

sipowicz was trying to make it sound like the only reason the Bombers were selling out is because they charge peanuts for tickets which is obviously not the case. Either way, 2 Jets tickets or two Bomber tickets, you're looking at around a couple hundred bucks on average. Slightly more for the Jets, especially if you want to sit in the 100s. But people don't seem to hesitate to buy the Bomber tickets. Why is that? As someone who has been to a lot of Jets and Bomber games in the past year, I can pretty confidently say that the entertainment value of the Bomber games is generally higher. There is a party atmosphere at Bomber games that simply does not exist at Jets games. Jets games are a relentless barrage of classic rock and being screamed at by the host and PA announcer at every break.

throw in the fact the stadium holds 30 000 plus seats and there have a good number of sellouts over the past number of seasons, the BB s have been doing their homework

 

[tacogeoff]

This is a lie I wish people will be more honest ones for him about things instead of just trying to win arguments by making sweeping and stupid generalizations

its not really a lie if your looking historically. there is an ebb and flow to the bombers historical average of attendance. Between 85 and 2011 there has been some deeper valleys but people still go. I guess it depends what the posters definition of attracting flies are lol.

Winnipeg All-Time Attendance on CFLdb Statistics

All-time attendance analysis for the Winnipeg.

stats.cfldb.ca

 

[Royale With Cheese]

The Bombers and Jets are really two very different franchises competing for your sports dollars

Bombers
-9 games
-Relatively cheap tickets
-Outdoors, in summer, when tons of people are on vacation
-At U of M which is away from downtown
-Party atmosphere


Jets
-41 games
-Relatively expensive tickets
-Boring in game experiences (pee wee kids teams skating around at intermission or grandmas trying to shoot pucks into an empty net from centre ice. Is this really the best TNSE can do after 12 years?)
-It's really cold outside in winter
-Downtown is an area many people now avoid
-The novelty is slowing wearing off

What is happening at Moose games? Is their attendance dropping so far this season?

 

[SCP Guy]

What are you people complaining about? Enjoy the extra leg room folks! 8 fans in my row of 20....fan empty seat fan empty seat fan empty seat fan empty seat fan empty seat fan empty seat fan empty seat fan empty seat ....

I felt like a big shot

 

[DeepFrickinValue]

https://x.com/mikemcintyrewpg/status/1714471052716253447?s=46&t=paDJcniUSC1howX2z36kKg

 

[DannyGallivan]

Attendance goes up and down with lots of NHL teams. We had 10+ years where it was essentially fully packed every night, and we got used to that. But it wasn't going to last forever. Lots of factors contribute to the softer attendance recently.

This isn't unique to the Jets. Last night, San Jose had 10400 (60 of capacity) and Buffalo had 12600 (67% of capacity). Do those teams have threads obsessing over their team's attendance with frequent reference to "they'll be moving to Houston"? Nope.

We have an arena and stable ownership. I know we're sensitive because we lost our team once, but people should just take a breath.

The most obvious reason is inflation. How much more do you pay (I mean this for everyone) for groceries than you did three years ago ? How about gas? Mortgage? And I doubt that your wages have even come close to keeping pace. Meanwhile, the cost to go to a Jets game is like an anniversary dinner at a fine restaurant… or more depending where your seats are.

Money for food, mortgage, etc has to come from somewhere. People are forced to cut back.

 

[jetsmooseice]

Bombers
-Relatively cheap tickets

Jets
-Relatively expensive tickets

Here we go again with the cheap tickets thing. It just sounds like an excuse. "Welllll the Bombers draw fans because their tickets are cheap."

But they're more comparable than you think. Walkup tickets for the next Bomber game vs. Edmonton range between $33-$181. Walkup tickets for the next Jets game vs. Vegas range between $66-$280. BUT... unlike with Bomber games there are tons of resale tickets for Jets games for as low as $30 a pop depending on the game, and they aren't getting snapped up. Back in 2011-12 people would have jumped at the chance to buy 300-level seats at $40... now few bother to buy them. I assume the STHs that own them just go instead, or they go unused.

This speaks to very soft demand. I know this myself because as a former STH it became increasingly difficult over the years to resell tickets I couldn't use. It got to the point where the only games I could hope to actually make a few bucks on as opposed to selling at a loss were the Leafs and Habs. And that's two games a season.

 

[tbcwpg]

throw in the fact the stadium holds 30 000 plus seats and there have a good number of sellouts over the past number of seasons, the BB s have been doing their homework

I still don't think there's a comparison. It's CFL salaries, CFL travel, CFL accommodation. Shorter season, fewer games, etc etc.

Don't get me wrong, I think they've done a good job building Goodwill with the fans but I haven't been to a Bombers game and felt "Wow if only the Jets had the Rum Hut they'd pack more people in!"

People dismiss their record as less of a factor but its certainly up there. Winning is more fun to watch than losing.

 

[pegcity]

Lower the ticket prices and win games will solve the attendance problems.

I think we've reached the point in the franchise where we are no longer a cap team every year.

 

[surixon]

Here we go again with the cheap tickets thing. It just sounds like an excuse. "Welllll the Bombers draw fans because their tickets are cheap."

But they're more comparable than you think. Walkup tickets for the next Bomber game vs. Edmonton range between $33-$181. Walkup tickets for the next Jets game vs. Vegas range between $66-$280. BUT... unlike with Bomber games there are tons of resale tickets for Jets games for as low as $30 a pop depending on the game, and they aren't getting snapped up. Back in 2011-12 people would have jumped at the chance to buy 300-level seats at $40... now few bother to buy them. I assume the STHs that own them just go instead, or they go unused.

This speaks to very soft demand. I know this myself because as a former STH it became increasingly difficult over the years to resell tickets I couldn't use. It got to the point where the only games I could hope to actually make a few bucks on as opposed to selling at a loss were the Leafs and Habs. And that's two games a season.

Biggest factor though is there are over 4x the number of games. Also the Bombers play exclusively on weekends so hard to compare in that regard.

 

[pegcity]

Biggest factor though is there are over 4x the number of games. Also the Bombers play exclusively on weekends so hard to compare in that regard.

My Bomber season ticket cost me $260.00. Cheapest Jet season ticket cost what, $2300?

 

[Royale With Cheese]

Here we go again with the cheap tickets thing. It just sounds like an excuse. "Welllll the Bombers draw fans because their tickets are cheap."

But they're more comparable than you think. Walkup tickets for the next Bomber game vs. Edmonton range between $33-$181. Walkup tickets for the next Jets game vs. Vegas range between $66-$280. BUT... unlike with Bomber games there are tons of resale tickets for Jets games for as low as $30 a pop depending on the game, and they aren't getting snapped up. Back in 2011-12 people would have jumped at the chance to buy 300-level seats at $40... now few bother to buy them. I assume the STHs that own them just go instead, or they go unused.

This speaks to very soft demand. I know this myself because as a former STH it became increasingly difficult over the years to resell tickets I couldn't use. It got to the point where the only games I could hope to actually make a few bucks on as opposed to selling at a loss were the Leafs and Habs. And that's two games a season.

The spirit of my post was more that the two franchises are competing for different crowd, not the same crowd.

 

[jetsmooseice]

My Bomber season ticket cost me $260.00. Cheapest Jet season ticket cost what, $2300?

Season ticket prices are different, but again, that's due to the number of games. On a per game basis the difference is not that huge. But as I said before though, is pricing for the Jets really the issue when every game there are cheap resale tickets going unsold?

If it was exclusively a pricing related problem then you would think all the cheap resale tickets would get snapped up.

We saw an extreme example of this with the ludicrously overpriced Packers/Raiders NFL preseason game here a few years ago. The only sold out sections at IG Field were the cheap seats in the upper deck corners. The rest of the stadium was mostly empty because the pricing was just stupid. Jets games are kind of the opposite, the cheap seats are pretty empty.

The spirit of my post was more that the two franchises are competing for different crowd, not the same crowd.

Winnipeg is not like NYC or LA. I think the sports crowd here is the sports crowd. I'd wager that there is a lot of overlap when it comes to the bigger and more valuable Jets and Bomber season ticket accounts.

 

[darksociety]

Bummer about attendance. Personally, I've just reached hockey fatigue. My wife and I tuned into the last part of the third period the other night and the score went from 5-2 to 5-4 in a matter of minutes. I asked her why we were even watching and then she turned off the TV. I don't know who won and I don't care. Not paying hundreds of dollars to see that in person.

If the Jets leave I'll just have to find a fix for my pointless land acknowledgements, $12 beer, and garbage hockey elsewhere.

edit: a word

 

[nobody imp0rtant]

Not sure Gary would allow them to be relocated. Way too much money in new Franchises now. If this gets too tough for Mark they would most likely have to sell to someone who would keep the team in Winnipeg.

I want Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny to buy the Jets. Look what they did for Wrexham. And we could sing this at games.

 

[WaveRaven]

They should move the Moose out for starters. Sure the price points are different but if you want to see high level hockey the Jets need to be the only choice.

 

[DRW204]

The Bombers and Jets are really two very different franchises competing for your sports dollars

Bombers
-9 games
-Relatively cheap tickets
-Outdoors, in summer, when tons of people are on vacation
-At U of M which is away from downtown
-Party atmosphere


Jets
-41 games
-Relatively expensive tickets
-Boring in game experiences (pee wee kids teams skating around at intermission or grandmas trying to shoot pucks into an empty net from centre ice. Is this really the best TNSE can do after 12 years?)
-It's really cold outside in winter
-Downtown is an area many people now avoid
-The novelty is slowing wearing off

What is happening at Moose games? Is their attendance dropping so far this season?

yup. bomber games will inherently be far more entertaining & better atmospheres for the reasons you suggested. i find the cheapest ticket and spend maybe a quarter in my actual seat. the rest is chopping it up on the concourse. also after-game festivities are much better/easier given the time of year and whatnot, and games are usually Thurs-Sat which evidently makes it easier to go out after the game.

Jets get how many fri & sat games? like i mentioned in prevs post - those games i have no problem going to & spending money since there's shit to do after and you can parlay it into a great night w/ your friends. + the atmosphere is much better at the game.

but game most games aren't fri or sat. those games i hate to say it and it may sound pretentious are a drag to go to.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

I put the blame on were it needs to be put. Everything has increased across the board. Inflation and Money supply. Corporations are greedy and won't share. Wage stagnation is real and until that problem is solved people have to choose things like paying bills and buying food instead of spending it on entertainment.

 

[DannyGallivan]

My Bomber season ticket cost me $260.00. Cheapest Jet season ticket cost what, $2300?

You can’t take your kid to a Jets game in the cheap seats for 260 bucks, if you have to pay parking or anything else. Not at face value.

If there is a method to find resale tickets for 30 bucks (and not have to wait until the day of the game for the ticket to go down in price because some of us need to plan) then I would like to know.

I wonder if it would be easier if weekday games started at 6:00? You could go straight from work or school and relax, buy supper downtown, and the kids would get home in time for bed (bed time is a thing if you want a healthy kids).

Ironically, some of the biggest hockey fans in the city can’t go to many games because their kids play high level hockey and have a game or practice five times a week. That’s my situation. We usually manage about two games a year.

 

[Keystone]

They should move the Moose out for starters. Sure the price points are different but if you want to see high level hockey the Jets need to be the only choice.

Yes. Put them in Atlanta and we can take turns with who gets the NHL and AHL team.

 

[Gordon112358]

Seriously, why anyone compares the minor league BB’s and their 9 home games to the major league Jets is a joke!

Winnipeg has grown but if none of you can’t see the change in demographics in this city and a whole lot of people who know nothing about hockey or care little about sports in general, Winnipegs population growth numbers are meaningless.

I have to admit your assessment of demographics is important. I actually had about 5-10 minutes where I waited just outside the ticket entry area while I was waiting for my friend to meet me. During that time I looked closely at the customers arriving and I am fairly certain after viewing several hundred people there were at most a handful of people who didn't look caucasian. Yes our population is growing but it's expanding mainly from immigration from countries that have no interest in hockey. Can we get these people to become interested? I think it's possible and likely why you see Asia / Filipino themed evenings. Unless we can get "non-typical" customers into the arena it's going to be a tough sell going forward.

Bottom line is that Winnipeg no longer has enough people willing to pay NHL prices to fill a 15400 seat arena, add to that an ownership group who took their season ticket holders and fan base for granted for too long!