Yeah. We’re not the first (and we won’t be the last) club to deal with these kinds of issues. That being said, I don’t think comparing the Winnipeg situation to other markets who have encountered attendance issues is apples to apples. I say this mainly due to the size of our market. The greater Ottawa metropolitan region is roughly 1.5 million people now. And the main issue there I think was the arena being ways out of town. I think with a new arena Ottawa will be good to go. Also, there is more incentive for a new owner to “try” to keep a team in its current market (wherever that may be) where the population is well over a million people (something Winnipeg doesn’t have) and with new arena plans being discussed, etc.
Ticket/Attendance Discussion: The Sequel
- Thread starter nobody imp0rtant
- Start date
Yeah. We’re not the first (and we won’t be the last) club to deal with these kinds of issues. That being said, I don’t think comparing the Winnipeg situation to other markets who have encountered attendance issues is apples to apples. I say this mainly due to the size of our market. The greater Ottawa metropolitan region is roughly 1.5 million people now. And the main issue there I think was the arena being ways out of town. I think with a new arena Ottawa will be good to go. Also, there is more incentive for a new owner to “try” to keep a team in its current market (wherever that may be) where the population is well over a million people (something Winnipeg doesn’t have) and with new arena plans being discussed, etc.
The thing that kills me about the attendance numbers is even if we sold out every game we would only move up 1 spot from where we currently are right now.
Yeah I think in the eyes of the NHL they don’t care that TNSE makes money with the Moose or in other ways. They want the priority to be the Jets and they want the numbers for the Jets to be maximized. Having the building full every night for the Jets makes it fun, it’s like a cycle: building has empty seats and tickets are easy to get = less demand/interest; building full every night and the entire perspective is different, health of the club is great (even if there could be extra revenue coming from the moose)
Oh yeah a downtown arena would help the Sens for sure.
And it's certainly not apples to apples. For example, the Sens didn't have a decade of sell outs prior to their season ticket nadir of 4000 fewer season tickets sold than the Jets currently have.
bustamente
Fraud Supporter
Arena is what it is in terms of size so might as well make the best of the situation and get out enjoy a game or two is you can. If you can't no big deal enjoy the game on tv for the time being. Nobody knows what the future will bring in terms of the Jets or the World for that matter.
True. Despite Ottawa being a “bigger” market, I think Winnipeg is a “better” market for sports franchises, including the NHL. I think Ottawa has a lot of government offices (due to it being the National Capital) and of course those types of government headquarters can’t buy tickets - unlike businesses, which can. In a strange way, despite our significantly smaller population, I think we are a stronger market and better positioned to get corporate support for a sports team. But yeah, with a new downtown arena I think Ottawa will be a great market of course.
JetsFan815
Replacement Level Poster
- Jan 16, 2012
- 19,714
- 25,822
I don't think we should be comparing the Jets to the Coyotes. It is not good for the Jets to sputter along in attendance, even if the attendance levels are viable to keep the team, they will have impact on other things like spending to the cap to ice a competitive roster. I am glad that Chipman and co are trying to address this quickly. A good playoff run with some outdoor whiteout parties and a renewed campaign to get corporate ticket sales would go a long way in rebuilding the STH base .
I am nervous about the tone Chipman/Bettman is going to take in his "fireside chat". They need to strike the right balance, coming across as threatening has the potential to turn people, esp coming from Gary's mouth.
Yeah Ottawa almost lost the Sens before Melnyk rode to the rescue and bought them out of bankruptcy back in the early 2000s.
Their arena location does suck though. It would be like if Canada Life Centre was located at the Highway 26 turnoff to St. Francois Xavier.
Buffdog
Registered User
- Feb 13, 2019
- 8,428
- 20,565
Does anyone have any idea when they're going to air this fireside chat?
I was in Kanata for one of my kids tournaments and we stayed right by the sens arena... I remember thinking that the equivalent here would be Portage la Prarie
JetsFan815
Replacement Level Poster
- Jan 16, 2012
- 19,714
- 25,822
This is not in response to anyone in this thread but just people I've heard on Jets twitter and social media. Why do people complain about the location of MTS Center and praise the Bombers stadium location? There is nothing to do walking distance of the Bombers stadium unless you have a fascination with University libraries (in which case you are in luck). The Jets arena is located centrally and there shouldn't be any "downtown safety" issues on game nights when so many people are around.
I'm a big fan of the park n rides and the location is a lot more convenient for where I'm at.
I would never complain about the mts center location though it's probably the best place for it right now
If Chipman waits too long to move the team he could lose 10s of millions of dollars in lost equity. The City of Winnipeg had $50 million of equity in the Jets 1.0 and they rode that down to zero.
People minding their own business at Donald and St. Mary have been hit over the head with a metal pipe at noon on a Friday.
Buffdog
Registered User
- Feb 13, 2019
- 8,428
- 20,565
I've had a couple of run ins with "locals" before/after jets games
Aggie204
Expect the worst, you’ll never be disappointed.
The last game I went to, a friendly local asked me for some change. I didn’t have any to give. That friendly person instantly turned into a gutter gremlin and threatened to stab me and my bud. Being half cut, we laughed and turned our backs (a really stupid move on our part).
nobody imp0rtant
Registered pessimist
- May 23, 2018
- 10,963
- 18,320
Gm0ney is fairly close. In terms of comparable distance from downtown, our arena would be around where the Headingley correctional institution is. That seems oddly appropriate.
HighFlyingJets
Registered User
14,324 Attendance tonight,
Looking upwards!? We shall see...
Looking upwards!? We shall see...
Buffdog
Registered User
- Feb 13, 2019
- 8,428
- 20,565
bustamente
Fraud Supporter
Keeping it over the 13.5 -14k mark for the rest of the regular season would be great till they get to the playoffs.
Thomson's commercial real estate firm Osmington owned the land on which the team's home, the MTS Centre, replaced the space that previously housed an Eaton's department store.
Rather than accept money to build the arena in its place, a minority share in True North was accepted and efforts to bring major league hockey back to Winnipeg began.
Thomson bought Eaton place for 35 million and then Eatons a year or two later
Last edited:
One decision in which it appears Thomson had a very direct hand was the choice to scale the arena at 15,000 seats – to some minds, too small to house a contemporary NHL franchise – again, he says, drawing on his time with HBC.
"Do you build it at eighteen and a half thousand or fifteen? For those who hadn't been in retail, you build eighteen and a half. For those who hadn't spent time with Steve Stavro [who made his fortune in the big box grocery business], you build eighteen and a half. But the important thing is the customer experience. Yes, we have a smaller rink and I still tell people it's too big in my opinion. More seats would have cost more money and you have to fill them. It's not the Bell Centre. It's not the ACC. But for Winnipeg, I think it's the right size."
"Do you build it at eighteen and a half thousand or fifteen? For those who hadn't been in retail, you build eighteen and a half. For those who hadn't spent time with Steve Stavro [who made his fortune in the big box grocery business], you build eighteen and a half. But the important thing is the customer experience. Yes, we have a smaller rink and I still tell people it's too big in my opinion. More seats would have cost more money and you have to fill them. It's not the Bell Centre. It's not the ACC. But for Winnipeg, I think it's the right size."
