Ticket/Attendance Discussion: The Sequel

[Jets 31]

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."

I've been in alot of arenas for hockey and concerts and the Canada life center is one of the best for sight and sound. Seats are a little cramped but i would rather have that and good sight and good sound than a big arena.

 

[jungles]

Please don't piss Gary off when he is here!

 

[jokesondee]

That's pretty good.

Not to dampen the mood but I was at the game and it was Wasac night. There were hundreds of kids from northern Manitoba at the game and i assume most of those tickets were giveaways.

 

[Zippity]

Not to dampen the mood but I was at the game and it was Wasac night. There were hundreds of kids from northern Manitoba at the game and i assume most of those tickets were giveaways.

You will be dam sure the chiefs wouldn’t be paying for them

 

[jetsmooseice]

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)

If the Moose were an issue for the NHL, TNSE would have shipped them out long ago. I doubt it makes a significant difference to the bottom lines of TNSE generally or the Jets specifically. I don't doubt there are a few people who go to a few Moose games a year instead of one or two Jets games, but I would bet the entire Moose season brings in the revenue of maybe a couple Jets games so we're not talking a major impact.

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.

The reality is most people don't spend hours near the venue before and after the game so bars and restaurants nearby don't really matter all that much for the most part. People are soured on the arena because downtown has taken a real turn for the worse since the arena opened in 2004. It was always a bit on the rough side, but a combination of powerful, cheap drugs from China and the impact of the pandemic have really given the area a gut punch to the point where it is not a pleasant place to be after hours... downtown at night is something you have to put up with if you go to a Jets game, it's not part of the appeal the same way it is in New York, Toronto, Montreal, etc.

By contrast, the Bomber stadium is in a relatively quiet suburban area where you don't really deal with those perceived risks.

 

[lotwwpg]

If the Moose were an issue for the NHL, TNSE would have shipped them out long ago. I doubt it makes a significant difference to the bottom lines of TNSE generally or the Jets specifically. I don't doubt there are a few people who go to a few Moose games a year instead of one or two Jets games, but I would bet the entire Moose season brings in the revenue of maybe a couple Jets games so we're not talking a major impact.



The reality is most people don't spend hours near the venue before and after the game so bars and restaurants nearby don't really matter all that much for the most part. People are soured on the arena because downtown has taken a real turn for the worse since the arena opened in 2004. It was always a bit on the rough side, but a combination of powerful, cheap drugs from China and the impact of the pandemic have really given the area a gut punch to the point where it is not a pleasant place to be after hours... downtown at night is something you have to put up with if you go to a Jets game, it's not part of the appeal the same way it is in New York, Toronto, Montreal, etc.

By contrast, the Bomber stadium is in a relatively quiet suburban area where you don't really deal with those perceived risks.

Honestly, I don't think there is an easy way to fix downtown, it seems like we try to fix it every year and we just fall flat on our face. The only way I see fixing it is to have 24/7 cops walking down the streets, tax incentives for businesses to open offices there, brand-new buildings, and increased density. Marketplace, 300 Main, and railside could help in this area and possibly the redevelopment of Portage Place. But other than that it's like what else can you do?

 

[jetsmooseice]

Honestly, I don't think there is an easy way to fix downtown, it seems like we try to fix it every year and we just fall flat on our face. The only way I see fixing it is to have 24/7 cops walking down the streets, tax incentives for businesses to open offices there, brand-new buildings, and increased density. Marketplace, 300 Main, and railside could help in this area and possibly the redevelopment of Portage Place. But other than that it's like what else can you do?

At one point I was very optimistic about downtown. There was a real resurgence of downtown areas across Canada from 2000-2015 and I thought Winnipeg could ride that wave. And for a while it looked like we were. But the last decade has killed any positive momentum.

There have been 60+ years of attempts of revitalizing downtown with billions of public dollars spent (think about things like City Hall, the Centennial Concert Hall/Manitoba Museum, Portage Place, The Forks, the Human Rights Museum, Canada Life Centre, Hydro Building, housing subsidies, etc.) , and look what it got us. You could spend another $3 billion trying to improve things but it wouldn't make a difference, new buildings simply won't fix the social problems that are the real issue.

I don't mean to be too negative, I don't think downtown is so bad that people refuse to go to Jets games on account of that. It's just that downtown is so dysfunctional now it doesn't really have any drawing power. Downtown is something you simply have to endure to go to a home game. And that's unfortunate for the Jets and TNSE.

 

[DannyGallivan]

Not to dampen the mood but I was at the game and it was Wasac night. There were hundreds of kids from northern Manitoba at the game and i assume most of those tickets were giveaways.

How about all of them.

 

[DannyGallivan]

Question: what’s the deal with True North administration fees when buying tickets directly from the Mother Ship? Do they still charge that?

If so, you would think they would be smart just to swallow those costs. Also, what additional fees other than taxes are charged on seasons tickets?

I am of the thought that “admin fees” are a scam.

 

[DannyGallivan]

Honestly, I don't think there is an easy way to fix downtown, it seems like we try to fix it every year and we just fall flat on our face. The only way I see fixing it is to have 24/7 cops walking down the streets, tax incentives for businesses to open offices there, brand-new buildings, and increased density. Marketplace, 300 Main, and railside could help in this area and possibly the redevelopment of Portage Place. But other than that it's like what else can you do?

Too many decision makers tip toe around offending so called “vulnerable people”, allowing the downtown to resemble a cross between a ghetto and a crackhouse. Downtown needs to attract the paying customer. It’s time to cater to people with money to spend.

Downtown should be virtually spotless. Spend money on cleaning and repairs. No vagrancy, no sleeping in bus shelters, zero tolerance for pan handling. No more worry about offending people who are causing the issues.

Once people with money in their pockets return to the downtown, economic growth and the accompanying tax dollars will be more readily available for social issues. Simplistic, perhaps. But I would return to downtown at least.

 

[JetsWillFly4Ever]

I spoke at length (TL DR) on our site about 13 months ago. I was so pissed off at True North’s brain dead passive aggressive you better buy tickets or we may leave again marketing campaign that I had to rage post (which I typically avoid). To me it was symbolic of the total disconnect between Mark and his ticket buying customers past and present. Doubling down on his entitlement mentality culture that had been pervasive throughout his organization since the original ticket drive. Mark seemed to be bitter and perhaps feeling sorry for himself.

Business is complicated and there are a million ways up and down the mountain of success. One rule that will never change is “blaming your customers“ for a drop in demand is NEVER going to work out well for you. I felt last spring Mark was pissed off at the Winnipeg fans for turning their back on the Jets. Mark seemed to feel entitled to a full building based on his Herculean effort to bring the Jets back to Winnipeg. It turns out that bought him 10 years but he didn’t get the lifetime exemption from supply and demand he was hoping for.

Fast forward to the February 23rd planned interview for the Athletic with Chris Johnson and I was reluctant to click on it and read the latest installment of the “poor me” Mark Chipman world tour 2024. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by what I read if Mark was being sincere.

Heading out to take my son to his hockey practice and I will be back to break down my thoughts on his interview.

PS I value your opinion, especially in the business side of things. Never saw a follow up post but would be interested to hear what you had to say.

I too actually read the article and came away thinking positively of Chipman. It seems he recognizes that the organization has not done enough for fans and that they may have had their heads in the sand so to speak.

I don't think the article was a hard threat as much as it was an unfortunate reality. We have a smaller margin for error in Winnipeg and the building needs to be full or damn close to it. I felt he was recognizing that the organization has played a part in it not being full and was not just blaming the fans.

 

[JKG33]

How does one RSVP to this Bettman thing? I'm going to the game with my buddy (his family is part of a season ticket group). Was there an email sent to the official owner of the tickets?

 

[jokesondee]

I sat beside Chipman during a movie saturday afternoon at Grant Park. I so wanted to bring up the Chris Johnston article but i didnt have the balls. Also didnt want to be "that guy" lol.

 

[WpgSteve]

I wonder how much of the problem is TNSE being caught in the crossfire of the culture wars. Bigger markets can afford to make policies without having to worry about catering to smokers, anti-vaxxers, alt righters, etc. I'm not sure that TNSE has the same luxury.

 

[Bob E]

Concessions are awful. Not paying $12 for a Salisbury House nip.

 

[jetsmooseice]

How does one RSVP to this Bettman thing? I'm going to the game with my buddy (his family is part of a season ticket group). Was there an email sent to the official owner of the tickets?

Based on what has been said, this is a meeting for deep pockets. It will be for C-suite executives of corporate sponsors (think Canada Life, BellMTS, media companies, etc.), not for "Joe fan".

 

[JKG33]

Based on what has been said, this is a meeting for deep pockets. It will be for C-suite executives of corporate sponsors (think Canada Life, BellMTS, media companies, etc.), not for "Joe fan".

Interesting. Without doxxing my buddy I'm more than confident his family would fall under that category with the buisness they own. Good to know anyway, appreciate the response

 

[jetsmooseice]

Interesting. Without doxxing my buddy I'm more than confident his family would fall under that category with the buisness they own. Good to know anyway, appreciate the response

Fair enough, if your buddy's family runs a corporate sponsor it's certainly possible that they might have received an invite. I'd love to be a fly on the wall and hear what is being said in that room!

 

[JKG33]

Fair enough, if your buddy's family runs a corporate sponsor it's certainly possible that they might have received an invite. I'd love to be a fly on the wall and hear what is being said in that room!

Yea they've got offices across western Canada, even the Flames have been trying to get them to purchase season tickets from what I've heard. They've had Jets season tickets of varying extents basically since the team came back.

That's exactly what I was hoping for as well when he invited me to the game. His dad doesn't give 2 shits about the team and just likes going to the odd game, giving the rest away to friends/family.

 

[lotwwpg]

Too many decision makers tip toe around offending so called “vulnerable people”, allowing the downtown to resemble a cross between a ghetto and a crackhouse. Downtown needs to attract the paying customer. It’s time to cater to people with money to spend.

Downtown should be virtually spotless. Spend money on cleaning and repairs. No vagrancy, no sleeping in bus shelters, zero tolerance for pan handling. No more worry about offending people who are causing the issues.

Once people with money in their pockets return to the downtown, economic growth and the accompanying tax dollars will be more readily available for social issues. Simplistic, perhaps. But I would return to downtown at least.

Density is the best path forward. That's why I'm excited for the projects being developed in the core/near. Having more communities like Sage and Bridgewater doesn't help the city in improving downtown. I do recognize that the city/province have noticed this problem as well. As they introduced new policies to tackle it.

 

[Zippity]

Question: what’s the deal with True North administration fees when buying tickets directly from the Mother Ship? Do they still charge that?

If so, you would think they would be smart just to swallow those costs. Also, what additional fees other than taxes are charged on seasons tickets?

I am of the thought that “admin fees” are a scam.

Security and etching fees? Birchwood documentation fee

 

[JKG33]

Too many decision makers tip toe around offending so called “vulnerable people”, allowing the downtown to resemble a cross between a ghetto and a crackhouse. Downtown needs to attract the paying customer. It’s time to cater to people with money to spend.

Downtown should be virtually spotless. Spend money on cleaning and repairs. No vagrancy, no sleeping in bus shelters, zero tolerance for pan handling. No more worry about offending people who are causing the issues.

Once people with money in their pockets return to the downtown, economic growth and the accompanying tax dollars will be more readily available for social issues. Simplistic, perhaps. But I would return to downtown at least.

This starts with allowing the police to actually be tough on crime, which in this political climate won't happen anytime soon. Adding "peace officers" and whatever other new age BS won't accomplish anything more than providing jobs for the oversaturated market of liberal arts grads.

 

[Gm0ney]

Concessions are awful. Not paying $12 for a Salisbury House nip.

It's like $10 for a Cheese Nip at a regular Sals these days...

 

[Walkingtalkingeye]

How does one RSVP to this Bettman thing? I'm going to the game with my buddy (his family is part of a season ticket group). Was there an email sent to the official owner of the tickets?

Yeah there was an email sent.

Please join us for an exclusive pre-game event at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 at Canada Life Centre featuring NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Mark Chipman, Executive Chairman of True North Sports + Entertainment and Governor of the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club.

Moderated by Winnipeg Jets Host Sara Orlesky, this fireside chat will offer insights into the current state of the NHL and the Winnipeg Jets. The event will welcome submitted questions from fans.

Most gates will open one hour early at 5 p.m. and your Feb. 27 game ticket will allow entrance. Guests will be invited to take a seat in the east side of the lower bowl for the presentation. East concourse concessions will be open at 5 p.m. with all concessions and doors opening at 6 p.m. Additional access details will be provided as part of the gameday Know Before You Go communication.

5:00 PM | Most gates open
5:30 PM | Fireside chat in the arena
6:00 PM | Event concludes; all arena doors and seating open
7:00 PM | Jets vs. Blues puck drop

Please click the link below to RSVP by Monday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. CT and submit a question for the commissioner.

 

[JKG33]

Yeah there was an email sent.

Please join us for an exclusive pre-game event at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 at Canada Life Centre featuring NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Mark Chipman, Executive Chairman of True North Sports + Entertainment and Governor of the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club.

Moderated by Winnipeg Jets Host Sara Orlesky, this fireside chat will offer insights into the current state of the NHL and the Winnipeg Jets. The event will welcome submitted questions from fans.

Most gates will open one hour early at 5 p.m. and your Feb. 27 game ticket will allow entrance. Guests will be invited to take a seat in the east side of the lower bowl for the presentation. East concourse concessions will be open at 5 p.m. with all concessions and doors opening at 6 p.m. Additional access details will be provided as part of the gameday Know Before You Go communication.

5:00 PM | Most gates open
5:30 PM | Fireside chat in the arena
6:00 PM | Event concludes; all arena doors and seating open
7:00 PM | Jets vs. Blues puck drop

Please click the link below to RSVP by Monday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. CT and submit a question for the commissioner.

Do you know if that was sent to season ticket holders or just certain corporate targets? My buddy is trying to figure out if they got the email and where it would've been sent