Winnipeg Jets: 11,226 Attendance tonight, cause for concern? What's going on in the 'Peg?

[The Gr8 Dane]

Dudes , go to your teams games....

 

[biturbo19]

I heard that Winter is Coming. And in Winnipeg, that's pretty brutal.


Maybe people just want to be outside for the last few days of survivable weather conditions.

 

[Mach2]

IMO: If you charge premium prices for tickets then it better be a great show. Unfortunately, the NHL's expansion to 32 teams has watered down the on-ice talent. Yugo economics don't lie: cheap, slow, made from soup cans, but a very nice paint job.

 

[DuklaNation]

Lot of factors are involved. But I'd highlight the NHL product in Winnipeg may have become stale when fans know the league just wants the US based teams to do better. Apathy is bound to set it in.

 

[lokomotiv15]

I heard that Winter is Coming. And in Winnipeg, that's pretty brutal.


Maybe people just want to be outside for the last few days of survivable weather conditions.

That's actually surprisingly fair.

If I can make it out for a round in the waning days of summer and fall here in Canada, I jump on it. Rather get 18 in with the boys, finish at 6 and then get dinner and beers and watch the game on TV right now. There will be plenty of games this season from Nov-Feb where its -35 out and being inside at a hockey game will be the best play in Winnipeg.

 

[MrHeiskanen]

Maybe I will go to a Dallas @ Winnipeg game this year to help out Chipman and True North.

 

[FoSotC]

I was at the Buffalo Sabres game tonight and they also had roughly 11,000 in the building, despite the fact that it's a 19,000 seat arena. It looked very empty in there despite Buffalo being an exciting up and coming team.

It seems like this isn't just a Jets problem.

We've been hearing about how Buffalo is an "exciting up and coming team" for ages now. Based on how they're currently performing, they might hit 13 straight years of no playoffs. They've managed to make history with a league record playoff drought and it just keeps growing. Fans filled the arena for the home/season opener and the exciting up and coming team rewarded them by playing like shit and getting embarrassed on the ice. The team needs to start proving that it's actually worth the money and time.

 

[dj4aces]

I heard that Winter is Coming. And in Winnipeg, that's pretty brutal.


Maybe people just want to be outside for the last few days of survivable weather conditions.

I think this is completely and totally understandable... but only until you consider the other circumstances in the city and surrounding the team. Weren't the Jets drawing more fans during the fall in previous years than they are now?

The Jets just played their third home game of the season, and only attracted 11.5k. For the third home game last year, they had 13.9k. While last year's home opener wasn't a sellout either, it wasn't a terrible showing either with 14.5k. Something is definitely amiss, and it's not a newfound desire to touch grass.

 

[CJV123]

Carole King also sold 15.1 million copies of her album Tapestry....can you name me a song off that album without google?

Well, I could name every single one.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Lot of factors are involved. But I'd highlight the NHL product in Winnipeg may have become stale when fans know the league just wants the US based teams to do better. Apathy is bound to set it in.

Yea, and the other 7 Canadian owners are perfectly ok with this? They are just running the teams for fun? Spending 10s of millions on payroll just so Bettman could screw them? Come on, think for a second. There is no conspiracy.

 

[Bender66]

Isn't it too cold in Winnipeg for hockey?

/thread
why is this on page 19 now lol

 

[Yukon Joe]

OK, so something to consider - remember the Jets are owned by David Thomson, Canada's richest man.

Now I don't bring that up to say "so therefore he doesn't care if the Jets lose money". Definitely not.

But did you ever wonder how Thomson, who spends more time in London England than anywhere else, with no ties to Winnipeg, came to own the team? It's because he owns the land underneath the arena. In fact he owns a lot of land in downtown Winnipeg, and has invested more money since the Jets came back.

The Winnipeg Jets are a real estate investment play. The Jets bring more interest, excitement, and well people, to downtown Winnipeg - all of which help Thomson's real estate investments.

So I'm definitely not saying we shouldn't worry about this kind of low attendance. We should. And maybe continued low attendance might mean the team leaves. But it would be no small decision for Thomson and TNSE to sell or move the team because of the effect that would have on Thomson (and his holding company Osmington) other investments.

 

[tucker3434]

OK, so something to consider - remember the Jets are owned by David Thomson, Canada's richest man.

Now I don't bring that up to say "so therefore he doesn't care if the Jets lose money". Definitely not.

But did you ever wonder how Thomson, who spends more time in London England than anywhere else, with no ties to Winnipeg, came to own the team? It's because he owns the land underneath the arena. In fact he owns a lot of land in downtown Winnipeg, and has invested more money since the Jets came back.

The Winnipeg Jets are a real estate investment play. The Jets bring more interest, excitement, and well people, to downtown Winnipeg - all of which help Thomson's real estate investments.

So I'm definitely not saying we shouldn't worry about this kind of low attendance. We should. And maybe continued low attendance might mean the team leaves. But it would be no small decision for Thomson and TNSE to sell or move the team because of the effect that would have on Thomson (and his holding company Osmington) other investments.

That's a fine standard as long as it's applied universally. People like to dump on AZ for wanting it to be a real estate play.

 

[Oneiro]

Businesses have been pushing the knife into consumers and their employees under the guise of inflation for months now. It’s all fighting for margin as long as possible.

The cure for high prices is high prices.

 

[MrHeiskanen]

OK, so something to consider - remember the Jets are owned by David Thomson, Canada's richest man.

Now I don't bring that up to say "so therefore he doesn't care if the Jets lose money". Definitely not.

But did you ever wonder how Thomson, who spends more time in London England than anywhere else, with no ties to Winnipeg, came to own the team? It's because he owns the land underneath the arena. In fact he owns a lot of land in downtown Winnipeg, and has invested more money since the Jets came back.

The Winnipeg Jets are a real estate investment play. The Jets bring more interest, excitement, and well people, to downtown Winnipeg - all of which help Thomson's real estate investments.

So I'm definitely not saying we shouldn't worry about this kind of low attendance. We should. And maybe continued low attendance might mean the team leaves. But it would be no small decision for Thomson and TNSE to sell or move the team because of the effect that would have on Thomson (and his holding company Osmington) other investments.

Do you really believe all of that? The overlap between real estate investment and hockey is null.

Having the Jets there or not, doesn't sell out 17 office floors and 20 apartment floors at TNS.

 

[Yukon Joe]

That's a fine standard as long as it's applied universally. People like to dump on AZ for wanting it to be a real estate play.

I think almost all teams are some variety of that. I know here in Edmonton Katz owns a bunch of real estate right around the arena (the Ice District). That's what they're trying to do to get new arenas built in Calgary and Ottawa. And yes - Arizona as well.

 

[LadyJet26]

I am a fan that is on hiatus because of management. They are content with just squeaking into the playoffs and be happy with the 2 games of playoff revenue and not about building a solid contending team. I also can't believe the organization has employed Chevy for as long as they have. He had the perfect opportunity to build on the conference finals team and failed. Kyle Beech coming out about what happened to him while with Chicago was the perfect opportunity to get rid of him and they didn't. Chipman was apart of the business community prior to owing the Jets and I never heard good things about him. However I am not apart of the business community here so it's pure heresay.
The Jets don't get involved with the community like the other sports teams like the Bombers. The millionaires don't like to hang around the common folk. I get that the NHL is different than the CFL but the Bombers had attendance issues too when they've been terrible. The Bombers built a community within their team and it paid off with 3 straight cup appearances and 2 grey cups. Having an organization that is well run is HUGE. Jets don't give a flying f*** about their fans and are completely out to lunch aside from their rich fans.

 

[larek]

Winnipeg isn't a wealthy city. The unreasonable lockdowns resulting in the crazy printing of money, etc, has decimated the economy.

Exactly!!!! Crazy

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Lot of factors are involved. But I'd highlight the NHL product in Winnipeg may have become stale when fans know the league just wants the US based teams to do better. Apathy is bound to set it in.

Continuing to move the goal posts.

I am a fan that is on hiatus because of management. They are content with just squeaking into the playoffs and be happy with the 2 games of playoff revenue and not about building a solid contending team. I also can't believe the organization has employed Chevy for as long as they have. He had the perfect opportunity to build on the conference finals team and failed. Kyle Beech coming out about what happened to him while with Chicago was the perfect opportunity to get rid of him and they didn't. Chipman was apart of the business community prior to owing the Jets and I never heard good things about him. However I am not apart of the business community here so it's pure heresay.
The Jets don't get involved with the community like the other sports teams like the Bombers. The millionaires don't like to hang around the common folk. I get that the NHL is different than the CFL but the Bombers had attendance issues too when they've been terrible. The Bombers built a community within their team and it paid off with 3 straight cup appearances and 2 grey cups. Having an organization that is well run is HUGE. Jets don't give a flying f*** about their fans and are completely out to lunch aside from their rich fans.

I 10000% support fans not throwing money at bad product. Whether it’s Winnipeg or Florida or Long Island.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Lot of factors are involved. But I'd highlight the NHL product in Winnipeg may have become stale when fans know the league just wants the US based teams to do better. Apathy is bound to set it in.

Oh my gosh, this is the best one yet.

After all the back-and-forth about Atlanta and QC, this is where you're going next?? Amazing.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Do you really believe all of that? The overlap between real estate investment and hockey is null.

Having the Jets there or not, doesn't sell out 17 office floors and 20 apartment floors at TNS.

Why do you think TNS is built where it is? Heck why do you think it is called True North Square?

I'm no real estate guru so I can't say to what extent the proximity of the Jets helps to fill office space and condos. But clearly Osmington and TNSE think that it has an effect.

 

[MrHeiskanen]

Why do you think TNS is built where it is? Heck why do you think it is called True North Square?

I'm no real estate guru so I can't say to what extent the proximity of the Jets helps to fill office space and condos. But clearly Osmington and TNSE think that it has an effect.

Of course they are building a hub around the arena, I get that. But your point was "Chipman/Thomson are willing to cover millions of dollars in loses on the Jets because it helps prop up their real estate business downtown" I just don't see the correlation.

Like I said before, if the Jets leave companies will still rent the offices at TNS as they are some of the nicest office space in the City. If the Jets leave, people will still rent the apartments. If the Jets leave, people will still go to medical appointments at the new Portage Place development.

Ownership doesn't need to cover millions in loses on the NHL side for the real estate portion of their business to still operate.

If Chipman/Thomson want to cover millions in loses its because they enjoy owning the team and believe they could turn it around in the future. That would be the sole reason in my opinion. Lots of sports team owners do it for the love of the game, notoriety, etc. rather than making yearly revenue.

 

[LadyJet26]

Oh my gosh, this is the best one yet.

After all the back-and-forth about Atlanta and QC, this is where you're going next?? Amazing.

He's right. The product and organization are stale. Just squeaking into the playoffs for the playoff revenue doesn't count. The playin doesn't count. Any other organization would have fired their GM and done a rebuild. I'd watch again if they fired Chevy and did a rebuild.

 

[LadyJet26]

Continuing to move the goal posts.


I 10000% support fans not throwing money at bad product. Whether it’s Winnipeg or Florida or Long Island.

Me too. The Bombers, after mismanagement hired Wade Miller to run things. He then in turn brought in Kyle Walters and Mike O'Shea. They struggled a little when O'Shea first got hired but they built the team properly and enhanced the fan experience. It's great being a season ticket holder. You don't need to buy drinks or food there to have a great night. To be fair, we do tailgate prior to the games. I work downtown. It's not pretty. You have homeless people walking in the middle of Main, people having sex behind a garbage can for drugs and booze (this was at my work duringthe day too). It's not fun to be in downtown after dark.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

He's right. The product and organization are stale. Just squeaking into the playoffs for the playoff revenue doesn't count. The playin doesn't count. Any other organization would have fired their GM and done a rebuild. I'd watch again if they fired Chevy and did a rebuild.

IMO, I'm not believing that going to the playoffs 5 out of the last 6 years isn't good enough and that is hurting ticket sales that much.

Besides, in the Atlanta threads, he/she argues that Atlanta has already had its chance and shouldn't get a team. If this is his/her excuse for Peg, I'd like to post a reminder that Atlanta made the playoffs ONCE in its 15 year history. Oh, and they got swept in the first round. So zero playoff victories in 15 years.