Even MTL last year had empty seats. People will tell you that those seats were sold, people just didn't attend. It's been said that it's BS. Some couldn't give their tickets away. The problem is the product. A lot of boring games, no emotion, no rivalries anymore in a lot of markets it seems. Even the Habs rivalry with TO, BOS, and OTT seems non existent at times. Doesn't help that the idiot schedule maker had the Habs play the first game of the year against TO and don't face them until March again...what kind of crap is that...
Winnipeg Jets: 11,226 Attendance tonight, cause for concern? What's going on in the 'Peg?
- Thread starter DRAGO 18
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Ultimately Winnipeg is a minor league city trying to compete with major league cities. Even places like Ottawa, Calgary, and Edmonton blow Winnipeg out of the water in terms of population and businesses to sport a team, and even those 3 cities are fairly minor league compared to your average big 4 sports town. So it makes sense that things won't last forever, especially when this country has been such a political and economic shitshow the last few years. Things were different in the late 00's when they were planning on bringing a team back to town.
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
Listening to that interview, just a few thoughts...
* It's a little surprising to hear that they "just recently" learned details about their season ticket base, particularly regarding groups pooling funds and splitting tickets more than anything else. I remember talk here on HFB of folks doing just that in 2011, along with places like Twitter, Facebook, and even friend groups over text, when the team moved. I daresay, it's unlikely this is somehow new information to them.
* People knew the Jets would 'sell out for ten years in a row'. They'd be selling out still today, had the economy not gone sour. In my view, I think if anything, people know more about the Winnipeg market now than before, particularly that it's a blue-collar city, not a corporate market. What's missing is corporate support. Maybe they'll achieve that soon.
* "Is there any real threat [of relocation]?" "No." You guys, there's your answer. Hopefully this ends people talking as if everyone believes the team is absolutely relocating. If that changes, I'm sure we'll hear about it, but in my opinion, it's incredibly doubtful.
* Odd position to take about a rebuild. YES, it absolutely takes time, and a lot of it (Detroit's rebuild didn't start in earnest until 2019 when Yzerman came home, Buffalo's has been going on since 2013 or so, and Ottawa since 2018, just to name a few), but there will be lots of nights where the only fans in the building or watching at home/at the bars are the hardcore fans. It's all well and good to be in "win now mode", but they'll have to admit at one point or another that they need to throw in the towel and start collecting draft picks. A sports team rebuilding their roster to become competitive is something that every team in every market has to do at some point. It may not be this year or next, but he'll have to swallow his hat at some point on that take.
Again, just my thoughts on what was said. Wall of text, etc etc. Sorry? Regardless. I think the team is just fine where it is.
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Craig Button
The C is for Coward - Brad Marchand 2024
They have to move the Jets out of the Central Division.
Either move them to the Pacific or the Atlantic
Either move them to the Pacific or the Atlantic
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Craig Button
The C is for Coward - Brad Marchand 2024
New Atlantic Division:
Boston
Buffalo
Chicago
Detroit
Montreal
Ottawa
Toronto
Winnipeg
New Central:
Arizona
Colorado
Dallas
Florida
Minnesota
Nashville
St. Louis
Tampa Bay
The excitement of the Jets coming back actually had plenty of season ticket holders from Brandon. Even west of Dauphin I knew of some. That was pushing a 4 hour trek to downtown Winnipeg. The product and drama surrounding it got stale and the GM and coach didn’t react fast enough. I definitely don’t think the “rural” support in the building is as prominent like it was initially.
MrHeiskanen
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That is the most central division ever created. Good work.
Brookbank
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The Jets still have more operating income than the Panthers, Coyotes and Sharks combined. And are less than 10 million away from a multiple Stanley Cup winning Lighting franchise. Plus the ownership group has stronger hands than the owners of the Dallas Cowboys.
Ok and? That doesn't really contradict anything I said about winnipeg not being a major league city. There's obviously more hockey fans. But overall population, wealth, and desirability make Winnipeg ranked in the bottomThe Jets still have more operating income than the Panthers, Coyotes and Sharks combined. And are less than 10 million away from a multiple Stanley Cup winning Lighting franchise. Plus the ownership group has stronger hands than the owners of the Dallas Cowboys.
MrHeiskanen
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eviohh26
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Product on ice and the fact people can't afford to take the family to the game is main factors.
My freinds mom was talking about taking her grandchild and his aunt to a Canucks game since the grand child loved his 1st WHL game he went to. After my friend broke down the total cost of taking 3-4 people to Vancouver to watch the game and stay the night she went and bought some more WHL tickets instead.
My freinds mom was talking about taking her grandchild and his aunt to a Canucks game since the grand child loved his 1st WHL game he went to. After my friend broke down the total cost of taking 3-4 people to Vancouver to watch the game and stay the night she went and bought some more WHL tickets instead.
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Headshot77
We saw him heading straight for the mountains
Nooooo you idiots. Rebuilding is a good thing. Draft superstar talent for once in your life instead of being mid forever.
I don't think it's the product. The team has made the playoffs 5 of the past 6 years and while superfans such as those of us who peruse these boards have an unrealistic standard, the average fan is probably pretty happy with that.
Chipman himself illustrated the issues - the post pandemic economy, and the way they sold season tickets was a unique model due to the demand when the team came back. Many seasons were bought in pools, and when a couple people leave the pool, they collapse.
The Jets season ticket base consists of 15% businesses, and the next lowest Canadian club is 45%. If the Jets had 45% business season ticket sales, we'd still have a waiting list.
This was simply an org that was slow to react to economic factors and needs to change their sales model.
BraveCanadian
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IMO, the NHL is doing a great job of pricing fans out of going to see live games.
Like everything else hockey-related, the costs involved are causing people to find alternatives.
Like everything else hockey-related, the costs involved are causing people to find alternatives.
That's definitely part of it. The investment doesn't make sense to drop that much money for very little return. Watching live games isn't simple as just going to the rink. It's hard to find a good decent baby seater, parking fees are off the charts, not to mention a lot of people have 2 jobs or a side gig.
If you live where I live in Toronto, getting in and out of downtown is a nightmare. There are constructions everywhere
Adding on top of that, most people have 85inch tvs. which mind you, I prefer to watch in comfort of my home
Tom Polakis
Next expansion
So two teams at the east edge of the continent move to the Western Conference so a team nowhere near the Atlantic coast can move to the Atlantic. Geography aside, I don't think the two Florida teams would agree with your proposal. (I know, it's a dated, pre-Vegas map)
Jets4Life
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Jets4Life
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The Jets need to tank in 2025-26. Gavin McKenna, the cousin of Connor Bedard will be eligible by the 2026 draft.
Ah yes, Sunrise Florida, right in the middle of the Central timezone.
Canadian teams will all suffer except for the Leafs where they basically have enough corporate support to host 3 teams.
There's a disconnect between the US & Canada in terms of economics.
Canada's economy suffers much more from higher interest rates... USD should keep on appreciating which adds to the inflationary pressure. Despite GDP growth (which is mainly due to net population growth), GDP per Capita is on the down trend which is a really bad sign.
I don't blame canadians for cutting their on entertainement.
Thankfully, the owners of Canadians teams are extremely resilient and have activities outside of the country to offset some of this imbalance.
There's a disconnect between the US & Canada in terms of economics.
Canada's economy suffers much more from higher interest rates... USD should keep on appreciating which adds to the inflationary pressure. Despite GDP growth (which is mainly due to net population growth), GDP per Capita is on the down trend which is a really bad sign.
I don't blame canadians for cutting their on entertainement.
Thankfully, the owners of Canadians teams are extremely resilient and have activities outside of the country to offset some of this imbalance.
MrHeiskanen
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Buffalo works because of the team history, and it doesn't hurt having a local billionaire who is keeping the teams in the city for the long term.
Jets4Life
Registered User
Winnipeg has pretty much the same history (1972-96, 2011-P), and a multi-billionaire.
Craig Button
The C is for Coward - Brad Marchand 2024
There’s a simple fix for this.
Rename the divisions.
There we go.
Anything else I can do for you?
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