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Winnipeg Sun: Jets, Mark Chipman, call for help as attendance decreases

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jetsmooseice said:
The Jets have clearly made a decision to squeeze Leafs fans for every penny they can.

The annoying thing about it is that the game will feel like a Leafs home game because only the most rabid die hard Leafs fans are willing to pay those prices.
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I applaud True North for having a flexible pricing strategy like this. Bringing in revenue where they can makes the whole business more viable.

I don't really support the Jets with my wallet, but I really don't want to see them leave again. So I'm glad that Leaf fans will fund my home team.
 
I've heard from Jets fans that went to the game yesterday, that there were empty seats even in Arizona. It's an arena of 4,600 and they can barely even sell it out. They also said they had absolutely no problem getting tickets.

lanky said:
I applaud True North for having a flexible pricing strategy like this. Bringing in revenue where they can makes the whole business more viable.

I don't really support the Jets with my wallet, but I really don't want to see them leave again. So I'm glad that Leaf fans will fund my home team.
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If they are charging above average ticket prices against the Leafs, then they should discount prices for all those Monday/Tuesday night games against teams like Florida and Carolina, where the team would be hard pressed to sell 11,500 seats.
 
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Jets4Life said:
I've heard from Jets fans that went to the game yesterday, that there were empty seats even in Arizona. It's an arena of 4,600 and they can barely even sell it out. They also said they had absolutely no problem getting tickets.



If they are charging above average ticket prices against the Leafs, then they should discount prices for all those Monday/Tuesday night games against teams like Florida and Carolina, where the team would be hard pressed to sell 11,500 seats.
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Florida and Carolina are Stanley cup contenders. No excuses for Winnipeg sellout or GTFO.
 
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Bixby Snyder said:
Florida and Carolina are Stanley cup contenders. No excuses for Winnipeg sellout or GTFO.
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I'm not trying to be a critic of nor apologist to the Winnipeg market but that's not how sports works.

Home teams build attendance through winning and good marketing. What makes a "sexy" road team has very little to do with their immediate contention status. Quite frankly neither Florida nor Carolina are a "sexy" brand on the road. Florida having just been to the Finals might get a little of a recency nod here. But acting like any of those teams will be as big of a draw as, say, the Rangers is fooling yourself.

Singular superstars can sell (like Gretzky games were events back in the day even if people weren't paying to see the Oilers writ large on the road) but let's face it, the NHL has never been the greatest in this marketing regard.

And FWIW, it's true in other sports. The Atlanta Falcons, for e.g., could win three straight SBs and never be the road draw that, say the Steelers or Packers are...even if those teams suddenly sucked for years on end. The UCF Knights didn't become a huge draw at the other schools they visited the year after going undefeated the way that a middling-to-bad SEC team would have been.
 
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Jets4Life said:
I've heard from Jets fans that went to the game yesterday, that there were empty seats even in Arizona. It's an arena of 4,600 and they can barely even sell it out. They also said they had absolutely no problem getting tickets.
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There's a difference between *selling out* and *filling the barn*. According to ESPN, Arizona "sold out" all 4600 seats last night. Now, I'm not a sports executive, nor did I spend last night at a Holiday Inn Express, but I'm pretty sure Alex Meruelo doesn't particularly care one way or another if those who bought tickets didn't show up. All that matters is the tickets were sold, and to that end, it was a success.

If attendance figures started reporting people who actually showed up, that'd be another story, and it'd be a very interesting story indeed.
 
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dj4aces said:
There's a difference between *selling out* and *filling the barn*. According to ESPN, Arizona "sold out" all 4600 seats last night. Now, I'm not a sports executive, nor did I spend last night at a Holiday Inn Express, but I'm pretty sure Alex Meruelo doesn't particularly care one way or another if those who bought tickets didn't show up. All that matters is the tickets were sold, and to that end, it was a success.

If attendance figures started reporting people who actually showed up, that'd be another story, and it'd be a very interesting story indeed.
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I can tell you from talking to people who have been there that many of them are lurking in the club area and concourse rather than sitting because they like the view of the ice better.

So what it gets down to is an optics debate. Which from a business standpoint means little unless this empty seats are indeed unsold ones.

I have yet to go to a game at Mullett but I’m considering going on Tuesday if I can find something affordable and can convince Mrs. Legend to go.
 
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BMN said:
I fail to see what was confusing about what I posted.
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Canadian Football has been around for longer than that. The first recorded game of Canadian football took place in 1861. This will be the 110th Grey Cup.
 
ORRFForever said:
Canadian Football has been around for longer than that. The first recorded game of Canadian football took place in 1861. This will be the 110th Grey Cup.
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To be fair, the post says CFL, or the Canadian Football League. The inaugural season of the CFL took place in 1958 after the Canadian Football Council separated from the Canadian Rugby Union. Thus, the entity that is the Canadian Football League is only 65 years old, despite the fact that the Grey Cup predates it, as it was previously used by the Canadian Rugby Union.

The Canadian Rugby Union still exists today as Football Canada.

(Today I learned far more about Canadian Football and the CFL than I thought I'd ever know, but it really is amazing what rabbit holes one will find themselves crawling through.)
 
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dj4aces said:
To be fair, the post says CFL, or the Canadian Football League. The inaugural season of the CFL took place in 1958 after the Canadian Football Council separated from the Canadian Rugby Union. Thus, the entity that is the Canadian Football League is only 65 years old, despite the fact that the Grey Cup predates it, as it was previously used by the Canadian Rugby Union.

The Canadian Rugby Union still exists today as Football Canada.

(Today I learned far more about Canadian Football and the CFL than I thought I'd ever know, but it really is amazing what rabbit holes one will find themselves crawling through.)
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:)

I agree so, while he was technically correct, he wasn't giving the League the credit it deserves for longevity.
 
ORRFForever said:
:)

I agree so, while he was technically correct, he wasn't giving the League the credit it deserves for longevity.
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The league and the teams in it have different longevity, which makes me real fun at parties when I go on a tangent about how old the Toronto Argonauts are. 🤣
 


Looks like in spite of things the situation is improving from earlier in the season.

Just wondering if the mood of the fans is improving?? ….. or is the economy still an issue??

Or both??
 
TheLegend said:


Looks like in spite of things the situation is improving from earlier in the season.

Just wondering if the mood of the fans is improving?? ….. or is the economy still an issue??

Or both??
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Its the economy for the most part. Fans are very happy with how this season is going.
 
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TheLegend said:


Looks like in spite of things the situation is improving from earlier in the season.

Just wondering if the mood of the fans is improving?? ….. or is the economy still an issue??

Or both??
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Canadian economy is as disaster right now due to years of government mismanagement. People across the country are feeling the effects of it, but you obviously notice it more in places like Winnipeg.
 
dj4aces said:
There's a difference between *selling out* and *filling the barn*. According to ESPN, Arizona "sold out" all 4600 seats last night. Now, I'm not a sports executive, nor did I spend last night at a Holiday Inn Express, but I'm pretty sure Alex Meruelo doesn't particularly care one way or another if those who bought tickets didn't show up. All that matters is the tickets were sold, and to that end, it was a success.

If attendance figures started reporting people who actually showed up, that'd be another story, and it'd be a very interesting story indeed.
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If the team gets a share of food and beverage it does matter whether fans who purchased the tickets show up to the game. Lost revenue potential for that part of the business.

For the jets, it’s mostly on the corporate side that they’ve fallen off.
 
StreetHawk said:
If the team gets a share of food and beverage it does matter whether fans who purchased the tickets show up to the game. Lost revenue potential for that part of the business.

For the jets, it’s mostly on the corporate side that they’ve fallen off.
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We'll never exactly know as they don't have public data but they've for sure lost thousands of season ticket holders. Jets did a horrible job of retention. Felt like they could fall back on waitlist but a decade in the waitlist faded to dust.
 
TheLegend said:


Looks like in spite of things the situation is improving from earlier in the season.

Just wondering if the mood of the fans is improving?? ….. or is the economy still an issue??

Or both??
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100% the economy. Hard to go anywhere in Winnipeg and not see people sporting Jets merch.

The problem is that a $20 toque is a much more feasible way for most of us to support the team than, say, dropping hundreds on taking a family to a game.
 
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BigZ65 said:
We'll never exactly know as they don't have public data but they've for sure lost thousands of season ticket holders. Jets did a horrible job of retention. Felt like they could fall back on waitlist but a decade in the waitlist faded to dust.
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Exactly. Jets Thought the wait list would offset corporate support decline but they neglected the economy.
 
StreetHawk said:
If the team gets a share of food and beverage it does matter whether fans who purchased the tickets show up to the game. Lost revenue potential for that part of the business.

For the jets, it’s mostly on the corporate side that they’ve fallen off.
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To make a completely factual analysis, we'd need to know actual numbers. However, I would point out the price of tickets are far higher than some bar food and a beer at a game. When you consider how consumers' budgets have changed over just the last few years, and already overpriced food and drink falls outside budgets today, even if they didn't fall outside one's budget just five years ago.

You can choose to continue this food and drink tangent on a post I made over a month ago, but I promise you, teams care more about the $100+ you're dropping on a ticket. It's the businesses inside who care more about those ticket buyers also buying nachosand a beer.
 
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