Winnipeg Jets owner Mark Chipman says the team needs to regain its strong attendance to ensure the franchise has a solid future in one of the smallest markets in the league.
In an interview with The Athletic, Chipman said the team’s season-ticket base is under 9,500 this season after being around 13,000 three years ago.
“I wouldn’t be honest with you if I didn’t say, ‘We’ve got to get back to 13,000,’” Chipman said. “This place we find ourselves in right now, it’s not going to work over the long haul. It just isn’t.”
The Jets’ average attendance of 13,306 has the team playing to 87.4 per cent capacity at the 15,225-seat Canada Life Centre, the third worst mark in the 32-team NHL. The average attendance is second worst to the Arizona Coyotes, who play in a 4,600-seat college rink.
While attendance has improved in recent weeks with the Jets competing for top spot in the Central Division, the low season-ticket number makes it tough to fill the rink on a nightly basis. The team has sold out just four games this season.
The Jets were one of the hottest tickets in the league upon their return to the NHL in 2011, drawing 332 consecutive sellouts. The original Jets moved to Arizona in 1996.
The current franchise hasn’t enjoyed much playoff success, winning just three total post-season series in Winnipeg.
It hasn’t been the same story for the city’s other big pro team, the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Blue Bombers, who have appeared in four consecutive Grey Cup games, led the league with an average crowd of 30,449 last season, Winnipeg’s best mark in 10 years.
Chipman told The Athletic the Jets are trying to win back fans back by inviting former ticket holders back to a game this season.
Chipman says they have a key message for all fans.
“What we try to convey to those people is, we’re trying to win,” Chipman said. “And in order to win or be competitive, we’ve got to keep up. We will never match the Leafs’ gate. It’s really remarkable. We can’t match that. But Edmonton really outperforms us, and that’s harder to accept, right? Because we think of ourselves as equals.
“I know Edmonton is a bigger city and they have that pedigree of all those Stanley Cups, but I think most people in Winnipeg and most people in Edmonton look at one another (with) a healthy respect.”
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is scheduled to visit Winnipeg on Tuesday, where he will meet corporate sponsors and attend the team’s game against the St. Louis Blues.
The organization first raised concerns about attendance last April when it started a “Forever Winnipeg” marketing campaign.
“Because of the history, it’s a bit of a tinderbox,” Chipman said. “In retrospect, we weren’t trying to be dramatic, but it got people’s hair up. That wasn’t the intent, but our bad. So it is not just the issue of not wanting to appear to be whining about this or evoking sympathy, it’s also the issue of not wanting to appear to be in any way threatening.
“And that’s hard given the history.”
