Quote:
Originally Posted by CoryB
Gut feel is Winnipeg Ice is going to go after the "Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Flight Deck" market now that the Jets have moved away from that. I get MLLC has shifted their focus but the reality is the True North Youth Foundation could have taken over that role if they wanted. Reality is you don't need a corporate sponsoring buying a whole section of tickets for Jets games when you have a wait list for season ticket members.
The Ice could run a "team bus" concept where the shuttle bus comes to the local community centre to pick up a youth sports teams, and their family and friends to attend the game. After the game it brings them back there. The plan, in my vision, is the Ice give essentially free tickets to youth hockey players and monetize the "family and friends" that go with them. In classic "free" fundraising events at bars groups that do well at monetizing their invite will be invited back for another game.
With approximately 4,000 seats in the arena once it gets built that is a lot of space to basically give free admission as a loss leader to sell pop, hotdogs, beer and popcorn.
My gut feel is admission revenue isn't where there plan is at it will be all those add ons with the longer term vision to build a strong loyalty with the youth hockey market.
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This is a pretty good take. You used to see a lot of this sort of thing at Jets 1.0 games, there were lots of group outings. It doesn't happen with Jets 2.0 for a couple of reasons boiling down to availability and price, but oddly, you still don't see many teams and other groups at Moose games.
Thinking back to my younger years, I'd wager that the WHL would be like catnip to hockey-obsessed 12 year old Peewee players. 50 Below (what a silly name BTW) could probably do 10 teams a game, easy.
I don't think you can necessarily build the team on those group sales (they'll still be relying on fans from SW Winnipeg and the bedroom communities south of town), but it certainly won't hurt.