Winnipeg Construction X

[davequanbury]

Sounds like y'all need a hockey thread...

[P&M40BELOW]

I know a number of people that gave up their tickets and some that are thinking of giving them up. I really don’t get it. Their answer is, “ its time for someone else to step up”, and “I can get tickets any time I want now”. There isn't any urgency to owning them now; which is not a good sign. When we are the smallest market in the league we better be selling out. BTW there isn’t anyone one else standing in the wing to take their place; so its a real problem.

The game day experience that we have at CLC matches well against the majority of the arenas in the league. Concessions are above average (surprisingly), beer is the same or cheaper and parking is superior to most. Going to Browns or the Market measures up well against the bigger cities in the league; and i’v been to a number of them. Anaheim is by far the worst.

People in this city better wake up and appreciate what we have, because there wont be a 3.0

[WinCitySparky]

Hellesuck

[P&M40BELOW]

Originally Posted by WinCitySparky

Hellesuck

BTW I was recently in Nashville. Some hammered guy came up to us on the strip and said hello! and asked where we were from. Winnipeg, Canada! it’s above Minneapolis. He said I know, and “I hate the Jets.” Ha, I LOVED it. If it wasn’t for the Jets, few would have any reason to an opinion on us.

[roccerfeller]

Originally Posted by trueviking

It does amaze me, not just here but in general, how complacent Winnipeggers are about the poor attendance at Jets games....I don't think people realize just how much smaller and less wealthy Winnipeg is compared to the other cities.....the absolute most basic metric that we can control is attendance, and now we are even letting that go.

Vike, you’re having a bit of a worry crisis about nothing

It’s not just the Jets or the NHL that is hurting ticket wise. The pandemic is still having an effect on industry globally.

Take in a deep breath. The jets are going to be OK.

[WinCitySparky]

Originally Posted by P&M40BELOW

BTW I was recently in Nashville. Some hammered guy came up to us on the strip and said hello! and asked where we were from. Winnipeg, Canada! it’s above Minneapolis. He said I know, and “I hate the Jets.” Ha, I LOVED it. If it wasn’t for the Jets, few would have any reason to an opinion on us.

lol

[esquire]

Originally Posted by P&M40BELOW

I know a number of people that gave up their tickets and some that are thinking of giving them up. I really don’t get it. Their answer is, “ its time for someone else to step up”, and “I can get tickets any time I want now”. There isn't any urgency to owning them now; which is not a good sign. When we are the smallest market in the league we better be selling out. BTW there isn’t anyone one else standing in the wing to take their place; so its a real problem.

I wonder if there is just a fatigue among that sets in after a while that gets people to walk away? If you go to 20, 30, 40 games a year, then that is a lot of time being spent at the arena watching hockey. It's understandable that after a decade of that you might want to do something else with your time.

Also, people get older and their priorities change... the guy who took on season tickets at 27 is maybe now married with children and has domestic duties filling up his days. The guy who took on season tickets at 58 is now a retiree and might not have the desire to go downtown to watch hockey night after night.

I guess the challenge for TNSE is to find other people willing to step up to take on that commitment after the initial crop of season ticket holders is ready to move on.

[drew]

I have been in a ticket group since day 1 of Jets 2.0 - and I think this is our last season.

I still enjoy going to games, but the with 2 kids in sports, there just isn't the time to dedicate towards it. Plus the costs... I am at the point where I buy a coffee at the games and that's it.

I won't lie that part of it is that there is literally no advantage to being a season ticket holder, other than guaranteeing playoff tickets. It's kind of a piss off when I get emails advertising ticket packages with some schwag that cost less than what I have to pay as a season ticket holder. And all I get for my trouble is a 25% discount on concessions (got to spend money to save money).

The Jets going forward need to treat their season ticket holders and groups better and not take them for granted. Throw them some free stuff. Some free events. A couple toques, whatever - something!

[esquire]

Originally Posted by drew

I won't lie that part of it is that there is literally no advantage to being a season ticket holder, other than guaranteeing playoff tickets. It's kind of a piss off when I get emails advertising ticket packages with some schwag that cost less than what I have to pay as a season ticket holder. And all I get for my trouble is a 25% discount on concessions (got to spend money to save money).

The Jets going forward need to treat their season ticket holders and groups better and not take them for granted. Throw them some free stuff. Some free events. A couple toques, whatever - something!

Even the playoff thing is not a huge factor. Playoff tickets are even more expensive than regular season tickets, so a lot of people only go to the odd playoff game. I remember the 2018 playoff run, by the time the Jets got to the conference finals, a lot of people had already spent a ton on tickets in the first couple rounds such that there was still a decent amount of availability in the third round. I can see playoff priority access mattering most in the Stanley Cup Finals, if and when that ever happens.

I will say, I have received far more free shit from the ICE than I ever did from the Jets. Jersey, toques, extra tickets, free on-ice skills events with the players (major thrill for the kiddos), giveaways at the games, season ticket holder receptions and rallies. I think the only extras I got from the Jets was a keychain and the annual season ticket holder skate, which was admittedly a lot of fun. I used my Jets Rewards points for some Moose tickets and a front-row upgrade once, so I guess there was that too.

Anyway, I only spend about a thousand dollars a year on my ICE tickets, compared to several times that on my Jets tickets. Now, I don't expect anything more than game tickets when I pay for my season tickets, but it does make you feel valued and appreciated when you get a few extras.

[cheswick]

The Jets 100% took for granted their season ticket holders in the early days, and it's come back to bite them somewhat. With that said, poor attendance is far from a Winnipeg issue. Coming out of the pandemic attendance has been down pretty much across the board. The Leafs aren't even selling out every game with the season they're having. I'm guessing there's probably still some hesitancy surrounding covid.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by davequanbury

Sounds like y'all need a hockey thread...

Yes, there IS a Jets thread. IMO It would be nice if this conversation transferred over there and leave this thread for construction, but sometimes its tough to control where a conversation leads when so many people have opinions and counter-opinions.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by trueviking

It's a great question....every single one of them has a different excuse....game day experience, whatever that means, true north doesn't care about them, the food, the sight lines, the seats, the cost of tickets, the cost of beer...it's a never ending list....I personally think COVID has made people sedentary and they are just looking for excuses to convince themselves they should stay home.

I look at my beer league hockey that used to have 12 divisions, and now it has six....my summer slow pitch league had 16 teams and now it has 8....i honestly think working from home and the general routine of not going out has created a sedentary society....and in the smallest city in the NHL that has significant repercussions.

I truly believe life has become a competition to see who can never leave their house the most.....we skip food instead of going to restaurants, we watch Netflix instead of going to movies.

Sad but true, the whole COVID thing changed peoples habits in an unimaginable negative way, people have become less social and looks like it’s becoming hard to reverse!

Winnipegs demographics have changed a lot in the last decade or more which isn’t represented at our sporting events or much else for the most part!

[esquire]

^ Rereading vike's post, I have to say, to some extent people choosing to stay home for entertainment is a pretty rational decision in many respects. For instance, movies... when you think about it, what is the actual benefit of going to the cinema? If I take my kids to a movie, it costs me $12 a head to get in, and you know kids want snacks, so there's another $30 for a bag of popcorn and a couple of drinks. Then I have to sit through a pile of commercials before the movie.

At home I can watch on my big screen TV. Popcorn costs maybe 25 cents. Another 25 cents worth of melted butter. No commercials, no driving. Hockey is not that much different. Yeah, it's fun to be at the arena. But is it worth $400 to be there? Maybe to some, but not to everyone. The steep prices for so many entertainment activities are pushing people to stay home, which is understandable.

[EdwardTH]

Originally Posted by trueviking

pick any other NHL city....I just used Vancouver because I happened to be there....what city has less wealth than Winnipeg?

I don't accept that it is inherently a stable franchise...there is no reason to believe that...it is a business like any other....I think its absolutely naive to believe Winnipeg is a lock as a major league market.

You flip back and forth between "we're too small and poor to have a major league team" to "Winnipeggers should be ashamed they don't support the team more"… well is it the fans' fault or are we just too small and poor? Personally I embrace the fact that we have no business being a major-league city, but we hang in there anyway. We shouldn’t be fretting over the fact that most teams sell more tickets and make more money, we should be proud of the fact that we cling to life despite being a frozen little flyover city.

We are one of the poorest franchises in the league and always will be. But that doesn't automatically mean relocation. Things aren't the same as they were in the 90s when the NHL wanted to move small market teams off to the southern US at the drop of a hat. They seem to have learned from that and shifted to helping the little teams get by. And at the end of the day if your ownership wants to make it work then you're fine. Florida is a mess but the owners don't seem to have any interest in selling and the league isn't pushing for it. The league doesn’t want to shrink, there are several teams more in need of relocation than us, and only so many other places for them to go. Which makes me believe the Jets are staying where we are for the foreseeable future. Maybe it's trauma from '96 that makes us assume low ticket sales must mean relocation, but it's not the 90s anymore and there were a lot more factors in play even then. You can be a poor franchise and still hang in there.

To be clear I have no allusions that the Jets are very shaky financially and it's absolutely possible they could fail. I just don't think we need to be this doom-and-gloom right now.

Originally Posted by trueviking

Are you suggesting that the lucrative real estate market in downtown Winnipeg is what we should hang our hat on to be competitive?...that's an even worse argument.
.

Not quite… don't they still own TNS and centrepoint and lease them out? Assuming yes, then having a team that breaks even or even loses money next door helps fill hotel rooms, restaurants, and even the residential seems like an easier sell when you have those games bringing people into the area. That can offset losses from the actual team. If the team leaves then their apartments, hotel and restaurant tenants are gone too. If they sold TNS and centrepoint on completion well then I'm full of shit

Don't forget, the Jets sell tickets outside of Winnipeg too. Southern teams often get 1000 Jets fans in attendance to fill their own empty seats. Ottawa had a full barn when they played the Jets, one of their only sellouts this year. There may be 1500 empty seats at our rink but there are also often 1000+ filled seats at other rinks that wouldn't be filled if the team was based in Houston instead of Winnipeg.

[Sheepish]

Originally Posted by pspeid

Yes, there IS a Jets thread. IMO It would be nice if this conversation transferred over there and leave this thread for construction, but sometimes its tough to control where a conversation leads when so many people have opinions and counter-opinions.

Seems to me this got off topic from the subject of SHED, and the loss of the Towne Theater. Whether for the benefit of the Jets, the pursuit of larger downtown residential, or the creation of more vibrant downtown, the point was that for SHED to be realized the designated area needs more attractions - like movie theaters, hospitality and a more walkable environment. The degree to which True North should help lead this way, is another subject. Otherwise...yes discussions on the Jets future would best be in the Jets thread. In the meantime...I'll watch the game on TV tonight with my local beer.

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by P&M40BELOW

I know a number of people that gave up their tickets and some that are thinking of giving them up. I really don’t get it. Their answer is, “ its time for someone else to step up”, and “I can get tickets any time I want now”. There isn't any urgency to owning them now; which is not a good sign. When we are the smallest market in the league we better be selling out. BTW there isn’t anyone one else standing in the wing to take their place; so its a real problem.

The game day experience that we have at CLC matches well against the majority of the arenas in the league. Concessions are above average (surprisingly), beer is the same or cheaper and parking is superior to most. Going to Browns or the Market measures up well against the bigger cities in the league; and i’v been to a number of them. Anaheim is by far the worst.

People in this city better wake up and appreciate what we have, because there wont be a 3.0

That's just it. When people bought season tickets for the first 7 or 8 years, they could count on others buying their unused tickets for single game pricing (which is 25- 50%) which is higher than the season ticket price/game thus earning themselves a bit of a profit. Then just before COVID, it became more common for people to have difficulty selling their tickets at the discounted season ticket rate, let alone at the single-game pricing rate...especially for the less desirable games. Tickets then go unused or people take a loss of them (ie. giving them away for free).

This drop in demand certainly won't entice people to renew their season seats.

[esquire]

^ That was exactly what prompted me to get out...once the resale market dropped out and you could easily get tickets for below the Ticketmaster walk up price, there was no longer really any point in holding the season tickets. I was on my own so there wasn't any pressure from buddies to "keep the group going" or whatever.

I couldn't fathom the idea of signing on for another term knowing that in a few years time I could be facing the prospect of having to sell tickets for games I didn't want/couldn't go to for a third of what I paid.

[1ajs]

• Video Link

[drew]

^ That's awesome. Love to have a tour of the Nutty Club manufacturing facilities.

[wardlow]

Originally Posted by trueviking

I personally think COVID has made people sedentary and they are just looking for excuses to convince themselves they should stay home.

I look at my beer league hockey that used to have 12 divisions, and now it has six....my summer slow pitch league had 16 teams and now it has 8....i honestly think working from home and the general routine of not going out has created a sedentary society....and in the smallest city in the NHL that has significant repercussions.

I truly believe life has become a competition to see who can never leave their house the most.....we skip food instead of going to restaurants, we watch Netflix instead of going to movies.

This is an absolutely huge issue (and yes this has a massive impact on the kind of city we have and what does and doesn't get built around town). What will be left of physical, public life outside of our homes?

Like the class of people still working from home, it has nothing to do with an actual worry about Covid-19 anymore, but about the new routine. We all retreated into a digital couch life in 2020 and so many don't really care to leave. It sounds trivial, but it's disheartening to hear that your beer leagues have shrunk by half. The disintegration of society (clubs, churches, sports, etc.) has been happening since... the 1940s?, but Covid-19 really seems to have dismantled the threadbare structure that was still standing in 2019. It's very worrying. What does the city look like when people are completely atomized and constantly online and society disintegrates?

I know the economy has something to do with how people spend their money currently. Times are relatively bad. But it's deeper than that.