The Winnipeg Jets are taking an aggressive new approach to boost attendance — a nagging issue that’s put the team on the NHL radar for the wrong reasons.
The club has been doing its part on the ice; a stellar start has has them near the top of the standings and looking like a serious Stanley Cup contender.
But that success hasn’t been duplicated at the box office. The organization has reported only modest attendance gains and is still well below its targeted season-ticket goal.
There’s an increased sense of urgency to get that number up as reflected by a beefed-up sales and marketing team and the implementation of a new game plan aimed at Winnipeg’s corporate community.
JESSICA LEE / FREE PRESS FILES
The Winnipeg Jets have averaged 13,770 fans through through the first 13 home games so far this season. That puts them third lowest in attendance in the NHL, behind only Utah (11,131) and San Jose (13,304) in terms of raw numbers.
“We feel good about the momentum that’s been created, but there’s still more to do,” Rob Mullowney, the new senior VP of ticket sales and service, told the Free Press Thursday.
“Our goal is to be sold out every night. We’re not there.”
The average crowd count for the first 13 games this year (not including Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights) was 13,770, which represents 90.4 per cent capacity inside Canada Life Centre. That is 30th overall in the NHL in terms of raw numbers — only San Jose and Utah draw fewer customers — and 25th overall in terms of capacity.
It marks an increase from the 12,170 the Jets averaged in the first 13 games last year, which is largely a product of stronger walk-up sales for a high-flying team that set a new NHL record by winning 15 of its first 16 games.
But what might that look like if the Jets were 9-21 through their first 30 contests, rather than 21-9?
“We need to fill the building,” said Bram Strain, the president and CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba and a Jets season-ticket holder who has been working closely with the organization.
“We feel good about the momentum that’s been created, but there’s still more to do.”–Rob Mullowney
The bad news is the season-ticket base is currently at 10,000, which is up about 500 from last year’s all-time low but still 3,000 short of what True North Sports and Entertainment co-owner Mark Chipman and league commissioner Gary Bettman have said is needed to ensure the Jets remain viable and competitive in the league’s smallest market.
Winnipeg had 13,000 season-ticket holders from 2011 through 2018 — with non-stop sellouts at the downtown rink — before the numbers began to nose-dive starting in 2018 and only got worse during and following the global pandemic.
“If you want quality on the ice, you have to pay to the (salary) cap,” said Strain.
Jets attendance by the numbers
HOME GAMES THIS SEASON:
Oct. 11 vs. Chicago: 14,564
Oct. 13 vs. Minnesota: 12,916
Oct. 18 vs. San Jose: 13,422
Oct. 11 vs. Chicago: 14,564
Oct. 13 vs. Minnesota: 12,916
Oct. 18 vs. San Jose: 13,422
Oct. 20 vs Pittsburgh: 13,760
Oct. 28 vs Toronto: 15,225
Nov. 3 vs. Tampa Bay: 12,912
Nov, 5 vs. Utah: 12,932
Nov, 7 vs. Colorado: 12,918
Nov. 9 vs. Dallas: 15,225
Nov. 19. vs Florida: 15,225
Dec. 3 vs. St. Louis: 13,100
Dec. 8 vs. Columbus: 13,887
Dec. 10 vs. Boston: 12,921
TOTAL THROUGH 13 GAMES: 179,007 = 13,770 per game
Only Utah (11,131, due to ongoing building renovations) and San Jose (13,304) are averaging less in terms of raw numbers. Only Utah, San Jose, Columbus, Buffalo, Anaheim, Calgary and Pittsburgh are averaging less in terms of capacity percentage.
In publicly sounding the alarm last season, Chipman revealed that only about 15 per cent of the team’s season-ticket holders were from businesses, with private citizens accounting for the other 85 per cent. That is, by far, the lowest corporate support in the league. Some Canadian markets sell more than 50 per cent of their season tickets to businesses.
“As a big-league, big-city team — and the Jets do define us somewhat worldwide as a brand — if you want them to win, you have to to spend to the cap ($88 million this season, projected to rise to more than $92 million next year),” said Strain.
“It’s incumbent on big and small and medium-sized enterprises to play their part. It’s not like they’re asking for donations. This is for a high-value product.”
According to Mullowney, the club is “north of 20 per cent” when it comes to businesses this year.
The Jets got 95 per cent renewals of their existing 9,500 season-ticket holders and added more than 1,000 new customers during the summer with a heavy emphasis on businesses.
“We like the direction we’re going, but we’re not all the way there,” said Mullowney, who started his role in March after previous stints with the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks.
THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES/John Woods
Winnipeg Jets’ Nikita Chibrikov celebrates a goal in front of fans at Canada Life Centre. The Jets set a new NHL record by winning 15 of their first 16 games this season.
“We’ve reinvested a lot of resources into sales and service over the last 12 months. We have the largest sales and services team we’ve ever had. I think that’s an example of the organization understanding where we’ve been and understanding what’s required to get us back to where we want to be.”
Beginning Friday, the Jets are introducing a new “Biz Pass” they hope will lead to a much-needed spike in sales within the corporate community and shore up the foundation so that they are not so reliant on Joe and Jane Fan to carry such a heavy load.
“Businesses can set a budget and choose the games that work for them, for various means,” said Mullowney.
“Whether it’s engaging employees, celebrating a milestone, hosting customers, it’s a flexible ticket offering that we feel positions us better within the business market. It’s a new opportunity for us, and we’ll see how it goes and what the reaction is in the market.”
“When you look across the NHL, flexible ticket offerings are becoming more and more current. I don’t think we’re reinventing the wheel here.”–Rob Mullowney
The Biz Pass is the result of feedback the Jets have received in ongoing meetings and discussions over recent months. There are three different price levels of investment for the second-half of the current season — $2,000, $5,000 or $10,000 — followed by discussions with a ticket agent to pick the numbers of games and tickets the price point will cover.
“They could use it all for one game, they could go to two or three games. It’s up to them. There’s different prices based on the day of the week and the opponent,” said Mullowney.
“When you look across the NHL, flexible ticket offerings are becoming more and more current. I don’t think we’re reinventing the wheel here, but we’re looking at how we can better penetrate a particular segment. That segment is asking us and looking for more flexibility.”
Winning combination
A win for the Winnipeg Jets is a win for downtown restaurants and bars, the people who work there say.
Local Public Eatery on Garry Street is one of several to track a year-over-year increase in foot traffic related to Jets games.
“There are more people coming in (who are) excited about the team,” said general manager Riley Edwards. “Obviously, a historic start to the year.”
A win for the Winnipeg Jets is a win for downtown restaurants and bars, the people who work there say.
Local Public Eatery on Garry Street is one of several to track a year-over-year increase in foot traffic related to Jets games.
“There are more people coming in (who are) excited about the team,” said general manager Riley Edwards. “Obviously, a historic start to the year.”
Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays — typically the least-desirable game days for visits to downtown — have been busier than in past NHL seasons, Edwards noted.
Lake of the Woods Brewing Co. has altered its hours to accommodate Winnipeg Jets fans. Traffic at the True North Square site typically doubles or triples during evenings when the Jets play, said Mike Reis, the company’s Manitoba sales supervisor.
“Everyone wants to be down here, they want to be part of it,” Reis said. “The pre-game rush is busier than ever.”
Lake of the Woods is often full two hours before a home game and for an hour after the game ends with a win, he said, noting that when the team loses the post-game traffic drops.
The Jets-induced business boost comes during a time when consumers are spending less on non-essentials, Reis said.
Games also draw new customers from the suburbs who might not otherwise have a reason to go downtown.
The new faces sometimes return after game day, Reis said.
“You’re seeing those people come back on a non-event night,” he said.
Popular opponents such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, an original six NHL club — guarantee an even bigger swell in traffic, said Jei Dela Cruz, kitchen manager at Saburo Kitchen inside True North Square’s Hargrave Street Market.
A 2023 year-in-review report from the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ highlighted the Jets, Manitoba Moose and Winnipeg Sea Bears — all of which play at Canada Life Centre — as draws for thousands of people to visit the city’s core.
— Gabrielle Piché
The Jets are also hoping they are now giving people more bang for their buck, with improved game-day amenities such as contactless entry to the rink, better concessions and entertainment.
“The quality of the experience has elevated the last couple of years,” said Strain, noting millions of dollars have been poured into arena upgrades, in addition to all of the other projects being tackled by True North in downtown Winnipeg.
“We are in this together. And you’d be hard-pressed to find an owner more invested in the community.”
There has also been a noticeable effort to re-engage with a fan base the club has admitted it may have taken for granted in the past, including enhanced perks for season-ticket holders, such as players making personal visits to deliver prizes and merchandise.
“Each of those are individual things, but they all add up to creating that momentum that positions us in a way to keep building,” said Mullowney.
A good part of his job has been to reconnect with former corporate ticket holders, including some who were disgruntled and walked away. Chipman has admitted the Jets didn’t do a great job of customer service in the past, as tickets essentially sold themselves in the first decade after the NHL returned to Winnipeg.
“There’s certainly been some of those conversations,” said Mullowney.
“But they’ve been positive conversations, with customers bringing forward their concerns and their rationale. One thing that has been consistent is their commitment and their fandom of our team. And we’ve been successful in winning some of those customers back. Some will take a little more time.”
According to TSN, the Jets’ regional TV broadcaster, the average game audience this year is 268,000, which makes it the most-watched season not including the COVID campaign in 2021, That’s a big jump from 210,000 last year, showing Winnipeg’s hot start has got the public’s attention.
The mission for True North now is getting more of those people off the couch and into the building.
The Jets have registered three sellouts so far this year, and upcoming home games Saturday (Montreal) and next Saturday (Minnesota) are trending in that direction. They hope to keep that going for the remaining 25 home dates that will come after Christmas, including eight straight to kick off January.
Winnipeg didn’t record its first sellout last year until Dec. 30, eventually finishing with 10 as sales surged in the second half — Bettman’s in-person visit to figuratively pound the table likely played a role — which pushed average attendance up to 13,490.
mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca
X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg
Mike McIntyre
Sports reporter
Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.
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