Le propriétaire de Jets veut que la communauté commerciale stimule les ventes d’abonnements
—
carsonbiz
@Jets de Winnipeg
Le propriétaire de Jets veut que la communauté commerciale stimule les ventes d’abonnements
—
carsonbiz
6 Comments
Get this paywall garbage out of here
Jets owner wants biz community to spark season-ticket sales
by Martin Cash
The Winnipeg Jets are out to recapture an NHL playoff spot. Off the ice, the organization is out to recapture paying customers.
The Jets have launched a campaign — called Forever Winnipeg — to significantly boost season-ticket sales for the 2023-24 campaign.
It’s being deemed the “largest season ticket member sales drive” since 2011 when the franchise moved from Atlanta to the Manitoba capital. Back then, the goal to sell 13,000 season tickets was reached within 17 minutes.
On Tuesday, True North Sports and Entertainment chairman Mark Chipman told a crowd at a Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce luncheon the hockey team has lost 3,000 season-ticket holders since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That challenge has become far more daunting now that the effect of the pandemic is fully understood,” he said. “After 10 years of consecutive sellouts, we now find ourselves in a very different world.”
Chipman said the local business community does not drive season-ticket sales, as is the case in other Canadian markets.
That needs to change, said Chipman.
“Eighty-five per cent of our season-ticket base is made up of personal accounts. Only 15 per cent held by biz. Compared to our Canadian counterparts who enjoy a range of 45 per cent to 85 per cent of accounts being held by business.
“You’re now figuring out why we are here (at the business luncheon) today.”
“That challenge has become far more daunting now that the effect of the pandemic is fully understood. After 10 years of consecutive sellouts, we now find ourselves in a very different world.”–Mark Chipman
The team has had limited success in the dozen seasons since relocating. It has qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs just five times and won only three post-season rounds. That said, no Canadian team has played more playoff games than the Jets in the past five seasons.
This season, the Jets are on the verge of making the playoffs, although the journey hasn’t been easy. The team was 34-19-1 on Valentine’s Day to sit near the top of the Western Conference standings but has gone just 11-13-2 since then.
True North kicked off the campaign with a 90-second promotional video — narrated by Winnipegger and international pro wrestling star Kenny Omega — that asks a pivotal question of the market: “Is Winnipeg an NHL City?”
A statement from the organization said, “The answer lies within the collective act of will that brought the NHL back in 2011 and the strong community of fans that continue to answer a resounding ‘Yes, Winnipeg IS an NHL City.’”
The video features scenes of the Jets’ return to Winnipeg and a jam-packed Canada Life Centre during memorable nights at the downtown rink.
In the coming weeks, billboards and digital advertising will be used to generate renewed interest, focusing on four main themes: family; community; memories; and pride. Fans will be directed to visit ForeverWinnipeg.ca and sign up to receive more information about season-ticket packages and the benefits of being on board for the ‘23-24 campaign.
Jets attendance has certainly dropped, with just a handful of home games reaching capacity (15,325) this year. The average crowd is 14,045, which places the team 30th ahead of only the San Jose Sharks and Arizona Coyotes, who play in a 5,000-seat college rink.
In Monday’s wrap-up of a crucial five-game home stand, just 13,428 fans watched the Jets thump the Sharks 6-2.
Winnipeg is 22nd out of 32 NHL teams in terms of capacity, with 93.7 per cent attendance.
Chipman points out tickets are affordable when compared to other Canadian teams in the loop.
“You might also be interested to know that our average ticket price has consistently ranked sixth of seven (Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto Montreal, Ottawa).
“As we enter another post-season… we thought this was an opportune time to humbly remind the community that we need your support,” he said. “There’s something about a sold-out building. As the smallest market in the NHL, it is something that we have come to rely on in many ways.”
The very businesses your gave a hard time too when they Jets first came back about giving away their personal tickets or trying to sell them. Bold move Chipman.
They really need to go back to paper tickets. I work for a company that had season tickets and they would give them out to their customers and employees and they always took the tickets. When they switched to the digital way where you needed to create an account and all the other little steps we found out that a lot of customers had less interest just cause for them the digital way was too confusing for them. They enjoyed the paper tickets a lot more cause they could just come to our office, grab the tickets and do whatever they wanted with them after that. It sounds like a weird reason but hey Boomers are Boomers and they like things simple🤷♂️
Also other aspects that need to be addressed is the crime downtown and having to worry about getting mugged when you leave the area.
Lol drop the prices of tickets and concessions down to something reasonable (like 2011 prices) and you’ll sell out again with a competitive team easily. Problem solved.
Between soaring prices and watching this team for a few years now show absolutely no heart at times how can they seriously be surprised attendance is down? The economy and the pandemic are just a cop out for the real issues.
As a young person, I would also strongly prefer a physical ticket option