Des fans bouleversés se prononcent sur les problèmes de fréquentation des Jets et menacent de partir
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carsonbiz
@Jets de Winnipeg
Des fans bouleversés se prononcent sur les problèmes de fréquentation des Jets et menacent de partir
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carsonbiz
34 Comments
The guy who said “True North needs more tax breaks” is so far out to lunch.
There’s a lot of businesses in Winnipeg that have done well because of the Jets. True North isn’t asking a lot.
threat to leave? I refused to pay anything to read Chris fucking Johnston so I’m not sure, but didn’t Chipman say in the article they wouldn’t relocate “on their watch”?
True North may need more bums in seats but telling the market what to do is always the wrong move. Maybe listen to what the market wants and give the market what it asks for instead?
There’s been no actual “threat to leave”
I’m sick of these ridiculous sensational headlines.
To me, what I get from that article is that it’s not just one thing. Downtown, TN’s somewhat aloofness, the smaller corporate support, and the slow economic recovery after the pandemic have all contributed to this. Noted, it’s prevalent to an extent in other cities, but particularly noted in Winnipeg. To me, it will probably take some outside the box thinking to bring this to a resolution. I’m not pushing the panic button, but it does need looking at.
I think the biggest impact on season ticket sales was trying to sell them last spring while the Jets were playing unwatchable losing hockey and the threat of a rebuild was in the air. THis year’s season ticket drive should be more productive.
I can find tickets to Florida, Anaheim, Columbus, St Louis, Nashville, and Ottawa. For less than $50 CAD. This isn’t an issue of people not wanting to go to games, this is an issue of the corporate greed that True North has.
Have a couple dedicated « party zones » to get the atmosphere going at the games, this is what the bombers do and it works wonders for creating such a lively atmosphere.
Also discount local brews, there is no reason to be paying $10 for a beer that was made just down the road, when I can go to the LC pick up a 12 pack (of the same beer) for less than $30, sit at home with HOT pizza, and a front row seat to the best view at the arena.
Stop with the nonsense of the wacky foods, keep the jet dogs, burgers, chicken, and pizza. But stop with the weird shit that only people who regularly eat at the keg will buy, that is not your demographic. That demographic usually wont want to spend $15 for subpar food, they will go somewhere else before or after the game. Just look at the new Earls before puck drop.
Lastly you need to be able to have more fun in the concourse during the actual game. This is what the Bombers do very well. If you are targeting the casual fan, don’t make the only fun experience in the arena watching the game. Add a DJ, get some local bands playing in certain sections (this will bring in fans who have zero interest in watching the game, as watching their favourite band will come first)
There is so much True North can do to bring bums in seats, but they think if they revamp the budwiser zone, to make it more expensive, with new food options that are more expensive, and local brewery’s that are more expensive. Will bring people back? Market pressures are crazy and we all know that, so adapt to the market, dont be the bull. There is a reason why there is all this speculation with us, but buffalo, st. louis, and many other teams with their own bums in seats issues dont.
So Chipman makes a threat last season, fans get pissed. He backtracks and says oh no no, they won’t move on my watch. Fans cool off. Now he’s back with the same message as last year, said in a slightly different way, that this won’t work in the long haul. This pressure, release pressure, doesn’t jive with me at all.
Can they not give fans a damn break? Stop blaming fans and maybe look in the damn mirror. I have no pity for a millionaires woes of making slightly less millions. Does he care about his fans dealing with ridiculous inflation, effects of the pandemic, sky high rent and groceries etc? Fans are making less money right now too, yet he hasn’t tried lowering seat pricing at all, or coming up with any better ideas. He got fan loyalty for the past decade, and all he did was keep raising prices and lowering the quality of the product. Shrinkflation sucks, so don’t be surprised that the fans stopped buying.
Well past the time for TNSE to do the work they should have concentrated on when the Jets arrived back in Winnipeg: first work on establishing strong local business support and second focus on making the fan experience more enjoyable and approachable. The Jets have by far the lowest business support of any NHL team, at least 25 percent lower in fact. I would be willing to bet there are TNSE owned or linked businesses who do not support the team via ticket purchase.
The Jets early gate success resulted in TNSE sitting around and doing nothing but counting profits. The arrogance these people have to place all onus on the common fan for the declining attendance is sickening. Do they not realize that the overwhelming majority of fans didn’t pop out of the womb with a net worth north of $100 Million like they did? It’s tough for most Jets fans to attend a single game or 2 each year never mind season tickets.
One thing I could not agree more with is how fans are treated. It is tense and crammed, security and staff are kinda stressed or hostile. Always bugged me. Anywhere in the states I’ve been is chill. Some staff are great, but overall it’s like they are there to babysit not facilitate
I’d rather spend that money at a restaurant or bar where I feel welcomed and comfortable
I really hope this type of messaging isn’t part of their brand going forward.
I was all-in on the Save the Jets 1.0 bandwagon. I was shattered when they left.
However, life went on.
I’m not doing it again.
If the team’s business plan is alluding to move the team, I’ll lose interest pretty quick.
I love having NHL in Winnipeg. But I’m not going to spend every year wondering how long they’ll be around for this time.
If it’s no longer sustainable and it turns out that Winnipeg is not an NHL market, act on that. Fix it or move. Don’t blame the customers. I’ve been down this road. Never again.
TNSE made it clear in 2011 that it was a privalege to have tickets to a game. Fast forward, they are learning that it’s now a privalege to have fans buy tickets
100%. All points are valid. And It’s $30 for 2 local beers now. Insane.
Tickets in Detroit tomorrow for the Capitals game, sitting near centre ice in section 226- Ticketmaster tickets are $56.
Tickets in Winnipeg tomorrow for the Blues game, sitting near centre ice in section 205- Ticketmaster tickets are $177.
Tickets in Philadelphia tomorrow for the lightning game, sitting near centre ice in section 201- Ticketmaster tickets are $66.
While I believe the onus of this revenue pleading should be solely placed on David Thomson (the richest individual in Canada earning more than 99% of this country’s hard working citizens in less than 2 hours into January 1 every damn year..c’mon David take a few more gold bars out of your Reuters lair) I can’t actually believe Diana willingly quoted this:
“Diana, a retiree, says she can no longer go to games, but others should pick up the torch.
“It is up to the younger generations to keep what we brought back for them so at least we can follow them on TV and radio,” she wrote.””
Up to the younger generation eh? I’m 28, can’t afford our housing market, a bachelor’s of science won’t guarantee 70k/year, with a diminishing prospect of any CPP by the time I’m Diana’s age and a climate that won’t be able to withstand flooding, forest fires, hurricanes and earthquakes thanks to previous generation’s inability to place equality over greed and stabilize growth in a sustainable fashion. Sure, up to the younger generation. Lifelong Jets fan and yet it’s up to me, with all the compounding costs of living to keep the Jets up because of ownership decisions that frankly are out of touch with Manitobans?!
The system is broken and the Jets ticket sales are yet another casualty of neoliberal narrow-mindedness and greed.
Why does the first guy need the arena to tell him to go down to the glass for warm ups? Just go down. Calgarys game day experience isn’t sensational either I was just at the Jets game there.
Not sure if some Jets fan need golden bidets at the arena to clean their arse for them to have a good experience? Everyone keeps saying the gameday experience should be better, what exactly are you hoping for? Concession prices are insane everywhere.
Inflation and the Economy is the true culprit here. Not enough excess fun cash to go around.
The part that I find disappointing is that Chipman makes a comment about how they’ve done a poor job at customer service over the years but he’s been loyal to a fault. If you look at the senior leadership at TNSE, most of them have been around since the Moose days. All well and good but it’s tough to change your approach when the same people have been steering the ship in the same direction all these years.
Obviously, with all of these articles and concern, we are all thinking about this a lot. Some potential factors aren’t talked about much. Most of the woes started after the pandemic. I personally know a few people who didn’t see “eye to eye” on the COVID restrictions. Many of them gave up their tickets and won’t be back. Also, people who smoke weren’t too happy about the no re-entry policy. At the end of the day, TNSE has not taken care of their STH’s and this is the main cause. It was just too easy for them from day 1. I was really happy to hear Chipman admit to that to be honest.
« and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will »
And that one name.means do not bother… let the team go.
Gary is about making the owners money, that comes before fans, the sport, any entertainment value…. it’s the only important thing to him.
No single.person has done more damage to what was a great game.to watch than bettman…. if he’s involved, just let the team go.
Such a lame article… this is the same shit Sens fans have been hearing for years smh 🤦♀️
Can Bettman tell David Thomson what to do ? I have always assumed Chipman is DT sock puppet on this kind of thing. If DT is having fun, it’s not like his capital gains will erode if the team has a few yearly losses due to tapped out fan base in the inflationary Trudeau economy. If DT wants to realize his gains, is he better off moving the team to Houston first before selling ? Genuinely interested.
How heavily exposed to downtown real estate is Osmington ? Did they sell in recent years? Because if they move the Jets that craters the value of a lot of Thomson’s Winnipeg RE holdings – and removes one of the remaining motivations to protect normal people from the downtown underclass.
I could be wrong but I get the impression that back when the waiting list for season tickets was capped at 8,000, ownership took that as a license to treat the season ticket holder as expendable. If that’s the case, it’s an absolute shame they took such a near-sighted view and took the season ticket holder for granted in such a small market. They have their work cut out for them.
They should try a car giveaway from one of their dealerships to start. Maybe giveaway free oil changes or something of the sort. Take a cue from major businesses that sell or giveaway to get people in the door to buy the profitable items.
A new Arena has to be in the plans as well. It is not a or ever was a NHL capable arena. They aren’t committed to Winnipeg without a long term plan and that is showing.
Some context on the relationship between the team and the media:
The press box used to have the scribes and journos located directly beside the entrance to the owners box. Many times that door would remain open and conversations and exclamations were quite naturally overheard by those sitting close by. One of those conversations was overheard and made it into an article and Mr Chipman blew a gasket (privately). Next season the scribes were moved to the opposite side of the owners box which has no entrance or window to the box. The team has been slowly trying to limit any press exposure they deem “negative” which in other words is any media they dont directly control. Trust me when I say they have been trying for years to finance their own broadcasts both in radio and TV. Why do you think Sarah Orlesky now works directly for the Jets and not TSN. If they could sack CJOB and TSN and do everything in-house, they would do it in a heartbeat. They dont like the Winnipeg media, and are in many instances openly hostile to them.
The lazy fuck crowdsources his story from comments made by people, who like him, only want to bitch. Setting aside for the moment that nearly every comment he quotes is factually inaccurate in at least one way, what ever happened to balance?
Just my two cents… Myself and close friend used to travel to Winnipeg, from across the country, every year to see a couple games, see a Moose game, visit second hand record stores, eat at many different restaurants, visit museums, see a band or two, take in some art installations, and more. Last time we went was 2017-2018 to see the last two games of regular season. We always picked up « good » seats for the games. Last trip our seats were somewhere around $1000 for two games which was more than our airfare. We didn’t eat or drink at that game due to the ridiculous prices. Only money we spent in the building was for a couple of over priced souvenirs for family at the TN shop, 50/50 tickets, one item from the game used table, and some monies donated to the Humboldt Broncos bus crash fund (we were in Winnipeg when this tragedy happened. We were humbled to be a part of the Hawks and Jets game and the ceremonies that were organized around this tragedy.)
I am a Jets fan but also a Jonathon Toews fan. I wore my never worn to a game before Toews jersey and my Winnipeg toque. TN T-shirts were being given out in my section and I asked for one. Girl looked at me and said « I am not allowed to give you one » turned her back and walked away from our area.
After the game we went across the street for lots of beer and nachos. Even had a Jets fan buy me a beer while acknowledging my jersey. Had a lot of fun there. Lots of fun comments from fans regarding my Hawks attire and as a result met a lot of great people.
So we head home. The only way I can see a Jets game is to buy that shitty game package/app in order to stream. This medium is not very conducive to an enjoyable viewing of my team’s games. Alas, this is all I have as I can only see a few games broadcast live on cable due to blackouts. I introduced a couple of friends to hockey and the Jets. They both liked hockey but couldn’t see the Jets play on TV… one, now ex-friend 😉 is sporting Leafs attire (talk about expensive) and the other, dear lord, is now a Boston band wagon fan. Both had said they would have probably followed the Jets had there been a means to see their games on TV.
Of course Covid happened but we had made the decision on the flight back home to halt our Winnipeg trips (unless there was Finals games happening and we had both won millions).
This year we talked about heading to Winnipeg for the last three games in March (Oilers, Vegas, Sens). Then we priced tickets in areas where we want to sit and looked at damn well near a $3000 price tag. I just looked and can still get seats in the same sections.
So, I am not really offering any solutions here. I also didn’t read the article when I saw that a hack wrote it. It’s hard being a Jets fan and not living in Winnipeg.
David Thomson could buy every seat in the house for 600 years and still have $3.5 billion left over. The problem isn’t Joe Sixpack suddenly not supporting the team causing the poor team to go broke.
Maybe decrease the overall cost of tickets, merchandise, food, etc. player’s salaries go up, the coaches are getting paid, GM’s, well gee wonder what the working class are making and surviving off of????? Thoughtless millionaire pricks!
Surprise surprise, this is a Paul Friesen article. The Jets are battling for first in the central division and all the Winnipeg beat reports want to do is report of the side show that is the attendance issue. It’s sickening that this city’s media would rather tear this franchise down rather than build it up.
The same old, dull, boring, unimaginative live “entertainment” garbage that TN gives us at home games. The same loudmouth schnooks with the shitty contests,.. The same bumpers and stingers playing at games that were played in Season 1. The same horrible covers of hits instead of just licensing the real music…. The same (or just similar) low-rent radio hosts who are hired to scream incessantly at fans to try and get them riled up about shitty promos in the stands. True North’s choices have been unimaginative and boring.
And then there is the venue, it is a nice building, but the way they run it is not very enjoyable for fans – both young and old.
The PA audio is horrendous… TN production insists on playing the PA so loud, with a mix that is so bad, that all you get is distortion. When I take another musician or sound guy to a Jet game -the discussion often quickly goes to “who is mixing the audio so badly in here for these games?”. I get repeated “you are in a loud environment – consider hearing protection” warnings from my e-devices – that warning is not for crowd noise – its for the shitty audio feed that pumps out over the PA. Even my kid, when I take him to a game, complains about the horribly distorted, in-necessarily loud PA volume for between play music. So neither older demographics or younger ones find the way they use the PA very comfortable in the building.
The True North security staff are idiots. I agree with whoever it was who said these people act like high school bullies suddenly given a little bit of authority. I saw them give a guest I took to one game who had diabetes big aggravation when all this individual was trying to do was bring his insulin pen into the game. It’s as if True North does not even train these clowns who work security to deal with people with medical needs.
If you were a season ticket holder in Season 1 as I have been, just think about how much True North are just presenting to you on autopilot – the same game-day experience gruel that they’ve served since day 1.
All you need to confirm this is to attend a game in another market. It was this dynamic that made me decline renewing my season tix this time. I do not regret the decision. I would not consider returning as a season ticket holder until I see substantial improvements by TN in the game day experience for Jet fans.
If you want to see how fan experience in terms of the “Game Day Entertainment”, it can be done well, talk to whoever is in charge of SunBear games.. it’s a different approach than the Jets – and it is WAY BETTER.
Also, get on the business sector for supplementing the Season Ticket Base. True North has ignored the business sector as a core foundation to the ticket base, and instead just hopes Joe and Jane Blow will buy the seats. In every other city in the NHL, the corporate community has invested in NHL tickets to keep the franchise viable. The ownership group in Wpg is among the most connected business people in the province – you can’t get your peers on board to help share the load with the average citizen?
Reposting this from a previous thread- as I stand firm in my opinion:
If TN isn’t willing to lower ticket prices, perhaps they could look at enhancing the game day experience. If anyone has travelled to NHL games in the southern US, you know what I’m getting at. Sure it’s cold here, but I see no reason TN can’t place 50 or so outdoor patio heaters in True North Square for an afternoon before the game.
As it stands right now, there is no way in hell I’m spending +$600 to take my family of 4 to a game.
Threatening the Jets to leave while they’ve been a competitive franchise that brings in fans consistently is so fucking insulting.
The Coyotes don’t bring in fans and are bottom feeders every year playing in a COLLEGE arena.
The panthers struggle to bring in fans despite being in MIAMI and playing well
If Winnipeg was that big they’d sell out a 25k seat stadium
Fear mongering never works! Jets are fine!