Jets offer refund or credit to season ticket holders in event of cancelled games

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(MIKE APORIUS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)

WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Jets have laid out their options for their 13,000 season tickets if games are cancelled during the NHL’s lockout.

True North Sports and Entertainment sent a note to all its subscribers today offering them either a refund for all pre-season and regular-season games cancelled, or the option to keep their already made payments on account as a credit for use against future games.

True North is giving its subscribers until Friday to choose one of the options, otherwise it will assume that the choice will be for a credit on account. Fans who want a refund of their money will have to choose that option specifically.

 Here's the text of today’s letter:

Re: NHL Work Stoppage

As you may now be aware, the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association were unable to successfully conclude negotiations for a successor Collective Bargaining Agreement to their current Agreement, which expired at 11:59pm on Saturday, September 15th, 2012. Accordingly, a work stoppage has commenced which is expected to delay the opening of training camp and may cause games to be cancelled. We do not yet know how many games, if any, may be cancelled or for how long the work stoppage will occur. It has and continues to be the League’s objective to successfully conclude negotiations for a new Agreement.

In our most recent correspondence with you, we indicated that we would immediately advise you as to what our contingency plans would be with respect to the payments we have received from you pursuant to your Ticket Purchase Agreement.

Please be assured that you will receive full credit for your season ticket payment on account with us for any and all games cancelled. To that end, the Winnipeg Jets have established the following policies with respect to cancelled games, account credits and/or refunds of season ticket payments:

- The Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club will provide a full account credit or refund to you, as Primary Account Holder, for any cancelled pre-season and/or regular season games during the 2012-2013 season.

- As a Winnipeg Jets Season Ticket Holder, in good standing and who has paid in full, you will have the following two options:

OPTION A

Retain your season ticket payment with the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club and credit for cancelled games will be applied to your account.

By selecting Option A you will receive the credit equivalent to simple interest calculated at an annual rate of 3.0%, based on the full amount paid from the point at which the Winnipeg Jets first pre-season game is cancelled on Tuesday, September 25, 2012 to the date on which Winnipeg Jets hockey resumes at the MTS Centre for the 2012-2013 season.

A credit equivalent to simple interest will continue to be calculated at an annual rate of 3.0% from the date Winnipeg Jets regular season play resumes for the 2012-2013 season to the date your 2012-2013 playoff invoice is due or your first or second installment payment is due for the 2013-2014 season. This calculation will be based on the balance of funds held in your account which represents the cash equivalent value of the number of games cancelled, as a result of the work stoppage.

The total value of games cancelled in the 2012-2013 season, plus the interest equivalent credit as described herein, will be applied to your account to be used as a set-off against your 2012-2013 playoff invoice or the first or second installment payment due for your 2013-2014 season tickets; or, alternatively,

OPTION B

Request a refund of your season ticket payment for cancelled games using the same method of payment as your initial payment.

By selecting Option B you will earn simple interest calculated at an annual rate of 1.0% on your account balance from the date on which the first pre-season game is cancelled on Tuesday, September 25, 2012.

Refunds for games cancelled, commencing with the month ending September 30th, 2012, will be issued to you, along with interest earned, within 10 business days of the last day of each succeeding month and will be based upon the number of games cancelled in the prior month.

You will continue to earn interest on your account balance until such time as Winnipeg Jets hockey resumes at the MTS Centre for the 2012-2013 season.

In order to select the option most suitable to you, please click on the link and select either Option A or Option B by Friday, September 21st, 2012 at 5:00pm. If you have not selected an option by that date, we will assume you have agreed to select Option A.

Account updates will be available on your "My Jets Account" monthly, commencing October 31st, 2012.

In all cases please note that games may only officially be cancelled by the NHL. It is possible that games may be rescheduled by the NHL for a future date; rescheduled games are not considered to be cancelled games for the purpose of calculating credits or interest. We will continue to keep you informed should any schedule changes like this occur.

Thank you for your continued patience and support. Irrespective of the timing of the resolution of the collective bargaining negotiations we are busy making preparations for another exciting season of Winnipeg Jets Hockey at the MTS Centre. We will continue to make investments throughout the year in the MTS Centre with the addition of new washrooms, concession improvements on the 100 and 300 concourses as well as further refinements to our digital properties, all with the desire of continuously improving your fan experience at the MTS Centre.

Please also visit our website at www.winnipegjets.com/nhlworkstoppage where we have prepared and posted an FAQ summary for your reference. Again, it is the hope of all involved that agreement on the terms of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement will be reached in the near future.

TRUE NORTH SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED / WINNIPEG JETS HOCKEY CLUB INC.