14°c Light rain
Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
We're not going to say 'I told you so,' but...
Gloating is ugly and not really Manitoban. So to those who suggested NHL hockey in Winnipeg would not work there’s little to say. "You were wrong" is a good start. "Shut up" is a better finish.
True North hit its goal of 13,000 season tickets on Saturday — with just 17 minutes needed once packages were put on the market to the general public.
Related Items
No need to name names, but there’s been lots of talk in the media about Winnipeg needing a sugar daddy or the league making a mistake moving to a market that wouldn’t be able to generate suitable revenue.
The ignorance and misinformation regarding this city and its potential is astounding and seemingly endless. Let this be a lesson to those who doubt.
Winnipeg and Manitoba are not also-rans.
Randy Carlyle said this to me the other day about Manitobans: "Just don’t tell them they can’t."
Seems Kitty knows a little bit about this place because we just drilled the naysayers right in the lips.
Revenue is the only financial issue that matters in running an NHL franchise and at an average ticket price of $82 the Winnipeg club will generate just north of $54-million in ticket revenue this coming season. That’s before they sell a beer or a board sign or TV ad.
It’s also in the top half of ticket revenue among NHL teams. The smallest building in the smallest market in the league will make more money off ticket sales than half the teams in the NHL. Ugly Winnipeg with its cold and its mosquitoes can’t thrive in the NHL. Whatever.
When we got our chance, we delivered. Big time. This has been a week of triumphs around here. First for True North and now for the people of this city and province. Both were called upon and both answered with swift assuredness.
Commissioner Gary Bettman will take that message to New York on June 21 and ask the NHL’s board of governors to vote on the conditional sale of the Atlanta Thrashers and franchise relocation to Winnipeg.
The vote will take about 30 seconds, after which Mark Chipman will be introduced to the rest of the board as its newest member. Our days of pressing our noses up against the window are over. We’re in. End of story.
There’s also a little something to be said to those who suggested the MTS Centre was too small at 15,000 seats and pushed the theory as NHL talks heated up in this city.
Again, "you’re wrong," sums it up nicely.
The scarcity of tickets for NHL hockey in Winnipeg will guarantee sellouts for a long time. Don’t be surprised if the same thing that happened in Minnesota, where the Wild sold out for a decade upon returning to the NHL, takes place here.
Tickets to NHL hockey in Winnipeg will be among the most difficult to get in North American professional sports. The building size may be the key to the franchise’s long-term viability. Supply and demand is a simple concept but not always achievable. True North moves to the front of the class in marketing. Their product is hard to get. That’s a good thing.
It will allow True North to have revenue certainty and to do their job in building and managing the franchise.
They’ll have money and be able to spend it, making sure the on-ice product lives up to the expectations of the public.
True North did its part getting the franchise and now the people have done theirs by picking up the torch and selling the building out for years to come.
Finally we can move on.
Let the games begin.
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 30 articles for today)
Sweden beats Switzerland 5-1, wins gold at world hockey championship
6:00 PM 0
About Gary Lawless
Gary Lawless is the Free Press sports columnist and co-host of the Hustler and Lawless show on TSN 1290 Winnipeg and www.winnipegfreepress.com
Lawless began covering sports as a rookie reporter at The Chronicle-Journal in Thunder Bay after graduating from journalism school at Durham College in Ontario.
After a Grey Cup winning stint with the Toronto Argonauts in the communications department, Lawless returned to Thunder Bay as sports editor.
In 1999 he joined the Free Press and after working on the night sports desk moved back into the field where he covered pro hockey, baseball and football beats prior to being named columnist.
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Head-on collision kills pickup driver
- Police make grow-op bust
- Country music goes to pot
- Accused in alleged smartphone scam charged
- Phone cracked? Cool
- The end of the credit card?
- Manitoba's changing spiritual landscape
- Two charged in golf course burglary
- Fire damages St. Vital home
- 'It's a beautiful story': There's not always a tomorrow to say you're sorry or make things right
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- US woman credits 'mother's instincts' in chase of 4-year-old daughter's abductor
- Flood victim gets six years for shotgun threat, attack
- Province removing red tape in alcohol sales
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Driver crashes into tree near golf course
- Arrests made after raids on local head shops
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Susan Griffiths dies in Switzerland
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Marsh Madness: Photographers Fred Greenslade and Joe Bryksa capture spring migration's grandeur at Delta Marsh
- Manitoba's changing spiritual landscape
- Two charged in golf course burglary
- Phone cracked? Cool
- The end of the credit card?
- Katz bogeys again
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Marsh Madness: Photographers Fred Greenslade and Joe Bryksa capture spring migration's grandeur at Delta Marsh
- U.S. bill would give Canadian snowbirds more time to spend in the sun
- Guitar-playing astronaut bows out of space station with music video of Bowie's 'Space Oddity'
- Microsoft update to address Windows 8 complaints, confusion will be free; to be called 8.1
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Uganda: Blessed are the children
- Winning 6/49 ticket purchased in Winnipeg
- New website profiles neighbourhoods of Winnipeg
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Dogs can experience separation anxiety and depression just like humans
- Paul McCartney to play Winnipeg Aug. 12
- Ontario steps in to help save ELA
- Saskatchewan professor wants to test the health benefits of nose-picking
- 'Revenge of the redheads': Ginger-haired Montrealers gather in celebration
- An uncommon phenomenon
- RCMP charge man with double-homicide in Ethelbert
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.