‘Whiteout coming’ Jets announce plans for street parties during team’s NHL playoff run By: Joshua Frey-Sam Posted: 12:45 PM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 10, 2024 Last Modified: 2:12 PM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 10, 2024 Updates

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A Winnipeg “Whiteout” will blanket parts of downtown again when a much-anticipated Jets playoff run begins in a couple of weeks.

The True North Sports & Entertainment’s downtown street parties will return for a fifth time (and second consecutive year) during every home NHL post-season game.

“It is a lovely spring day, everyone, but there is a Whiteout coming,” Kevin Donnelly, True North’s senior vice-president of venues and entertainment, said Wednesday at Canada Life Centre.

“We know the playoffs are an exciting time for our city, and fans want to be in good company to take it all in, whether it’s inside the arena or bringing energy to our surrounding downtown.”

The events are capped at 5,000 fans to watch games on Donald Street between Portage and Graham avenues and inside the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre.

“We’re going to tie the MET in more closely,” Donnelly said. “We’re going to allow people to use the facilities inside the MET.”

Tickets will be $10, and $5 from each sale is being directed to United Way Winnipeg. More than $50,000 was raised for the charitable social services organization last year.

United Way president and CEO Michael Richardson said proceeds will go to agencies, programs and initiatives that are working to address mental-health issues, addiction and homelessness in the city.

The Party in the Plaza will return to True North Square for a second year. Tickets for those celebrations are priced at $20 and capacity is capped at 1,000.

The Jets will be expecting sellout crowds of 15,321 inside the rink. The NHL’s Central Division club clinched a playoff berth earlier this month.

First-round game tickets go on sale to general public Monday at noon on the Jets’ website. Tickets for the street party and Party in the Plaza will be available April 17 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster.

The Party in the Plaza will open three hours prior to puck drop, and the street parties will open two hours prior. The doors to Canada Life Centre will open 90 minutes ahead of each game.

The NHL regular season ends next Thursday. The playoffs are expected to begin for most teams two or three days later. The league has yet to announce its full playoff schedule.

Winnipeg (48-24-6) is third in the Central, two points behind the Colorado Avalanche and seven back of the front-running Dallas Stars. The Jets are projected to play the Avs in the opening round.

Fans at the Whiteout parties on Donald Street will be able to watch games on three giant TV screens — one more than in 2023 — in a fully licensed environment with food trucks and other concessions.

Approximately 150 people will staff the event, including the Winnipeg Police Service, emergency medical technicians and other security and service personnel.

Donnelly said the staff will be split 50-50 between crowd control and guest services.

“Very few changes in terms of the structure and how we manage the crowds,” he said. “We talk regularly with the police; we settled on what I thought was a really good relationship. We improved back-of-house things, like our command centre that is a collaborative office with the police, where we view and we can respond to things as they come up.”

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham attended Wednesday’s announcement.

The province will commit $75,000 in funding to the street parties for each round of the playoffs.

“We contribute more money the further the Winnipeg Jets go into the playoffs,” Kinew said. “I absolutely do not want to jinx anything, but I will say that this is one area of government finance where I don’t mind seeing us go over budget.”

The city has committed $50,000. A portion of the funds, Gillingham revealed, will come through Economic Development Winnipeg and its special events marketing fund, which is collected through the civic accommodation tax.

The mayor said he’s ready to watch the Jets try to soar in the playoffs.

“First and foremost, like so many other Winnipeggers and Manitobans, I’ve been a Jets fan since Day 1. But as mayor of the city, when good things happen in the city, it’s an exciting time, of course,” he said.

“There are so many challenges in Winnipeg and throughout Manitoba… so when we get a chance for something positive to happen, like our Jets pursuing Lord Stanley’s cup, and we get a chance to come together as a fan base and as a community to celebrate and cheer on — well, it’s a real time for unity.”

The Jets are looking to reclaim some success on home ice during the playoffs, having lost its last four contests at Canada Life Centre. Winnipeg’s last home playoff win came against the Edmonton Oilers in 2021 with no fans in the stands, owing to pandemic restrictions.

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca