Desperate times, desperate measures Jets’ ad campaign a controversial sign of the times By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 12, 2023

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This article was published 12/04/2023 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s been plenty of desperation on the ice lately with the Winnipeg Jets in grave danger of an epic, late-season collapse. The team responded in impressive fashion by stepping up its game, reeling off five wins over the last six to punch its ticket to the playoffs.

Now we’re seeing the urgency ramp up off the ice, where plunging sales and empty seats at Canada Life Centre have become a big problem. The organization — which has long taken its loyal fan-base for granted mainly because the product sold itself for so long — has responded in controversial fashion with a risky play.

One that is surely ripping open some old wounds around here.

“Is Winnipeg an NHL city?” a new promotional campaign asks. The simple answer is “Yes.” But it’s apparently more complicated than that, with what many are taking as a not-so-veiled threat from True North that it might not be for much longer if something doesn’t change.

Co-owner Mark Chipman made a rare public appearance Tuesday to sound the alarm. Addressing a Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce luncheon, the chairman of the board stopped short of passing a hat around the room but painted a rather bleak picture about the current financial climate.

Jets clinch playoff spot, owner urges local biz to buy in

A loss of 3,000 season-ticket holders since 2020 was the biggest takeaway, especially in a market that once had a massive waiting list. That helps explain why the club, after nearly a decade of straight sellouts prior to the global pandemic, averaged just 14,045 fans this year. That means there were approximately 1,300 unsold tickets every outing, which ranked 30th out of 32 teams in actual attendance, and 22nd if you go by capacity (93.7 per cent).

This, despite the fact the Jets posted a stellar 26-13-2 record at the downtown barn, which is the second-best of the 2.0 era. You wonder what a losing season might have looked like.

In a follow-up interview with the Free Press Wednesday, Chipman addressed the proverbial elephant in the room and tried to calm any fears in the wake of anticipated backlash.

“I don’t want people to be alarmed or concerned,” he said of hockey history potentially repeating itself. “That is the last thing that this is. I know it (that kind of reaction) is unavoidable and I know that the history is deeply ingrained. But we are not going anywhere.”

They do, however, need help. The latest canary in the coal mine might have been Monday’s must-win game against the San Jose Sharks, which also happened to be Fan Appreciation Night and the final regular-season game at the downtown barn. Only 13,428 showed up to watch an exciting 6-2 victory, one of the smaller crowds of the year.

It’s not surprising the Jets have launched what they are calling the “largest season ticket member sales drive” since the NHL returned in 2011. That’s just good business. The messaging behind it, along with what many are viewing as a direct threat, has rubbed many the wrong way.

https://youtu.be/MaFSXu5V0V0

“So long as fans are in Canada Life Centre cheering on their team, the Winnipeg Jets will be in Winnipeg forever,” the organization states. What isn’t said is exactly how many fans they’re talking about. It’s clear the status quo isn’t close to cutting it.

“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,” Chipman told the crowd of local business leaders. An accompanying video montage in the ad campaign, which includes shots of the Jets 1.0 era just before the franchise was re-located to Arizona, was about as subtle as a sledgehammer.

Some are suggesting this is offside, by playing off people’s emotions and pointing the finger directly at the public while seemingly taking no responsibility or ownership of any root causes. Others will likely appreciate the transparency and brutal honesty, as painful as it may be.

Me? I believe it takes two to tango, and True North needs to be clear about what, exactly, the short- and long-term vision is around here.

The team is headed to a critical crossroads, with core players including Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Blake Wheeler all nearing the end of their current contracts. They could all be free to ply their trade elsewhere by the summer of 2024.

Given the kind of investment they are asking Joe and Jane Hockey Fan to make, surely a detailed outline of what kind of bang one might get for their considerable buck isn’t too much to ask.

Are the Jets about to undergo a complete rebuild, with a watered-down roster filled with young prospects? If so, will they be making tickets more affordable, especially since current season-ticket holders who pay full freight are likely not thrilled to see so many cheaper options available on the secondary market these days which undercuts their support.

Or is the idea for more of a re-tool on the fly, while continuing to spend at, or near, the salary cap with the goal of competing for a Stanley Cup? And, if so, what confidence should anyone have that they can truly achieve that lofty goal?

I don’t have the answers for you, mainly because those in the know are available about as often as Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Reaves makes a meaningful contribution in a hockey game. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has spoken three times all year — prior to training camp, at the midway point of the season and after the trade deadline. We’ll get him a fourth and final time when the year ends. Chipman, until this week, was mostly invisible.

Given the kind of investment they are asking Joe and Jane Hockey Fan to make, surely a detailed outline of what kind of bang one might get for their considerable buck isn’t too much to ask.

As it is, people only have the past and present to rely on when thinking about the future. And with pedestrian results combined with rising ticket prices and the soaring cost of living in a more competitive hockey market than ever that also includes the Manitoba Moose and the Winnipeg Ice, it’s easy to see why some might have a hard time buying what they’re trying to sell.

This will be the Jets fifth playoff appearance in 12 seasons since returning. Six, if you count them getting into the “qualifying round” during the 2020 bubble year, which they lost. They have won a total of three playoff series in that time — two in 2018, and one in 2021. All while maintaining the same management.

That’s a whole lot of mediocrity, which might have been enough in the initial “just happy to have the NHL back” years but no longer cuts it.

To its credit, True North has taken steps this year to improve the fan experience. The game-day production and social media presence have all taken steps in the right direction. Additional renovations are underway to make the rink more user-friendly. Chipman has also gotten personally involved in efforts to make the downtown area safer, which is a concern for many patrons. Season ticket packages have become much more flexible, and an advisory panel of current ticket-holders was a great idea. It would be better if they included some former patrons who have walked away.

A big test is going to come next week, when the Jets host either the Vegas Golden Knights or the Edmonton Oilers for games 3 and 4 of their best-of-seven playoff series. Anything short of a full house would be an embarrassing look. Obviously, a prolonged run this spring would be great for business, especially with many current season-ticket packages up for renewal this summer.

As Chipman told us Wednesday, I don’t believe the Jets are truly in danger of having the moving trucks lining up on Portage Avenue. Especially with one of the richest men in the world, David Thomson, as his (silent) business partner, along with the amount of real estate investments True North is making downtown.

Winnipeg IS an NHL city. However, there’s clearly work to be done to maintain that. If the organization wants the public to dig deep and respond to its desperate call to action, it’s going to need to step up its game, too.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.