Winnipeg Jets unlikely to fly away again, experts in pro sports say

Experts in the professional sports industry argue that Winnipeg is unlikely to lose a National Hockey League (NHL) franchise again, following comments from Jets co-owner Mark Chipman regarding low ticket sales.

After almost a decade of consistently selling out games following the NHL's return to Winnipeg, average attendance at home games this season stands at 13,140 fans, which is 86% of the hockey seating capacity at Canada Life Centre.

The Jets have offered discounted tickets, such as $29 seats for university students via text message for Tuesday night's game against the St. Louis Blues.

According to entertainment-funding tax estimates in the City of Winnipeg budget documents, gross ticket revenue for all events at Canada Life Centre, including the Jets, Manitoba Moose, and concerts, has decreased by almost 20% since 2019.

One of the most concerning aspects is the decline in season ticket sales. When the NHL returned to Winnipeg in 2011, season tickets were capped at 13,500. However, The Athletic reported on Friday that there are now approximately 9,500 season ticket holders.

"I wouldn't be honest with you if I didn't say, 'We've got to get back to 13,000,'" Chipman told The Athletic. "This place we find ourselves in right now, it's not going to work over the long haul. It just isn't."

The Winnipeg Jets experienced a significant decline in their initial season-ticket base for various reasons. The noticeable drop in demand began in 2019, when acquiring a ticket for nearly any Jets game became relatively easy.

This trend intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, as some fans who typically purchased tickets found themselves unemployed, while others chose to allocate their funds differently due to the rising cost of living.

"Whenever the economy slows down a bit, at the margins, you start having the impact," said Glen Hodgson, an Ottawa-based economist and co-author of Power Play: The Business Economics of Pro Sports.

"Clearly the fan base cares very deeply, but Winnipeg was always going to be a challenging market long-term because of its size of less than one million people, income levels, and also the absence of some big head offices that would buy the boxes and buy the advertising," Hodgson said.

But there was another reason for the drop in sales: True North was doing a poor job keeping existing ticket buyers happy, something Chipman conceded in the Athletic interview.

"For 10 years, we weren't a sales organization. We were a service organization, and I'm not sure we were that good of a service organization, to be honest with you," he said. 

Chipman was not available to speak to CBC News, a spokesperson said.