The Commissioner of the National Hockey League, Gary Bettman, made his yearly visit to Winnipeg on Tuesday night. With recent attendance concerns surrounding the Winnipeg Jets, fans were looking for answers. The most reassuring answer was given early on, when he said: “I’m not sure why people are now speculating that somehow (the Jets) are not going to be here.”
Between his visit with the media and a successful “fireside chat” with Jets fans inside the arena, it’s safe to say that he doused any potential of yet another Winnipeg relocation amidst declining ticket sales. Rumours, that even with ticket sales declining, were ridiculous to begin with.
Gary Bettman & Bill Daly Doused Winnipeg Relocation Rumours
If you’re a fan of the Jets, the relocation of the franchise back in 1996 is something that will stick with you forever, and with Bettman visiting town during a down-time for attendance, many of those anxieties for fans re-emerged. Luckily for Jets fans and the city, the commissioner did nothing but ease those anxieties with his press conference Tuesday night.
Bettman admitted that he was surprised that this subject is being discussed: “That’s why, for anybody suggesting that the agenda for ownership is other than focused on Winnipeg, is silly. Because at the end of the day, look at the hundreds of millions of dollars that they have invested in the team, in the building, in the buildings that they’ve built around here, and what they’re going to be doing on the north side of Portage. That’s why I’m kind of mystified at the tension that’s been created here”
When Bettman shared that thought, it became all the more ridiculous that these rumours were even entertained to begin with. True North Sports + Entertainment (TNSE) has invested millions upon millions into downtown Winnipeg, they are backed by one of the wealthiest people in North America in David Thompson, and they own Canada Life Centre – a massive difference from the 1996 debacle where the Jets did not own the arena.
The Jets’ average attendance is sitting at 13,140 this season, a lowly 86% for the smallest market in the NHL. Their season ticket base has declined from 13,000 in 2011 to 9,500 here in 2023-24, but Bettman expressed his confidence in a bounce-back: “Obviously the attendance needs to improve, but it will, I have the confidence in the organization and as importantly I have confidence in this community.”
Bill Daly, the Deputy Commissioner of the NHL, joined him during this press conference in Winnipeg. He echoed most of what Bettman had to say and offered his vote of confidence in Winnipeg as a hockey market: “Hockey matters here, and that’s important to us.”
Gary Bettman Believes Winnipeg is a “Strong NHL Market”
Bettman maintained his thoughts on Winnipeg as a hockey market throughout the press conference: “Let’s be clear about something, I believe that this is a strong NHL market… If I didn’t believe in places like Winnipeg, we wouldn’t have brought the Jets back.”
While people may shrug off that comment from the commissioner, the truth is that Winnipeg has proven they are a strong NHL market over the past 13 seasons. Look no further than the passion from the city that is shown when the Jets are in the playoffs. Everywhere you go, people are wearing white. The city, and especially the downtown area, practically shuts down on the day of home playoff games as people flood the streets for watch parties. That’s without mentioning what is happening inside the arena, where the “Whiteout” occurs, which has been widely regarded as one of the loudest environments in pro sports. All of those things speak to how strong of an NHL market there is here in Winnipeg, regardless of the city’s population.
From the reasons I outlined above, to the ownership group, to the way they conduct their day-to-day business, there’s a reason Daly stated: “This is a team that is widely regarded around the league as a model franchise. We wish we had 32 of these.”
All of those things are real, tangible reasons why NHL hockey has worked in Winnipeg for 13 straight seasons. With a bump in the road with attendance, Bettman is focused on the future: “How we got here doesn’t matter, it’s how we evolve from here, and I have every confidence in this market and this organization.”
Related: Jets Mailbag: Attendance, Hellebuyck’s Struggles, & Nate Schmidt
Another reassuring bit that was shared, regarding the “higher-ups” within NHL circles, was when Daly was asked about the Board of Governors’ discussions on the topic of revenue-sharing, and Bettman chimed in and responded: “If your question is somehow suggesting or implying that at the board level there’s a concern about this franchise, the answer is absolutely not.”
Mark Chipman Realizes There is Work to be Done to Win Back Fans
Plenty of the relocation and attendance concerns were brought up because of a recent article in The Athletic, where Executive Chairman of TNSE Mark Chipman spoke in an interview with Chris Johnston. Chipman said to Johnston: “I wouldn’t be honest with you if I didn’t say, ‘We’ve got to get back to 13,000,’ This place we find ourselves in right now, it’s not going to work over the long haul. It just isn’t.” (From: Winnipeg Jets ownership sounds the alarm on attendance: ‘Not going to work over the long haul’ ) by Chris Johnston, The Athletic, 2/23/24)
While the problem of season tickets has been identified, what Bettman said today proves that this is not a franchise-threatening level problem at this point. Chipman realizes that there is work to do to win back fans who have recently left the season ticket base: “We’ve had to reinvent ourselves, 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.”
Chipman told Johnston that he is personally calling up Winnipegers who didn’t renew their season tickets, to try and gain some clarity as to why, along with attempting to convince them to give TNSE another chance. “That’s what teams ought to be, and that’s what we’re trying to convey to people. We’re trying to be something you can be proud of.”
Related: Jets’ Chipman Confident in Winnipeg and Better Future Attendance
On Tuesday, Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey spent time in the community at an outdoor rink with a former season ticket holder, and Chipman tagged along. Morrissey was asked about it on Tuesday: “I think that’s another example of (Chipman) trying to get players in a situation to interact with some of the great fans and be part of this community. It was a lot of fun.”
Tapping into the community side of things is something that the Jets are looking to improve on, and it’s something that Bettman is confident can bring the strong NHL market back to games and improve attendance in short order.
The attendance issue cannot go without concern, it is definitely an issue, but to think the Jets, who have invested millions of dollars into downtown Winnipeg, would move their top asset out of the city because of two declining years of attendance is nonsensical. In his presser, Bettman separated the attendance issue from the relocation rumours, and if you’re a Jets fan, that was enough to bring your blood pressure down, paired with the Jets cruising to a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues later that night. Hockey is here to stay in Winnipeg, a passionate NHL market, and while there are issues that need solving, what we learned today is that Bettman, Chipman, and the entire Jets organization are committed to making it work for the long term.