The Winnipeg Jets are here to stay, according to Mark Chipman.
The Winnipeg Jets are here to stay, according to Mark Chipman.
Winnipeg Jets president and alternate governor Mark Chipman is confident his team will stay afloat despite waning attendance numbers over the team's first four home games of 2023-24.
After a run of 332 straight home sellouts at MTS Centre, Bell MTS Place and Canada Life Centre, home crowds at the big rink in downtown Winnipeg have dwindled down to the 11,000 range.
“I think I understand why this is news," Chipman said in a lengthy sit down one-on-one interview with TSN insider Darren Dreger. "We’re the smallest market in the league, by a fair measure. I think there has always been a curiosity as to whether we can sustain it here. I don’t think people expected us to sellout 10 years in a row. But we did. And the fact that we did is what gives me the hope and confidence and expectation that we will be able to draw people back to watch the product that we’ve put together.”
Holding a capacity of just over 15,000, Canada Life Centre's attendance level has caught the eye of many across the league, as empty seats are beginning to bring back some not-so-distant memories of a team packing up and heading south for Arizona.
"I can see how someone could ask that question," Chipman responded to Dreger, in referencing the team's 1996 move to Phoenix. "Because it happened once, is it a concern that it’s going to happen again because you’re the smallest market? But I'd say, no, not on our watch.
"We’ve been doing this far too long. We got into this for the very reason of that heartbreak. It was that very emotion that brought us into this and has kept us in the fight to get a building built and to acquire a team. Then to have 10 years of sellouts and then two years of challenges brought on by a global pandemic, it would be a little extreme for us to say, oh gee, I’m not sure this works anymore. That would be far less than savvy."
So far this season, crowds of 13,410, 11,226, 11,521 and 11,136 have gathered to watch the Jets take on Paul Maurice and the defending Stanley Cup runner up Florida Panthers, Pierre-Luc Dubois and the Los Angeles Kings, the very Manitoban Vegas Golden Knights, and division rival St. Louis Blues.
"People are dealing with a whole range of issues right now that they didn’t in our first 10 years," Chipman reflected. "We are dealing with inflationary pressures that hit people’s discretionary spending ability. You have to be incredibly respectful of that. We’re dealing with issues within our city that we didn’t have 12 years ago. They’re not unique to Winnipeg, but we’ve got our challenges within in our downtown with a set of circumstances around mental health, addiction and resulting homelessness that are really difficult. We are glad to be a part of trying to find some solutions there. But you have to be mindful of all of those things."
Chipman made it clear that his 300+ member staff at True North Sports + Entertainment do care deeply about the fans of the Winnipeg Jets, but do respect the thoughts and needs of people still reeling from three years of pandemic.
"Everybody has their own real world that they’re living in," he added. "It’s not for us to say, ‘hey come and worry about the Winnipeg Jets’ and to take offence to the fact that we’re not sold out right now. That would be really foolish and unthoughtful. We know the support is here, but we’ve just got to get back to it. It’s going to be on us to do that, and it’s going to take some hard work, but we’re accustomed to that. We had a good ride for 10 years. We took a heavy shot with the pandemic, but we have to recover from it, and that’s on us."
Chipman knows that outside pressure can sometimes find a way in, but he does know what he signed up for - including the highs and lows that come with his role.
"It’s a small town. You can’t put gas in your car without hearing about people’s feelings towards the team. I mean that quite literally," he laughed. "I love that about it. That’s what we signed up for... That’s what I love about this particular circumstance. I love the challenge of being the smallest market and being able to compete against 31 other larger markets."
With the rush sellout back in 2011, Chipman knows that model was never going to be sustainable, as most of his customers were individuals, as opposed to businesses. Winnipeg's season ticket base is made up - as he says - by far the lowest across the country by businesses and companies.
But in walking the talk, Chipman does maintain True North's work as a developmental model for the league's smallest market.
"In order for us to be here 50 years from now, you’ve got to invest," he told Dreger of his business practices. "I think we can hold our head up in that regard. We have invested as much in renovating this building as we did in building it. We invest in our payroll. We’ve been a cap team for years now. We’ve invested in the surrounding area, and not just in buildings but in the well-being of people in our downtown. We feel that’s the commitment that we have to maintain."
Seeing his season ticket membership plummet from 13,000 to under 10,000 is concerning for the Winnipeg lifer, but it doesn't seem to be an issue that Chipman won't be able to resolve.
"We’ve been through more challenging parts of this," he said when referencing the building of the arena and the waiting period to purchase the former Atlanta Thrashers.
"As long as we remain focused on the quality of our product, believe it will bring people back and we will be sold out again."
"We honestly believe we can get it back to 13,000."
The Jets have made some changes to season ticket packages over the past year. The number of games required for purchase and the price point have gone down, while multi-year commitments have been done away with.
"We have taken a lot of steps to try and get greater interest," Chipman said. "...Our ticket prices are the second lowest of all teams in Canada. We work hard at that, at keeping it as affordable as we can."
As for the on-ice product, Winnipeg is sitting at 3-3-0 on the year and is riding a brief two-game winning streak into its road matchup with Detroit on Thursday.
Pending UFA all-stars Mark Schefiele and Connor Hellebuyck were the talk of the NHL this offseason as it appeared they were both heading to free agency next summer. But at the eleventh hour, the pair signed matching seven-year extensions, relieving any tensions and distractions between players, management and fans.
"Anybody worth their salt in this game is trying to win," Chipman said of thoughts of a possible rebuild in Winnipeg. "And we’re trying to win. If our fans ever get the sense that we’re not trying to win, then we’re in real trouble."
"Our market doesn’t deserve that right now," he added. "You can’t take a team that has made the playoffs five out of the last six years now and take it apart and expect your fan base to support that if you have the means of keeping it together, you’ve got to keep it together... We are all in. Like we have been for almost three decades now. This is what we do. And we’re working really hard at earning our customer base back. We have every confidence that we will."