Post by NHLJets2point0 on Oct 25, 2014 12:39:45 GMT -5
Ask any Jet fan what they like or dislike about this years team and get ready for an endless discussion. A favourite pass-time of Winnipeg sports fans is to spend hours analyzing their hockey or football team. It is my favourite topic of conversation, people will call me and the conversation will be 100% jets. In fact some of these people are known only to me by their nickname or twitter handle. I know nothing of their families, careers or hobbies. We are an intense bunch.
These days are tough for Winnipeg sports fans. Since the grey cup game in 2011, there have been no post seasons for hockey or football. The Goldeyes won the championship in 2012 and won their division last year but that is small comfort to Winnipeggers who desperately want to see the Bombers end their 24 year championship drought or at least one NHL playoff appearance for our Jets. The Winnipeg Sports Fan is damaged. Not irreparably like Toronto of course but definitely in need of some success, and the sooner the better.
Bomber fans are proven to be tough, battle tested true blue fans. To be in a 24 year championship drought and have the worst years in the 80 year franchise history is incredible, yet the season ticket base has never been healthier. This is a football town and it is safe to say the fans will keep coming back. THe Goldeyes are a showpiece of the American Association, with a great team, a solid history and a great fan base. Both teams have great stadiums that are fun to go to for the whole family.
The Jets have been a Cinderella story. After losing the team, WInnipeg was ready with cash in hand to support the team when the call came. The MTS centre has a great atmosphere and despite holding only 15000 seats it is one of the most profitable arenas in the NHL. The team is making money and lots of it. Everything is perfect, right? Maybe not. The clock is ticking, and like Cinderella the love story may be about to hit a turning point.
There is a dark past with Jet fans. There was a reason the team left in 1996. Despite making the playoffs for 11 out of 15 seasons, Jets 1.0 failed to win the opening series 9 of those seasons and never won a game in the 2 seasons they made it to the second round. Whether tickets were too expensive for a frugal city or the team was unable to capture fans with more playoff victories, Jets fans failed to support the team. The generation without a team was a reset, and a successful one, but how long will Jets fans continue to sell out the arena for a team that has failed to make the playoffs and been unable to draft or trade for an elite player. There are signs that this turning point may be near.
There is a hidden factor which has yet to surface which may be obscuring a shift in the ticket sales for Jet games. The season tickets are heavily owned by groups and not individuals. With many groups sharing seats, there is a reserve of demand, where groups will mop up the available tickets before sharing them on resale markets. For the first season, it was difficult to get tickets on resale markets and rarely did a seat go empty at game time. The second season was abbreviated so demand remained high with limited supply. The third season saw for the first time a steady supply of tickets. You could go to every game if you were willing to pay a little extra or sit up high. This year is still young but something has begun which should alarm TNSE. Tickets are going up for sale and not selling. Last week the number of tickets on Seat Exchange actually grew as the Thursday nightgame vs the Hurricanes approached. A friend of mine tried to unload his tickets and ended up cancelling his plans and sharing them with me to prevent the seats from going empty. When the puck dropped, there were empty seats on either side of us. One set is a public set with no season ticket holders and the other side was a set owned by a group. The ticket buying public may have reached their saturation point for sell outs. A team on a 4 game losing skid with their top gun injured and a weak draw southeast team on a thursday nightwould be where you would expect to see soft ticket sales. Is this the tipping point for Jet fans? Are you going to fewer games? Have you stopped looking for tickets and watched games on TV instead? Do you ever miss a game where you once watched them all?
TO BE CONTINUED
