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How are the Winnipeg Jets doing in the city so far? Is fan interest still high as it was at the beginning of the season? Or is it dwindling to 1996 levels of interest?
I don't live in Winnipeg but it's only been a few months since they returned so it's still Jets-mania in Winnipeg for sure. I think every single one of their games is sold out in advance for the next several years.
At the moment the Jets are sharing the limelight with Winnipeg's Canadian football team, the Blue Bombers, who yesterday qualified for the national football championship (the Grey Cup) which will be played next Sunday.
After that, though, the Jets will have Winnipeg all to themselves until next spring.
Level of interest in the local NHL club is pretty consistent (consistently high) in Canada regardless of the city these days. There is no reason why Winnipeg would be any different from the other six cities.
Nice attendance figures! So I guess it's safe to say that the Jets will still be there in say, 2020?
Well, anything can happen, but given that 2020 is less than 10 years away, it's a pretty safe bet. Safer than betting on many other NHL teams still being in their current cities.
I dont think the Jets originally left for lack of interest. Canadian teams have tough times matching their US counterparts payrolls. Bit more tax up there.
I dont think the Jets originally left for lack of interest. Canadian teams have tough times matching their US counterparts payrolls. Bit more tax up there.
The Jets did have pretty low attendance compared to some teams in the league, but you make an excellent point in regards to payrolls. Even more debilitating than taxes though is that Canadian teams pay salaries in US dollars, while collecting revenue in Canadian dollars. In the mid 90's, our dollar was only worth about 60 cents US, so they were operating at a 40% handicap, compared to US teams.
The Jets did have pretty low attendance compared to some teams in the league, but you make an excellent point in regards to payrolls. Even more debilitating than taxes though is that Canadian teams pay salaries in US dollars, while collecting revenue in Canadian dollars. In the mid 90's, our dollar was only worth about 60 cents US, so they were operating at a 40% handicap, compared to US teams.
Yes, one of the things that is conveniently overlooked in the whole Bring Back the Jets craze is that attendance for the old Jets wasn't always that great. I can remember games with only 12,000-13,000 people, and playoff games that did not even sell out in the old Winnipeg Arena that barely seated 15,000 people. However, I do not fear for the new Jets, as of course now the people have been burned once and know what they once almost lost forever.
Regarding the financial situation, one of the ways the old Jets wanted to ensure their survival was with a new arena with more luxury boxes, but they were unable to secure neither private nor public (nor mixed) financing and the team ended up moving.
The situation with the arena, the dollar, etc. was almost exactly the same in Quebec City, though the Nordiques did have better attendance than the Jets, and almost every single one of their games was sold out almost to the end, and even in the years when the team stank.
The main reason Winnipeg got a team back and Quebec City hasn't (yet) is because Winnipeg has a fully modern arena (albeit slightly undersized) and that the Winnipeg people got their act together quickly whereas the people in Quebec City did not.
Since they just moved back this year, their attendance is obviously still very high. I would imagine that in the near future, attendance will never be the problem. However, like the Edmonton Oilers, the team will have to deal with the fact that it will always be one of the lower payroll teams.
Location: East St. Paul 651 forever (or North St. Paul) .
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I'm looking in my local paper right now and it says it wasn't a sellout yesterday and their last home game wasn't a sellout either.
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