There has been lots of talk around the NHL and in this market about the Jets diminished season ticket base since Chris Johnston wrote an article for The Athletic last week titled Jets ownership sounds the alarm on attendance: ‘Not going to work over the long haul’ which you can read here.
Of course the attendance numbers diminishing wasn’t suddenly discovered as it has been the subject of conversation for some time as the season ticket base diminished from 13,000 to 9,500. It has been reported that Winnipeg has the smallest corporate support of Canadian franchises around 15% which means it’s a big burden on the smallest market in the NHL to ensure the 85% of remaining seats are sold to this fanbase.
In an attempt to rebuild bridges Jets co-owner Mark Chipman asked Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele to join him at an ODR of a former season ticket holder.
Morrissey was asked about it today following morning skate:
“…I think that’s something I’ve always valued about the Jets organization and Mr. Chipman is their commitment to the City of Winnipeg, their love for the city of Winnipeg. I think that’s another example of him (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.”
Here is the full response from the top pairing D man of Winnipeg:
Official provincial ambassador title for Manitoba should go to Josh Morrissey.
Here was his response to being asked to go with Jets co-owner Mark Chipman and teammate Mark Scheifele to meet with a former season ticket holder.
Full media:https://t.co/BRua5SXyqf pic.twitter.com/YxtsZixnVp
— Dave Minuk (@ICdave) February 27, 2024
While this won’t fix everything it is a good first step in trying to re-connect the team with the community which I think was lost during the covid pandemic.
