NHL in Winnipeg

AmericanDad

New member
Nov 16, 2005
129
0
0
Well, as a former Jet fan, it was with joy and yet still heavy heart that an NHL exhibition game was played at MTS Centre last night.

The Phoenix Coyotes made the trek north to their old home in Winnipeg, in hopes that all wounds from 1996 had healed. By the attandance (15,015 a complete sell-out) it would seem as there was forgiveness - or was it just that this city is dying for NHL Hockey to make it's expected return one day.

In a bit of the "same old same old" irony, the Edmonton Oilers thumped the Jets - umm, sorry Coyotes by a final of 5-0. Seems that nothing changes and it's true that all things stay the same.

Can't see the grand old game returning to the "new barn downtown" any time soon - maybe until next year's exhibition season when the NHL will tease our city once again.
 

necko

New member
Feb 26, 2005
1,223
0
0
71
Republic of Burnaby
Its too bad u guys didn't build your barn bigger, u need about 20thousand seats these days including corp boxes and I not talking about expensive sp's
 

timatus

New member
Aug 6, 2006
7
0
0
Not!!!1

You don't need a bigger barn obviously you haven't been to the MTS center???? Bettman(Dickhead) wanted 20000+ arenas back in 93 but now he realizes that if you have a big arena, it doesn't matter if you can't sell seats ie:nashville, pittsburg,florida and carolina oops i know they won the cup but unlike here in Calgary the bandwagon jumpers will fade even faster;) The only prob with the Peg is corporate support:( they don't have it:( :( :( but you never know they have very hockey hungry fans I'd pick winnipeg over hamilton anyday:) And I'm not just saying that cause I'm from there:D
 

necko

New member
Feb 26, 2005
1,223
0
0
71
Republic of Burnaby
Neither Edm Cal or Wpg have large enough populations for big television contracts. Its fan base that counts even in a lousey year the canucks still sell out lots and then theirs TV 3-4 million people watch them on any given nightU are right about corporate sponsorship add that to payperviewfull stadiums merchandizing. of course the lagrer the fan base the better:)
 

hornyitalian06

New member
May 5, 2006
620
0
0
Edmonton
I think it would be nice to see NHL back in Winnipeg. After all hockey is Canada's favourite sport.
 

dirtydan

Banned
Oct 7, 2004
1,059
0
0
57
Just say no to the NHL

Sorry man, that bullshit the overly rich crowd rammed people through back in 1996 was the last straw in my books for a NHL team in Winnipeg. How many times can these people cruelly tease others that a team won't cost the public one red cent only to have them start begging for government money at the first sight of any problem? Even with today's salary cap system I think Winnipeg is not a big enough market to have a NHL team.

Besides the NDP government saw to it that the new arena was built partly on getting enough votes away from the Tories to have won the last provincial election.
 

dirtydan

Banned
Oct 7, 2004
1,059
0
0
57
hornyitalian06 said:
I think it would be nice to see NHL back in Winnipeg. After all hockey is Canada's favourite sport.

In that case Quebec City, Hamilton and Halifax should have NHL teams. But that ain't going to happen. One of the sore points of allowing the Jets and the Nordiques into the NHL way back in 1979 is those teams were seen as poor draws in the US cities already with NHL teams.
 

westwoody

Well-known member
Jun 10, 2004
6,458
4,040
113
Westwood
NHL in Winnipeg will never happen

Winnipeggers will moan and moan but when it comes to putting their money where their mouth is it just does not happen. I am embarassed to admit that I live in Winnipeg because it has such a reputation for cheapskates. Cheapskates who will talk all day about how they are going to do this or that but when the time comes to pay up they want a special deal or they have to wait til next payday. I know two SPs who are bombarded by guys wanting special deals, guys for whom $20 off a $200 session is a HUGE deal.
I used to sit down in the reds one row behind the visitors' penalty box. As soon as the game started, there would be a steady stream of jerks who paid for nosebleed tickets sneaking down into the reds. Sometimes I would even find them in MY seat. If you want to sit in my $50 seat buy a $50 ticket!
You can well imagine what will happen if the seats are $100.
 

wolverine

Hard Throbbing Member
Nov 11, 2002
6,388
9
38
E-Town
necko said:
Neither Edm Cal or Wpg have large enough populations for big television contracts.
Edmonton and Calgary each have 1 million people, and draw their support from as far away as Saskatchewan, the Territories and eastern BC. And with incomes in Alberta being what they are, sellouts are the norm instead of the exception.
 

hornyitalian06

New member
May 5, 2006
620
0
0
Edmonton
wolverine said:
Edmonton and Calgary each have 1 million people, and draw their support from as far away as Saskatchewan, the Territories and eastern BC. And with incomes in Alberta being what they are, sellouts are the norm instead of the exception.
You are correct wolverine. However, the economy in Alberta is booming right now and both cities can afford an NHL team.
 

dirtydan

Banned
Oct 7, 2004
1,059
0
0
57
westwoody said:
Winnipeggers will moan and moan but when it comes to putting their money where their mouth is it just does not happen. I am embarassed to admit that I live in Winnipeg because it has such a reputation for cheapskates. Cheapskates who will talk all day about how they are going to do this or that but when the time comes to pay up they want a special deal or they have to wait til next payday. I know two SPs who are bombarded by guys wanting special deals, guys for whom $20 off a $200 session is a HUGE deal.
I used to sit down in the reds one row behind the visitors' penalty box. As soon as the game started, there would be a steady stream of jerks who paid for nosebleed tickets sneaking down into the reds. Sometimes I would even find them in MY seat. If you want to sit in my $50 seat buy a $50 ticket!
You can well imagine what will happen if the seats are $100.
I always found it a pain to sit in the reds in the old Winnipeg Arena as it was to me too low to watch the action. I liked being high enough above the top of the glass along the boards not have it interfere with my view for the most part and I liked being able to see plays develope. The balconies used to be a great perch to watch from, but those steep stairs were a pain in the ass when going down.

Are Winnipeggers cheap? For the most part yes, yes and YES! ;)

There is a reason why wholesalers do well in Winnipeg. And that's because Winnipeggers are cheap. Let's face it Winnipeg only began to grow immensely back in the 1880's when the surrounding farmland was being given away for next to nothing. Thus attracting the cheapest of the cheap. :D

And why does Costco have only 2 stores in Winnipeg? Because Costco's corporate brass knows full well that Winnipeggers will drive a long ways to save a few bucks on their groceries. So there isn't need for more stores.

Tell me my friend, just how many of the 5 and 7 cent Domo gas coupons do you have? ;)
 

O-Shoes

Member
Dec 6, 2004
233
0
16
700,000+ people in the Peg

Smaller arena yes but that creates demand thus higher ticket prices... simple economics... It will not be the MTS Centre that stops a team going to Winnipeg. It will be lack of corporate support. Winnipeg has the big companies like GWL/Investors Group, Canwest Global, MTS-Allstream. Do companies like this have the balls to take a risk? Or do they need 40 owners like Edmonton has.

The new MTS Centre which is much nicer than Edmonton's or Calgary's. Both the Oilers and Flames owners have visited MTS Centre and loved it...
Calgary is talking about a new arena but Ken King said it would not be larger than 18,500 and similiar to MTS Centre.. He is the one that said smaller arena's create demand.

MTS Centre would just have to charge more for the last few rows of seats. The last row will cost at minimum $40.00 each per ticket. Would Peggers buck up for that?

FYI, I have season tickets in the 3rd level for the Flames. They cost $16.00 each ticket... even less for the student tickets behind my row...

Anyway, Winnipeg could do it but it would take commitment from those medium size companies (not the ones above) to buy season tickets. There could be no cheap seats for students. Most of the season tickets in Calgary are corporate bought. But as said above, Winnipeg in general may be just a little to thrifty to take a risk and have some fun.
 
Last edited:

westwoody

Well-known member
Jun 10, 2004
6,458
4,040
113
Westwood
dirtydan said:
I always found it a pain to sit in the reds
I liked being really close to the players and from where I sat I could clearly hear everything the players in the penalty box said. Mark Messier is a potty mouth!
Winnipeggers will drive a long ways to save a few bucks on their groceries.
I know people who will drive to one store for milk, another for meat and a third for produce, all to save a few cents. Considering the cost of fuel and the time it takes it seems counterproductive, but that's the way people are here. I just go to Superstore and do everything in one go.
how many of the 5 and 7 cent Domo gas coupons do you have? ;)
Superstore gives 7 1/2 cents per liter, that's even better!
 

wolverine

Hard Throbbing Member
Nov 11, 2002
6,388
9
38
E-Town
O-Shoes said:
Winnipeg has the big companies like GWL/Investors Group, Canwest Global, MTS-Allstream. Do companies like this have the balls to take a risk? Or do they need 40 owners like Edmonton has.
Those 30-odd owners stepped up to the plate at the last minute when the Oilers were on the verge of packing up and moving south to the Great Satan. And these owners ranged from oil industry bigwigs to a comic book artist in Phoenix. And that's without other local corporate heavyweights like Telus (which was headquartered in E-town before the merger with BCTel) or The Brick. Surely the Pegheads could have done likewise back then?
 

Devo

Member
Aug 16, 2003
316
0
16
Canada
I can't remember how many times I went to a Jets game in the early nineties and looked around to see the old barn half empty. People here claim that they will support an NHL team, but in reality they wont.

Of course its easy to sell out the arena when Montreal or Edmonton comes to town. How many people are willing to line up to see the last place Blackhawk's on a cold Tuesday night in January when its -35? We had an NHL team here for years, didn't support it, now its gone. Time for everyone to get on with there lives, which I thought everyone had done by now.

Go Bombers!!
 

westwoody

Well-known member
Jun 10, 2004
6,458
4,040
113
Westwood
Devo said:
We had an NHL team here for years, didn't support it, now its gone.
Thank God one other person remembers the REALITY and not the stupid fantasy.
 

dirtydan

Banned
Oct 7, 2004
1,059
0
0
57
westwoody said:
Thank God one other person remembers the REALITY and not the stupid fantasy.
Hell even the Goldeyes had fewer sellouts this season compared to seasons past. Katz got his expansion to around 7500 seats and it seems most games the attendance was less than the size of the ballpark seating before the expansion.
 

O-Shoes

Member
Dec 6, 2004
233
0
16
Check the stats

Not including the last 2 years the Jets were in town.

Winnipeg Arena averaged over 13,000 fans per game which was about 85% capacity year in year out. This was in the worst rink ever for fans and that is remarkable!

Look at Minnesota. The North Stars averaged less than 10k per game then when they came back as the "Wild" in a new areana they now always sell out.

It is frustrating that Winnipeggers are always paraniod that taxpayers will have to flip the bill... Relax... take a risk for once in your lives... No worries, if you got a team the Gov won't pay a cent.

God for bid you spent top dollar on something. It blows me away that some (minority) of you NHL fans in Winnipeg would not want a team back and support it at the same time...

Forget Teir 2 CFL football....
 

JustAGuy

New member
Jul 3, 2004
1,054
4
0
77
Manitoba
I held off posting in this thread but I feel the need to state something that ought to be (but apparently isn't) obvious to everyone:

THE NHL IS NOT COMING BACK TO WINNIPEG.

EVER!!


It would be the smallest metropolitan market in the NHL. And if a relatively small population wasn't enough, it's a city of "can you get it for me wholesale" cheapskates who won't shell out $75 to sit in the seats that are the farthest from ice level other than to see the Leafs and Habs. And expecting them to pony up $200 or more to sit at ice level? Yeah, right.

If the NHL ever expands again (I can't imagine that happening for a decade or more at the minimum) or looks to shift franchises, markets like Seattle, Houston and even Kansas City are much more appealing than Winnipeg. Hell, they'd put another team in the greater NYC area before they'd have one here.

I actually know hardcore hockey fans who have never been to a Moose game because according to their twisted logic attending an AHL game would somehow be an admission that this is a minor league city. Well, wake up and smell the coffee, folks. This city is as minor league as it gets.

As an aside to other Winnipeggers, have any of you heard the ads that Ron Pollack is running in his quest to be mayor? This guy is crazier than a shithouse rat (and I already knew he was nuts going back to the cable show he used to have on Videon with his equally bizarre sister, Natalie). I almost wish he'd get elected (wouldn't anyone be better than Sam Katz?) just to see how he fulfills his pledge to bring the Jets back to Winnipeg.
 
Ashley Madison
Vancouver Escorts