• Loading stock data...
Sunday, June 1, 2025

Trouble in Winnipeg As Bettman Plans Visit for Ailing Jets

  • The NHL commissioner is set to meet with local politicians, sponsors, and fans.
  • There is little margin for error as the team plays in the league’s smallest market.
Terrence Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NHL’s smallest and perhaps most overlooked market is sounding the alarms, and league commissioner Gary Bettman is paying attention.

Despite sporting the third-best record in the Western Conference, the Jets currently have the league’s lowest attendance (not counting the Coyotes, who are playing temporarily in the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena). The Jets’ home average of 13,140 is down by 6% from a year ago. And given the team’s Canada Life Center is also the smallest in the league outside of Mullett Arena with a capacity of 15,321, the Jets already had little margin for error. 

A season-ticket base of 13,700 in 2021 has fallen this season to 9,500, and a prior waiting list for tickets has evaporated. 

“I wouldn’t be honest with you if I didn’t say, ‘We’ve got to get back to 13,000,’” Jets chair and co-owner Mark Chipman told The Athletic. “This place we find ourselves in right now, it’s not going to work over the long haul. It just isn’t.”

In addition to the arena challenges, Winnipeg also stands as the smallest of the NHL’s seven Canadian media markets, holding a metro population of about 850,000—a figure less than one-seventh the size of Toronto, and is also smaller than all of the league’s American team markets. 

Bettman is scheduled to travel to Winnipeg on Tuesday and will conduct a series of meetings with local politicians, corporate sponsors, and media, as well as fans in a “fireside chat” before the Jets’ home game against the Blues. 

As Winnipeg regained an NHL franchise in 2011, ending a 15-year absence from the league, Bettman said then, “It isn’t going to work very well unless this building is sold out every night.” No relocation threats have been issued surrounding the Winnipeg situation. But the problems there are arising as a growing number of U.S. markets are openly coveting a league franchise, including Atlanta, Houston, and Salt Lake City

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Panthers-Oilers Rematch Could Be Big in Canada. Will U.S. Ratings Dip?

Likely viewership declines in the U.S. are countered by robust Canadian audiences.

Brett Yormark: Big 12 Puts Private Equity and Naming Rights on Pause

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is shifting his conference’s strategy.
Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) injures left shoulder whilte attempt to steal second base in the seventh inning against the New York Yankees during game two of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium.

Yankees-Dodgers Clash Draws TV Spotlight, Sky-High Prices

The teams’ lone regular-season series features three nationally aired games.
Ovi

Capitals Say Ovechkin Retirement Email Was Sent in Error

Ovechkin is the NHL’s all-time scoring leader and has one Stanley Cup. 

Featured Today

PSG and the City of Paris Can Join European Soccer’s Elite

What a maiden Champions League title would mean for the French club.
May 30, 2025

How the Champions League Anthem Took on a Life of Its Own

The composer didn’t know he wrote a timeless hit three decades ago.
May 25, 2025

How Rolex Paved the Way for Luxury’s Love Affair With Tennis

“It’s almost impossible to think about tennis without thinking about Rolex.”
Mar 23, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Alexandra Eala (PHI) reacts after winning a point against Madison Keys (USA)(not pictured) on day six of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.
May 24, 2025

Alex Eala Is Defying Her Country’s Odds to Make French Open History

The Philippines native has overcome a unique set of financial odds.
breaking

Pacers-Thunder Is Lowest-Payroll NBA Finals in Years

Neither team is in the luxury tax, despite rosters with multiple All-Stars.
May 29, 2025

T-Wolves Face Roster-Building Questions After Another WCF Loss

The team has ownership stability entering this offseason.
May 30, 2025

Steve Cohen Taps USTA’s Lew Sherr to Reshape Mets Off Field

The MLB club hires a top executive from the U.S. Tennis Association.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

In Episode 7 of Portfolio Players, go inside the boardroom with Avenue Capital CEO and former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry on Giannis’s future, women’s sports, and upstart leagues like TGL and Unrivaled. 
SGA
May 29, 2025

Thunder Poised to Dominate for Years After Winning West

OKC has the NBA’s best shot at a dynasty with the new CBA.
May 28, 2025

Mets Casino Project Moves Forward As Cohen Shakes Up Front Office

Scott Havens will depart as team president of business operations.
May 28, 2025

Terry Bradshaw Calls Steelers Pursuit of Aaron Rodgers ‘a Joke’

The Pro Football Hall of Famer lambastes the courtship of the mercurial star.
Ted Leonsis
exclusive
May 27, 2025

Where Do the Mystics Fit in a Rapidly Evolving WNBA?

The WNBA is increasingly divided between the new- and old-guard owners.