Threat of sale or relocation for the Jets with another attendance record hits!
Jets owner Mark Chipman had some explaining to do…:
HockeyFeed
Ever since the Winnipeg Jets kicked off the 2023-24 season at home, tons of question emerge on what was happening with their attendance. Last week, when they hosted the Los Angeles Kings and former player Pierre-Luc Dubois, the attendance at the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg was embarrassingly low with only 11,226 fans attended the game, leaving more than 4,000 empty seats in the rink… The arena’s capacity is 15,324. It was said to be the lowest attendance — outside of game restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic — since the Jets moved from Atlanta in 2011.
On Tuesday night, the Jets recorded a 4-2 NHL victory over the St. Louis Blues, but managed to do so before 11,136 fans at Canada Life Centre. Excluding the pandemic, it was the Jets' lowest attendance ever...
Concerns are arising. Darren Dreger had no other choice but to confront owner Mark Chipman with the reported numbers and asked the tough question on the threat of sale or relocation if attendance does not improve throughout the season.
Darren Dreger: Is there any threat of sale or relocation if this can’t get turned around?
Mark Chipman: No.
A full interview will be available on Thursday, but fans, especially the ones in Winnipeg will want and need some more in depth answers.
There was a buzz earlier this season thanks to rumor reports that the NHL is looking to expand to Atlanta and Houston in the short-term future.
While expansion isn’t being considered by the NHL at the moment, very few would be surprised if commissioner Gary Bettman were to move the Jets out of Canada once again.
We understand the fans’ concerns in Winnipeg and only hope Chapman will put them to rest in his interview with Dreger, available on Thursday.
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