Canadian Team Embarrasses With The Worst Attendance in Franchise History

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Ryan Hall
October 18, 2023 (11:14)

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Back in 2011, Gary Bettman, the commissioner of the NHL, held a press conference stating that there were no new owners in Atlanta willing to take on the Atlanta Thrashers after having dismal attendance records and no public backing whatsoever.

It was well-known that the NHL, at the time, was not interested in relocating franchises, especially Atlanta, being the 10th largest TV market in the United States.

But Bettman wasn't left with a choice, and after Mark Chipman, the CEO of True North Entertainment, continuously made pitches for a new franchise in Winnipeg, the commissioner decided to move the Thrashers to Manitoba.

After several years of fantastic attendance and lots of support, it seems the Jets have hit hard times, and fans are not coming to the games. The Canada Life Centre, formerly known as Bell MTS Place, is the second smallest in the entire NHL network, with only 15,321 seats for hockey.

Most arenas have well over 18,000 seats and offer many perks, such as luxury boxes and other expensive additions, to satisfy the NHL experience that fans are looking for.

With inflation still running rampant throughout the country and the world, and the cost of goods continuously rising, cities like Winnipeg are struggling to justify spending hundreds of dollars on parking, food, and tickets when that money is needed for other essentials like groceries.

I expect this problem to continue throughout the Jets' year, even though they have just locked up two of their best players, Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck, to long-term contracts."