The Jets Can't Fly

By Launy "The" Schwartz

If I were to tell you that I wanted to relocate a company that is primarily gate driven, to a city that is perennially ranked as one of the poorest in Canada, and is rivaled only by Edmonton as the country's murder capital, would you let me set up shop there - again? Because, oh yes, we already left town 15 years ago when people couldn’t afford our product. So would you meet this business decision with vigor?

Well, allow me to introduce you to Winnipeg, Manitoba. And since you are reading this on H-54, you’ve got to know I’m talking about the Winnipeg Jets.

Now before any of you readers start with your, "Hey Schwartz, why hate on the Peg?” please realize that this is nothing personal.

Hockey Girl lived in Winnipeg before moving to Toronto. She’s a shining example of how nice people from the windiest city in our country can be.

The Guess Who also hails from there, and they are proud to be Canadian. Dahlia, along with Randy Bachman and company also left Winnipeg, as have many others over the years.

Yes, another staggering statistic that is prohibitive for those who are hopeful that the Jets may land in the prairies yet again. In 1959, the population of the Manitoba capital was 243,287. In 2008, the population was 666,600. That’s a meagre 37 per cent increase, which doesn’t account for the fact that Winnipeg didn’t include suburbs in the census prior to 1972. Add the ‘burbs to the 1959 stat, and you're looking at close to 500,000 plus people.

So what does that say?

More people are inclined to leave the River City, rather than stick it out. This leaves an aging population that prefers to complain that they can’t find Matlock on TV anymore.

Then there’s the almighty corporate support.

You can look to the Thompson family (one of the richest families on the planet, never mind Canada) to plant a team there, but they live in Toronto. Refer to the previous paragraph to see how inclined they’d be to move.

Years ago the Asper family could have been eyeballed to bring back the Jets, but bankruptcy is also prohibitive when it comes purchasing a National Hockey League team.

Now on to the positive side of the argument.

The population young enough to ask “Who cares about Matlock?” loves hockey!

Well, they loved hockey back in 1995/96, and look what happened. The Jets flew off to the desert.  Now why is that? The Canadian dollar was weak, and player salaries began to reach the only Detroit-Toronto-and-New York-can-afford-them territory.

Sure the Canadian dollar is on the rise. As of the publish time of this article, it’s almost at parity with the US.

That’s just great. So great, I feel like going to Buffalo. Too bad that doesn’t help the passionate fans in the Peg when it comes to buying a hockey ticket.

The MTS Centre is in the heart of Winnipeg, and it’s a beautiful arena. It’s currently home to the AHL's Manitoba Moose. The highest ticket price is $42.50. Not too shabby. For a hockey game, a full house would have 15, 015 butts in the seats. That’s a nice crowd.

Now consider the Bell Centre in Montreal which packs in over 21,000 people. There a platinum ticket costs $201. See how this is a whole different set of economics? That seems to slip the minds of most Canadians.

I’ll toss in one more variable people don’t hear too often...

As nice as the MTS Centre is, it’s impossible to expand. I have seen it with my own two eyes.  It literally occupies the main artery in the downtown core.

When the annual rumblings surfaced about the Jets possibility to return, a spokesperson for the rink explained it could house an NHL team, but since the building is not to NHL spec, increased ticket prices would have to compensate.

Now seeing that I major in Hockey, with a PHd in taking several dozen pucks to the head, mathematics may not be my strong suit, but I still understand a very simple equation.

Poverty + High Ticket Prices = Empty Arena.

Here’s another equation to look over. No worries, it’s a simple one too.

Poverty + Lack of Corporate Support = No New Arena.

So, while many people across this great land would love nothing more than to see Winnipeg get an NHL team once again, it’s a dream even the Wright brothers wouldn’t fly.

After all, if you can’t afford to put wings on the Jet, it will never take off.