News Article: The Athletic writers rank Bell MTS Place as 4th best arena in the league

[Yukon Joe]

NHL arena rankings: Grading every team's rink from best to...

4. Bell MTS Place (Winnipeg)

Location: 6.13
Quality of facility: 6.17
Atmosphere: 7.48
Press box: 6.43
Total score: 26.22
This isn’t the best arena in the league. But it’s the best place to watch a game in the league. A small, intimate venue with phenomenal sightlines and a crowd that’s as hot as the city is cold. My only quibble is a few years ago, they decided to take the press box — once a fabulous den of unhealthy salty snacks and ice cream — and turn it into some sort of health-hole. We slovenly writers are so starved for something tasty that when they bring out boring ol’ boxes of popcorn and plain M&Ms at the first intermission, the line stretches damn near around the rink. – Lazerus
“Great fans. Amazing fans. Everything else about the Winnipeg experience is minor-league.” – Rossi
“Love this place even though I can never quite navigate the underground parts of downtown when I’m there in the winter. And yes, I have also done some wandering on the event level trying to find the Jets dressing room, which is weirdly located near a loading dock. But I digress. One of the best press box perches on the circuit. Staff is super-helpful. And does that place rock? Yes. Yes, it does. Hockey how it was supposed to be seen and heard.” – Burnside
“I’ve been much more wowed by snack options across the NHL but let’s be real. Few arenas give you better sightlines to do your job, and when the fans get going, it evokes chills something fierce.” – Murat Ates

Surprised it ranked that high - hardly the newest building in the league, it's small, and downtown Winnipeg is, well...

But the fan support seems like it won out.

Click to read more...

 

[jetsforever]

Surprising although the atmosphere is definitely one of the best
Sounds like those guys like it because it's good for broadcasters/press

 

[nobody imp0rtant]

I don't have an Athletic subscription (and never will) so I can't see what they say about other arenas but they can't be overly complimentary if comments like this give us a 4th place ranking. And let's be real, our supposedly loud fans are more often meh than HELL YEAH these days. That electricity from the early years is gone, at least in the regular season. Then again, maybe they were here doing their appraisal while the place was full of Leafs or Habs fans.

 

[bustamente]

Playoff atmosphere both inside and out is unparalleled around the league, hopeful that some day we get back to that, but really during the regular season the past few years you could hear a pin drop during many games

 

[Jet]

I'm not looking at it from a broadcasters POV (where they get to watch games) but I guess with the size of the arena and angle of the seats you'd have a pretty great seat to watch as opposed to say Bell or United Center.

Fans have gotten very quiet, the fun chanting has become scarce.

As for amenities and beauty of the rink, our arena has to be near dead last. Vegas, Chicago, Nashville, Vancouver are all vastly superior in terms of space, finishings and amenities.

 

[Jets 31]

Typical Winnipeg'rs people say something positive about Winnipeg and we say no it isn't. As far as watching hockey or a concert the MTS Center is brilliant if you ask me and i've been to alot of other arenas .

 

[Bigfish]

Typical Winnipeg'rs people say something positive about Winnipeg and we say no it isn't. As far as watching hockey or a concert the MTS Center is brilliant if you ask me and i've been to alot of other arenas .

You must skinny. I'm 6' 200 LBS and find the seats to small and uncomfortable. My knees are always pressed up against the seat in front of me. For that reason alone I no longer go to Jet games.

 

[buggs]

You must skinny. I'm 6' 200 LBS and find the seats to small and uncomfortable. My knees are always pressed up against the seat in front of me. For that reason alone I no longer go to Jet games.

Lots of them are. I'm about same size as you and our old seats (112) were not very enjoyable. Most of the people I go to games with are at least my size or larger. Seats were very narrow and no leg room at all.

103? Sooooo much better. We're on the aisle, so that helps as one of us can lean into the aisle a bit to make room but honestly the seats are wider there. Probably 2 more inches of knee room as well. Amazing how much difference it makes.

 

[Jetfaninflorida]

It is a different feeling and experience than other rinks I have been to. Nice to see the good reviews.

 

[Gm0ney]

Bell MTS Place >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Winnipeg Arena

The smallness of the arena is part of the charm. The sight lines are mostly great. It's in an excellent spot right downtown. The concessions might not be Shake Shack (like they have in Vegas) but there's a good variety.

The biggest drawbacks are the crowded concourses and washroom lines. They could fix the concourse issue with some better traffic control and line queues for concessions. To avoid the washroom lines, you could always wear a catheter!

 

[Jimmyjets]

I'd agree that the atmosphere has died off but I don't think it's vastly different for Tuesday night games in most city's. Could it be that all crowds in all NHL rinks are like that but the difference is that our rink is full every night and when something worthwhile happens we still blow the roof off? It's never going to go back to how it was the first few years but hopefully with some ticket turnover that will help. With any luck there will be an infusion of late 20's early 30's types that like to have fun and the old curmudgeons that haven't liked going for the last few years are out of the building.

These guys are ranking the pressbox view (intimate building so the site-lines are great for them), location (right downtown, walking distance from their hotel), Quality of facility (our ice is usually rated among the top in the league in the players polls, our concourse is cavernous compared to the one at the Bell Centre in Montreal) and atmosphere (people are there to watch the game and cheer/boo at the appropriate times. That's more than can be said about a lot of cities)

 

[Joe Hallenback]

I have been to the following rinks

Vancouver
Calgary
Edmonton - old rink
Winnipeg
Toronto - Gardens and Air Canada
Montreal - Bell Center
Ottawa
Chicago - New arena
Minnesota - Target
Buffalo - Aud not new
Dallas
Florida
Tampa Bay

The only place I liked better was Montreal

 

[mondo3]

There was no mention of the Jet's dog in the article, although apparently Montreal has an amazing hot dog.

 

[SCP Guy]

I have been to the following rinks

Vancouver
Calgary
Edmonton - old rink
Winnipeg
Toronto - Gardens and Air Canada
Montreal - Bell Center
Ottawa
Chicago - New arena
Minnesota - Target
Buffalo - Aud not new
Dallas
Florida
Tampa Bay

The only place I liked better was Montreal

Wow that’s an impressive list!

 

[tbcwpg]

I don't have an Athletic subscription (and never will) so I can't see what they say about other arenas but they can't be overly complimentary if comments like this give us a 4th place ranking. And let's be real, our supposedly loud fans are more often meh than HELL YEAH these days. That electricity from the early years is gone, at least in the regular season. Then again, maybe they were here doing their appraisal while the place was full of Leafs or Habs fans.

The top one is Vegas and that's really only because it's Vegas - I think one writer called the arena itself as "sterile".

 

[Hank Chinaski]

I'm not looking at it from a broadcasters POV (where they get to watch games) but I guess with the size of the arena and angle of the seats you'd have a pretty great seat to watch as opposed to say Bell or United Center.

Fans have gotten very quiet, the fun chanting has become scarce.

As for amenities and beauty of the rink, our arena has to be near dead last. Vegas, Chicago, Nashville, Vancouver are all vastly superior in terms of space, finishings and amenities.

Yeah, gonna have to disagree with you on Vancouver.

-Space, for sure.

-Amenities, that’s a wash. Rogers does have that neat bar/grill/sushi setup in the one end. Nothing else noteworthy as far as other concessions, washrooms, etc. They don’t even have cup holders there, FFS! This is lower bowl I’m talking.

-Finishings? Guessing you haven’t been to Bell MTS in awhile. Rogers is starting to show its age, most of their arena stinks of the 90s.

Chicago without question is nicer. Vegas? That’s not really a fair comparison lol.

 

[RabidOne]

I'm not looking at it from a broadcasters POV (where they get to watch games) but I guess with the size of the arena and angle of the seats you'd have a pretty great seat to watch as opposed to say Bell or United Center.

Fans have gotten very quiet, the fun chanting has become scarce.

As for amenities and beauty of the rink, our arena has to be near dead last. Vegas, Chicago, Nashville, Vancouver are all vastly superior in terms of space, finishings and amenities.

Except Vancouver sucks for hockey. Quiet crowd who are there to be seen or because they have corporate tickets. Unless you are in the first few rows you sit too far back from the ice. The Coliseum has a far better hockey experience, unfortunately the Giants moved out of there a couple of years ago.

 

[Saitama]

You must skinny. I'm 6' 200 LBS and find the seats to small and uncomfortable. My knees are always pressed up against the seat in front of me. For that reason alone I no longer go to Jet games.

I counter that by having seats in row 1 of our section! I just have to deal with people in the Loge seating blocking my view of the net if they have an overly large head. I was offered the upgrade to the Loge seating but it would have doubled my payments and I sell a fair amount of tickets to coworkers that don't quite have the disposable cash that I do.

 

[wpgallday1960]

I’ve been to NHL arenas in Dallas, Arizona, Nashville. Alll are comparable to BellMTS Place.
Quite frankly the nicest hockey arena I’ve ever been to is the Ralph in Grand Forks. Very much like an NHL atmosphere when the Fighting Hawks are playing too.

 

[ps241]

Arenas I have been to.

Maple Leafs gardens
ACC *
Montreal New
Ottawa*
Winnipeg Arena*
BellMTS*
Edmonton Northland**
Calgary Stampede Corral
Saddle Dome*
Rogers Centre Van
Phoenix
Dallas*
Nashville*
Chicago Stadium (old)*
Chicago new
Minnesota*
Boston Gardens
Philly
Ralph for the world junior final

* is playoff game
** Stanley Cup Final

best game day atmosphere bar none was my first white out in Winnipeg game 3 vs Detroit on 1996. It was like nothing I had ever seen. Game 3 against the Ducks at MTS was similar

Winnipeg in our first year back was the best atmosphere in any NHL building. Montreal is probably the best atmosphere now. Winnipeg during any good game on a Friday or Saturday night is still really solid.

Old Chicago Stadium rocked.

 

[tbcwpg]

I’ve been to NHL arenas in Dallas, Arizona, Nashville. Alll are comparable to BellMTS Place.
Quite frankly the nicest hockey arena I’ve ever been to is the Ralph in Grand Forks. Very much like an NHL atmosphere when the Fighting Hawks are playing too.

The only one I've been to other than MTS is Xcel and that was a pretty nice one. Love the open concourse looking at the ice.

 

[Whileee]

Montreal was fun, but to be honest the atmosphere was a bit disappointing. The only energy in the building was to constantly complain about the reffing.

 

[Jets 31]

You must skinny. I'm 6' 200 LBS and find the seats to small and uncomfortable. My knees are always pressed up against the seat in front of me. For that reason alone I no longer go to Jet games.

Nice Jets fan , i'm a little uncomfortable for 2 hours so i'm never going to a game again. I'd rather be a little uncomfortable and actually be close to the action than comfortable but so far away i might as well watch it on TV .

 

[Jimmyjets]

There was no mention of the Jet's dog in the article, although apparently Montreal has an amazing hot dog.

When I was there I had "Le Dog" because everyone raved about it. It's on kind of a special bun but otherwise was just a hot dog. I'm glad I had it but don't see what all the fuss is about.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Vegas was #1.
These writers can't have any credibility.

F**k Vegas!