Questions about the MTS Centre in Winnipeg

[Gui101do]

I know next to nothing about the new potential home of the Winnipeg Jets (the MTS Centre).

From what i have read, it is an awesome facility. The thing I can't get over is that Wikipedia lists it at only holding a hair more than 15k for hockey. That is really, really small. Something close to 1,200 fewer than the next smallest, Nassau Coliseum.

I don't want this to go into an Atlanta fanbase vs how many hockey fans are in Winnipeg. I am more or less interested in how an NHL franchise can be healthy in what would be by far the tiniest metropolitan NHL city in what is also by far the tiniest arena?

Again, this is all if it goes through and blah blah blah, but why am I not finding concern over the potentially major drawbacks of the MTS Centre and Winnipeg? Nostalgia aside, it doesn't look to make much sense.

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[9876]

I've read that TNSE makes a lot on non-hockey events.

There is also the possibility of revenue sharing.

 

[Hugh Mann*]

Revenue sharing only works if you have enough teams contributing enough money towards it.

tl;dr version: Winnipeg can work, but will always be a small-market team, and won't be able to spend like Toronto, the Rangers, etc.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Winnipeg could definitely work, but it'd also be the team that would get hammered the most if the Canadian dollar ever took a nosedive to the America dollar again, so it has its ups and downs.

 

[danishh]

basically, they feel with the revenue from concerts and if they charge the prices of the most expensive 15k seats (ie the missing seats are all the 'cheap seats'), they can have revenue comparable to other small market canadian clubs like ottawa and edmonton.

 

[King Woodballs]

they will be the middle to the road in terms of cap and somewhere between 80-85 million in revenues

 

[Gui101do]

All good points, but that is a lot of risk and assumption.

I just can't understand how the NHL can be so eager to prop up Phoenix, turn their back on Atlanta and then back what looks like solid ownership now that would be moving into a similar situation that doomed the Jets franchise in the first place?

 

[Gui101do]

Just finding more information as I go; the old home of the Jets, the Winnipeg Arena, actually held almost 400 more fans that what the current MTS Centre holds.

 

[bozak911]

there is also a deal in the works to quickly improve the MTS center. not sure on the details but XM Home Ice had a brief blurb about it this afternoon.

 

[Fugu]

We have had about 60 threads discussing this very topic. Once the excitement dies down, post your question in the Winnipeg thread.

We don't need two going right now.