MTS Centre has now been open for over a year and has been one the world's busiest venues for 15 straight months. It's location and capacity have been debated endlessly since the groundbreaking in early 2003. Luckily they don't have any bearing on the building's suitablity for the NHL. The questions of size restrictions in the new building need to be put to rest. The myth that arenas need to be 18,000-20,000 seats now-a-days is best proven in a dozen buildings across the league that remain 1/3 empty on most evenings, some even half empty. Not only are these buildings unnecessary but they are also unrealistic to fill on most evenings. For our market, MTSC is ideal. At 15,100 seats, MTSC can sellout consistantly and have a lower operation cost than any building in the NHL. It can also create the all-important supply and demand aspect of marketing. What better mentality than to have it be actually difficult to get a ticket to a Jets game! It is crucial to create that excitement and desire to want to get to the box office early to be part of the noise and intimacy the MTS Centre will provide. Walk-ups just before game time shouldn't exist. In fact, a majority of NHL teams don't need the huge buildings they are in. The NBA creates the need for the size these buildings are. Many American markets have numerous sports that utilize their arena. Winnipeg would have one key sport in MTSC. We would also be able to generate all of the revenue that Winnipeg Enterpises Corp. swallowed up in the past. There will also be new revenue opportunities that didn't exist before as well as revenue from concerts and non-hockey events to off-set any losses that may or may not result in running an NHL team. Owning a team and the building it plays in has many perks.
MTS CentreIt has been documented that owners in the NHL wish they actually had smaller arenas! The NHL has given the thumbs-up to MTSC in all aspects. After all, it is no longer about how many seats you have in your building as much as it is about how much you can get for each seat in it. A ticket will cost more than the Jets of old, but what doesn't cost more today? Fuel is double the price than it was in 1996. So are concerts. So is airfare. And on and on. Also remember that an arena is a glorified hockey rink. You see, an arena doesn’t need a million square feet of office space and room for an amusement park! We are Winnipeggers. We buy hockey free of gimmicks, at full price and we actually attend the game. In short, MTS Centre is just right for Winnipeg and arguably the most ideal size for NHL hockey. Just ask Washington, Buffalo, Florida, Nashville, Carolina, Phoenix, New Jersey, Atlanta and Pittsburgh. Their fans couldn't fill MTSC's lower bowl on some evenings and couldn't fill our entire arena on most nights. And how many of them actually paid for their tickets? On a final note, the cities mentioned above are all, quote "larger markets". Are they?