The Out of Town Visitor to Jets Fan Experience

 

Once again an influencer has come in to town to see the Winnipeg Jets and offer commentary on the city and its offerings when it comes to the fan experience. I won't post his links here but for those interested, it was in regards to the team playing Buffalo Sabres. The game was a loss and the crowd was not at their most animated. It happens. A dull, cold day and an afternoon game on a Sunday is more likely to attract young families, especially for last place Sabres.

Jets were ripe for the picking with some of the Winnipeg players on Sabres having great games. Good for those guys. As for Jets, the first place team is still pushing to stay on top and go to the playoffs all the way. It has drawn notice from hockey and sports fans all over North America. Some of them have come all the way to the city to experience the team. And in some cases rip the city for even having a team.

This is what happened with the vlogger who visited the city for three days and questions why the NHL ever gave Winnipeg a team. To put it bluntly, the Jets got a team because Atlanta Thrashers was just not able to succeed despite a small passionate fanbase. With only one playoff run, the Thrashers struggled and not even first round picks, big acquisitions and patience from the NHL was able to change that. Winnipeg got the team because they built a new arena, had an ownership group and ready to bail out the league if a franchise was about to go. 

The Thrashers team that Winnipeg got was a one line team with literally not much in draft and development. None of the coaching staff moved over. And yet overjoyed Winnipeg fans bought all the tickets and provided years of waiting lists. I think it is quite undeniable that the Jets have built one of the strongest franchises today for draft and development, coaching and player enrichment. They have frequently updated their facility and added the iceplex and have done much to improve the fan experience around the arena.

The ownership of the Winnipeg Jets is held by the Chipman and Thomson family. The Chipmans, known for the Birchwood Auto Group, and the Thomsons, known for Reuters. David Thomson is thought to be richest owner in the NHL. He came to be owner after a long business association with Winnipeg as owner of the Free Press and CKRC. He was also a long time fan of the Jets.

The Jets ownership, management and facility are not in question. Could the arena be bigger? Sure. It has been expanded as much as it can be in its present form. It has three professional teams that use it and has a full concert docket. It is a moneymaker. Jets owners have also purchased the Burton Cummings Theatre to help manage its concerts and event business. They have built real estate investments around the arena to enhance the entertainment district.

It is important to keep in mind that the Jets are just part of the overall business. The Manitoba Moose and owning the Canada Life Centre contribute to the True North bottom line. Rental of arena to the Winnipeg Sea Bears and concerts help pay for overall operations. Moreover, the Jets have bought Portage Place and the $3 million a year in that parkade money is now in True North's hands. The Hockey for All Centre iceplex in Headingley serves as the practice facility for the Jets and Moose and is the central tournament spot for amateur hockey in Manitoba.

Sales of tickets were up 12% as of January for Jets. Corporate sales have also gone up and it has been a focus for the True North Entertainment group since fall. Millions have been spent to enhance fan experience and most visitors to the arena usually remark at how engaged the fans are. For this year, it might in playoffs where it is most important for the Jets organization to not only fill the arena but the streets. The economic benefits of the playoffs are enormous and the good wills and community engagement is what the team can build on and for the city to prosper.

The Jets have acknowledged they need more corporate sales. How they do a re-set is something that will have to evolve. The are many companies in Manitoba and some will have to be won over again or for the first time. In other words, corporate sales are not just about what is good for the Jets but what is good for the companies. And to thread the needle, the team can't lose the enthusiastic crowd for corporate seats where people don't show up. They need to make going to the Jets as vital to regular season tickets holders as it is to companies.

One accusation about Leafs playoffs is that the regular season ticket holders can't afford the corporate price of their seats later on. And the people who can get those seats just don't respond like the fans who were there for 41 regular season games. Thankfully, that hasn't been what is seen in Jets games. That is sometimes the trade-off that seats are sold out but passionate fans are fewer. It isn't always the case but happens often enough to be commented on.

A few sports operations have reported that the attractiveness of box seats has lessened while corporate meeting rooms at sports facilities has increased. If this true, we might see a reduction in box seats as we presently have within the arena. Apparently, Toronto has started creating more business meeting spaces for Leafs games. I assume regular bowl seats suffice if there is a meeting room before, during and after the game.

Most out of town fans to the Jets come to Winnipeg from all over Manitoba, Northwest Ontario and sometimes Saskatchewan. The rare guests come from elsewhere in Canada or international. Those that travel to Winnipeg for a game are often coming for shopping, visiting family and going out to restaurants. At the old Winnipeg Arena, people used to stay at the Viscount Gort or the Polo Park Inn (later Canad Inns Polo Park). At the Viscount it was possible that visiting fans would run into the visiting team staying in the same hotel.

Today, it is not much different and out of town fans stay in their favourite hotels based on their shopping and entertainment needs. Some will stay where they have always stayed near Polo Park for water slides or for familiar hotels. Others have been staying at downtown hotels even if the shopping is elsewhere. In some ways, the old Polo Park location was already a hugely successful entertainment area. The 20 year old arena downtown is slowly building up to become an entertainment area.

Like most developments in Winnipeg, the entertainment district is years behind schedule. The discussion over the slow pace of Sutton Place Hotel has been made on this blog. It does appear that the speed should increase but it has been 8 years of waiting so far for the hotel and the restaurants that come with it such as Chop. In the good news category, The Keg is building a large restaurant at St. Mary and Donald, kitty corner to Cityplace and the Canada Life Centre. Once Chop goes up, there will be four steakhouses within walking distance of the arena.

A number of restaurants have opened in the Exchange and in Osborne Village which is an indication that restaurants are slowly coming back after the loss of so many over the last five years. Recovery downtown is much slower but the True North development of Portage Place and the new Pan Am Clinic will mean thousands of people in the area seven days a week. Expect some coffee shops, breakfast places and other restaurants to crop up around the area as the food court will be eliminated for the clinic.

It is expected the Portage Place and even further down the street Bay development will proceed faster than other projects. That is good because they have had several years of stalled work between the Canada Life Centre and RBC Convention Centre has been inconvenient and contributes to a sense of no life around the arena. The road is always an obstacle course and year after year of nothing. The moment it opens it will transform the area.

However, returning to the question of why Winnipeg has an NHL franchise. It has a a franchise because despite being a small market, it has a better facility than many other cities in the NHL. It has a richer and more stable ownership than most in the NHL. It has a very good management team that has been able draft and develop players which is what Atlanta was great at. It has owners trying to create a fan experience inside and outside the arena area. It has a good TV and radio broadcast team. It has good print coverage and a fair size podcasting coverage. It has a new strategy to increase corporate sales.

The Jets are number 1 in the league and some people keep thinking the team should be moved. It isn't going anywhere when the league has so many franchises that could be in need before the Jets are. Even the New Your Rangers could be moving to a new facility across the street. The Calgary Flames are in the process of building a new arena but the city of Calgary owns it. Salt Lake City has an old arena and no immediate plans to build a new one. Jets have one of the newer arenas with the only criticism that is should have 3000 more seats. I imagine the Jets have a soon to be announced plan for arena expansion or a second arena. The reason is that the city would like to have a women's pro hockey team, a women's pro basketball team and possibly, a WHL team. Can't very well do that with one arena.

So to those who wonder why Winnipeg has a franchise, it is because they are building an organization to that. And that will mean we'll see the fan experience from NHL to concerts become more important for putting fans in the seats. And for the out of towers, we have to make it is the best experience we can.

Trump Dismisses Pierre Poilievre

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6370211707112

Conservatives in Canada are probably in disbelief. Two months ago it looked as if there were going to face Justin Trudeau and go to get a supermajority of seats in Canada. The latest polls suggest the biggest defeat for the Conservatives in decades. It could be there has been a boost as a result of Trudeau's resignation and for the subsequent Liberal leadership race but the real driver of polls in Canada has been Donald Trump.

Tariffs have dominated the discussion and fear has pervaded across Canada. Trudeau in his final weeks probably showed the best leadership with the provinces that anyone had seen in three years. Every insult aimed at Canada and Trudeau saw Liberal support rise. Showing fortitude worked for Dough Ford as well who rode a wave of unity to a third term for the PCs in Ontario.

Pierre Poilievre literally had to change tact of saying everything was wrong with Canada to defending Canada against Trump. His campaign needed to change as soon as Trudeau announced he was stepping down but his party seems to think that they just have to say that the new PM Mark Carney is just like Trudeau. Clearly the polling suggests that voters don't think so.

Trump has dumped on Poilievre for not being MAGA enough just when Canadians are looking for a leader who will not just stand up for Canada. The problem is that there are a lot of Trump supporters in the Conservative party and a fair number who support being 51st state. Poilievre treads a fine line of being critical of Trump tariffs and not making his base unhappy. He wants to keep the focus on the Liberals leaders but Trump comments on Canada every day. The people of Canada have no choice but to focus on Trump because of the tariff issues ands existential threat to Canada. Pussyfooting is not going to cut it.

If Conservatives thought Trump would be the best thing in the world for them and that his success would be success for them, they can't be more shocked than they are now. Some in the media are saying that Trump saying Poilievre is no friend of Trump's is a good thing. The FOX interview with Laura Ingraham tried to steer the conversation to China multiple times but Trump wasn't having it. He full on said he doesn't support Poilievre and said he'd prefer to work with a Liberal.

Canadians are in a mood not seen since World War II. There is a nationalism and determination to face the challenge.  Shopping habits and travel changes borne of betrayal and anger are happening each day. Buying Canadian and travelling to non-U.S. destinations is producing noticeable numbers. Canadian leaders who are not standing up for the country or who sound like Trump could face resistance.

This is matter of great difficulty for Poilievre because he has pocketed phrases by the bushel from Trump and leans heavily on sloganeering. Given the polls, it might not be working. Or conversely worked so well that he had already defeated Trudeau, Singh and all the policies he has singled out over two years. 

But Poilievre can't overcome Trump himself. And as the election has started, it could be very well that he has no time to pivot. It is early on though. It may not matter if the NDP, Green and BQ support collapse and go the Liberals.

Will The Bay Close in Winnipeg and Elsewhere?

 

It is hard to believe there are only two Bay stores left in Manitoba, both in Winnipeg's largest malls St. Vital Centre and Polo Park but it is a reflection of how far department stores have sunk. This isn't just true of Canada but all around the world. There are a few strong luxury brands out there but a generalist middle income store has struggled.

The Bay has a line of credit from Cadillac Fairview, owner of Polo Park and other top malls in the country. They have not been receiving rent despite the cutbacks from the store to save money. This week BBC went into creditor protection to stop from being seized by landlords. The rumour is that 40 of 80 stores might be closed and that the licensed Sak's and Off Fifth Sak's may end up shuttered as well.

For some who have not shopped at The Bay in years, it is probably no surprise. In recent years, the Bay was trying to cater to the luxury market. Then they went for some Zellers nostalgia. Will it be enough to save HBC? We have seen store after store collapse recently. The Bay is one of the largest department stores out there still.

Some stores that have gone bankrupt and lived to see another another day with new Canadian ownership. HMV, Toys R Us, Northern Reflections and a few others are seeing new life. American ownership is not always going to be the right ownership for Canadian business now more than ever.

If the Bay ends up closing their locations at Polo Park and St. Vital Centre, expect something more dramatic as a replacement. It could be sub-divided into stores but it could also be turned into hotels, food halls and apartments. Even the big malls like Mall of America have been hurt by closures. Sears closing has left a huge hole in their mall and a long time lease has them trying to sort it all out.

Manitoba has been fortunate to turn around most malls that have had a major anchors leave have coped by filling it with other users. Some malls have converted to box stores instead. The ones that didn't like the Portage la Prairie Mall eventually lose one too many anchors and close.

As the details emerge about the precarious financial situation of the The Bay, it seems impossible that any of the company can survive. It owes $1 billion and credit protection will look to see what, if anything, can be done to emerge from that state. Anything of real value, like the real estate, has been sold off over many years.

It shouldn't be too long to see what the outcome will be. There is no doubt that if the company does come out of this, it will be much smaller. And sadly, that might mean that Winnipeg has no Bay stores.

Trump Speech to Congress

The U.S. Congress requires the President to give Congress occasional updates in an address on the state of the union. It is Article 2 of the Construction. Since the time of Ronald Reagan in 1981, an address has been shortly after taking office. Trump's speech was in keeping with that tradition. This was longest address in history and covered a lot.

The 47th President addressed the 119th Congress at Capitol Hill in the longest speech in modern history. It was a combination of script and improvisation and very much a victory lap. The Democrats looked very much defeated and quite frankly, shabby. They wore shirts with messages, carried paddles with messages they kept flashing to the camera. At one point a Democrat had to be escorted off the floor as he was shouting at Trump. 

Throughout the long speech, Democrats heckled and booed. At one time this was just not done. Now it is normalized. This is a reflection of the leaderless aspect of the Democratic party. Biden and Harris are out of sight. The minority leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives have been unable to show real leadership. The Democrats are rudderless with only brief example examples of policy and direction since their federal defeat.

Even in Canada in can be hard to be in opposition even though we have a formalized role for in our democracy. If the government has the majority, it can mean little coverage of opposition parties. Media often doesn't cover anyone except premiers and prime ministers. It isn't great for democracy as a leader-centric system means people are too scared to say anything even when it is clear that it will hurt the them. 

This could be as true for Trudeau and it is for Trump. It is not even 100 day into the presidency but Trump changes positions sometimes a few times in a day.  Trudeau is finished and a new prime minster will be in place. And that new leader will have the same powers as the old one. It is how our system has been set in place. Power used to be more diffuse.

Trump is very good at TV for the most part but his speeches can go on for quite a bit. He crafts himself as entertainment. His jabs at his opponents have been and always will be merciless. Republicans have largely gone silent or just let things happen. Some have tried to mimic his approach but it isn't something that other people have been able to translate into success.

Democrats sitting in the audience did a terrible job of sitting in opposition. Their dress, their paddles with slogans and constant shouting made them look like they were not ready to run a hotdog stand. Consider the professional appearance and demeanor the NDP in Manitoba had just prior to becoming government. They dressed and acted like a government in waiting. The policies were considered better than what the other side was proposing. 

Being in opposition isn't easy. It requires ways to look relevant and oppose in meaningful ways. Some get attention with bluster and histrionics. It can help pull down your opponent but hurt your own likeability. It is unclear how Democrats will become relevant but when in doubt, focus on the economy. It is what worked for Clinton. And at the moment, the economy looks roughs and Trump is at the helm.

Canadian Snowbird Choices

It used to be in the 1960s and 1970s that snowbirds were people who spent 2 to 4 weeks in warmer climates over winter. Back then, a trip might be taken renting a cheap place in Florida. Many people drove to that state as it was rare to find direct or charter flights from a place like Winnipeg. And people wanted to have their cars with them.

Arizona was not really a snowbird destination until later in the 1980s and 1990s and continuing today. Palm Springs, California was generally for wealthier people. Texas has had snowbirds over the decades. Direct flights to any of those places wasn't exactly easy in early years. And now having a car in the U.S. was not exactly convenient.

Hawaii has had charters and connecting flights for nearly 50 years but it is unusual for stays to be nearly 6 months based on the expense. Flying, accommodation and transportation has limited the state compared to places like Florida and Arizona where someone might spend time there with an RV rather a condo or trailer.

Travel of any kind to the U.S. is often a reflection of the exchange rates, level of wealth within Canada and attractions. The Canadian dollar in the 1970s was near or above U.S. dollar for many years. It made vacation travel an easy decision. By the 1980s/1990s the dollar could easily change how many people went to the States. When the dollar was .63 to the U.S. currency some people limited their travel quite a bit. In recent years it has been about .70 and has slid to .69 with the growing tariff talk.

In some years it seemed like Canadians were headed down for vacation mixed with shopping every weekend while others were away for six months less a day every year. Some of the stores that shoppers flocked to are now in Canada as are some of the restaurants. Prices for items such as electronics are better in Canada as are car purchases. Still, entertainment such as Las Vegas or Nashville or climate like California or Arizona are hard to compete with.

Many seniors have had more money from rising real estate and from pension savings over the years. Living healthy and longer lives has meant more time for travel and the means to do it for longer. Seniors in the 1970s just didn't live decades past 65 as they do now and certainly didn't have the money to stay for six months in places like Florida. In recent years though it became very common and for the many to start at ages much earlier than 65.

Price has always been the thing that has limited Canadians visiting the U.S. Even during the difficult times like the Vietnam War, Canadian visited and stayed in U.S. because our personal relationship with Americans and the American people were too separate things. Now the relationship feels very personal. How personal? It means Canadians too close to Trump like Gretzky and Orr are now being shunned.

Things are changing in terms of where snowbirds seek to escape the cold and it isn't just because Trump was elected. Florida has been hit by repeated hurricane and tornado weather. Some find they are denied insurance or find their insurance has gone up steeply. One Canadian said their insurance had gone up from $4000 a year to $16,000. Healthcare costs are a concern too. As people get older, their insurance goes up for travel to the point that they can't afford to go down anymore. Also, you have to be healthy to travel and losing a partner often starts the process of selling a place you don't want to go to anymore. Florida has a more complicated and expensive process of even selling your property to your family compared to Arizona or California.

For Florida, all of these things are piling up. Health, insurance (both personal and property) and now politics has people from Canada selling. They are cancelling trips as well. It is shocking to Florida locals when they hear one of the reasons for selling or not coming is because of Trump and his tariff threats. Florida people have been befuddled that people are taking Trump seriously, including the 51st state taunts.

All of this has turned Florida into a state with falling real estate prices and empty houses. Not all of it is Canadians de-camping. However, after many disasters some people are just not able to rebuild after perhaps doing it before. In some cases, people can't get permits to rebuild in areas deemed unsafe. House prices are dropping all over the state and people are trying to sell before it gets worse. 

Will it recover? Will Canadians flock back? It is possible. The insurance issues means between 15-20% of the population of property owners in Florida have no insurance. That doesn't bode well for the next weather issues that always come up in that state. And as Canadians owners in Florida get older, their health insurance also gets higher. This will be challenging in every year after 65 for most people. One health scare could boost insurance or have the insurance company require a return to Canada to get a health update every few months rather than have an emergency happen while spending time south of the border.

The next four years could be tough for Florida. Canadians have a huge impact on the economy there but politics, insurance, aging and other choices could see citizens choosing other places for warm holidays. The Canadian dollar could have the biggest impact of them all. If it slips lower, Canadians will look for places where it stretches more and that might not be the United States.

Canadian snowbirds will have choices to make. If tit for tat tariffs start to happen things can and will get very expensive. This will drive decision-making and more and more people will pull back on spending, especially if it is months in the U.S.