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.

Is the Fairmont Hotel the Issue for NHL Players?

The digital sports newspaper polled 111 players in the league about what city was on their no trade list. Just under 50% said this. Many of the seven cities were listed with the general consensus that it was cold living there. An actual Jet said the ride in from the airport is underwhelming. 

This was a direct quote from the self-identified Winnipeg player.

"I don't think that hotel meets the criteria for the league, but it would be better than staying downtown."
 

This hotel being the Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg.

Not the first time we have heard criticism of the city by NHL players but when food and hotel are talked about, it feels more like this could be a Fairmont Hotel issue.

In fairness, the Richardson family has repurchased the hotel and it is understood to be under renovations now. The word dated is used by many business travellers so Richardson investment will be appreciated. 

Post Covid though the area around the hotel probably feels deserted. The words "nothing to do" came up often. From the perspective of a young NHL player visiting the city from elsewhere, they are in a hotel where few people are on the street, have limited food options super close to where they are staying and unknown entertainment options in the short time they are around.

Alas, this wasn't supposed to be. The story was that the Sutton Place Hotel would be the new home of visiting NHL players and they'd be within walking distance of all sorts of amenities from their 5-star hotel. Instead we have the slowest construction of a hotel in the history of Winnipeg.  It is now eight years since it was first announced.

The Jets can't do anything about taxes in Manitoba. They can't do anything about winter. No Canadian team can. But they can improve the player experience. Winning is the tonic for a lot a doubters in the league. If a player is interested in winning, they will look for teams that win. If a player is interested in their golf game and not playing in playoffs, they seek something else. And there are players who wanted to be in Arizona, not get media attention and hit the links regularly. Many did not want to go to Salt Lake City.

In terms of playoff experience, the Jets don't get too many complaints about their facility. A team can have a bad facility and still have people lined up to play. Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL have their own players rank their locker room terrible. But who wouldn't want to play on a team that wins?

Teams go through cycles. Chicago and Detroit were the best out there but are rebuilding. For some NHL players, the attraction to play there is less. If they are going to lose all the time, why not play in Arizona? Winnipeg Jets are on an upcycle and we have been able to attract a variety of players. This is a team that pays right to the cap so salary is not the issue. 

NHL athletes are among the elite pay levels that are rarely achievable for the majority in their age bracket. As the theft rings across North America have shown, these athletes are targets so they look for safe and secure places for themselves and their families. There are a number of neighbourhoods in Winnipeg that the players have gravitated to. Those are usually large suburban home with walkable paths. Many players on the Jets have dogs and do walk them all the time. Many are married and have kids who are in the school system so choose areas with schools and sports programs. And there are many Jets who want passionate fans. Some might not care about a quiet church crowd watching but 41 home games and playoffs like this is not what many players want.

Once players are in the Jets system, it has been easier to get them to come back. They see the benefits and are more like to sign contracts. And even when they don't it could be about the length of contract and money. Jets can pay to the cap but they have not been signing crazy contracts like some other NHL teams are for free agents. There are a lot of players getting bought out because they just aren't playing anymore. The Jets don't like burning salary cap that way.

Let's start with the cons that some NHL players have about Winnipeg.

Cons:

Cold

Small market

Higher taxes

Less top retail stores

Less top restaurants

Smaller arena

Fewer sponsorship opportunities

Longer/farther travel schedules

No gated communities

No other big league sports to go see

No year round golfing

No big media

Pros

Passionate fans

A max cap salary team (paying their players right up to the line)

Farm club and NHL club same city

Safe suburban districts

Good schools for kids

Support system for families

A winning team

Good local media coverage

Good coaches

Good health and medical supports

Good neighbourhoods where players live

In terms of the site of the Canada Life Centre, the Chipmans, Thomsons and Richardsons have all done their part to create the entertainment districts between the convention centre and the arena. The Gagladi Family is the builder of the Sutton Place Development which includes a hotel, suites and restaurants that the family own like Chop near the RBC Winnipeg Convention Centre. The family owns the Sandman Hotels, the Shark Club, Moxie's and Denny's. It is this block which has had a prolonged delay in being built. 

This block is key to both the convention centre and arena. Some major conventions are in great need of a luxury hotel connected to the the RBC. Likewise, True North needs specialized rooms for 82 regular seasons games for Manitoba Moose and Winnipeg Jets. Officials require rooms as well. Play-offs are additional rooms. 

The hotel has been delayed for eight years as mentioned earlier. It is without doubt that visiting NHL players would be staying at the new 5-star hotel if it was up. The only 5-star hotel the city has is at the airport and not suitable for hockey players due to distance from arena. To reach top level rating, room size is the difference maker. Fairmont and Delta cannot change the structural size of their rooms. This is a key to the 5-star ranking: room size.

The new Sutton Place Hotel still might be two years away from completion but it is probably something that that could help with impressions of visiting hockey players. The entertainment district in five years could feature enough attractions for a player who is in only once or twice a year. Better food offerings, better proximity to arena and other entertainment. While it might not be golf or the ocean, players do not just stay in their hotel rooms.

The impression should be when a hockey player or anyone travels to the city is that there is something to do, somewhere safe, somewhere convenient and ultimately, something cool. And that just isn't happening in a hotel which is an island away from the entertainment district. At least they seem to have solved the high speed Internet issue.

Winnipeg Jets and Road Trip Flights

Winnipeg Jets and the Canada Life Centre is a big operation. Management consists of no less than 17 vice-presidents. In addition to managing the Jets, Moose and facilities such as the Canada Life Centre, Hockey for All Centre (Iceplex), Burton Cummings Theatre, True North Square and soon to come: Portage Place. There is a lot of real estate that is part of the overall company.

I think that it is hard to fully appreciate the impact a professional hockey team has on the city of Winnipeg. The management of two hockey teams is not the only part of community engagement. The Jets employ a communications team to reach people in a variety of ways. It isn't just radio, TV and web broadcasts of the games providing information and entertainment but TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

In a post on their social media that has gone viral, the Jets showed what is involved in a road trip. It first appeared on Instagram but is has been on TikTok and drew the attention of the National Post because it sheds some light on a area of hockey operations. It follows the Jets as they board their aircraft and head off to Edmonton for first game of season.

The initial Instagram post was produced by the Jets digital team which makes all hockey content. It is a combination of pictures, video and some information about the flight preparation that the team does. Each away game involves the transportation of 2,100 kilos of equipment which is 4,700 pounds. The 26 players on the team are about the same weight. Add coaching staff, media team and air crew loads the modified Air Canada Airbus 320 to capacity.

Air Canada has a division with Airbuses called Air Canada Jetz. It has four aircraft that provide surfaces for all Canadian NHL teams and the Seattle Kraken. The livery is a dark black with the logo of the airline. When they travel for the Jets, the team logo is all over luxury leather seats. As with all airlines, food service is provided. These jets are used for other charters to including election periods.

The two tonnes of luggage includes hockey bags for every player, five sticks each, two games jerseys, multiple practice jerseys, two skate sharpening machine, sewing machine and all the supplies that come with it. The players have their own personal bags. They are required suits for business travel when heading to work.

Everything is loaded on the tarmac off a truck and Air Canada has gotten down to 15 minutes. On long road trips, no one wants to be at the airport for too long. There are 41 away games and they are coast to coast and back and forth over the border. Add play-offs and that is a lot of travel!

And this is just the Jets. Let's not forget the Manitoba Moose travel by airplane as well. I haven't heard what they travel in now but it used to a prop plane from Calm Air. They were one of the few teams in the AHL to have one.

The media team with their story on team plane travel gave insight into what a road trip was like: the business side, the social side and the human interest side. Amazon is showing what is behind the curtain and there is an audience for it. TikTok or BookTok says hockey romance novels are among the best sellers and responsible for a growing fan base of women in hockey.

The truth is that hockey teams and hockey broadcasts are evolving and social media and streaming are playing bigger roles than ever.

Winnipeg Jets Beat the Curse

The last time we played Edmonton in a final in 1990 we were ahead 3-1 and looking like we would beat the curse that had dogged us since 1983 losing five times in play-offs runs to the Oilers.

I was in my last year of high school when the curse began and was graduated from university and watching highlights in Japan in spring of 1990. You could have heard my howls across the Pacific at losing the series 4-3.

 1983: Oilers win Division Semi-Finals 3-0

1984: Oilers win Division Semi-Finals 3-0

1985: Oilers win Division Finals 4-0

1987: Oilers win Division Finals 4-0

1988: Oilers win Division Semi-Finals 4-1

1990: Oilers win Division Semi-Finals 4-3

In 2021 the curse ended. And we beat a team with a player in Connor McDavid that some say is greater than Wayne Gretzky. It took two overtimes and one triple overtime to do but Winnipeg has swept the series.

We have finished so early that we have no idea who we play next: Toronto or Montreal.

While Edmonton Oilers had such a dynasty in the 1980s, it seemed to emphasize just how everything and anything about Winnipeg was in decline. The start of the decade saw such massive closures of businesses such Canada Packers, Swift and the Tribune. North Portage was either burning down or shutting down. And Winnipeg Jets could have a great team that makes the play-offs only to collapse in four straight in the first round...every time.

We watched as so many of our friends and neighbours moved to Alberta and checked their Jets and Bomber uniforms. Winnipeg dropped in population rankings to both Calgary then Edmonton, then Ottawa and it looked like we would drop below Hamilton and Quebec City. 

The Weakerthans song I hate Winnipeg harkened on the fact that "the Jets were lousy anyway" to emphasize how downtrodden we were. The same defeatist mood pervaded the population. In the 1990s the exit of so many and the rise in arson, car theft and murder showed how precariously close we were to losing it all. And when Jets left in 1996, it felt like the last person would have to turn the lights off in the city. It took a while to convince fan that Manitoba Moose was fun and embracing it would lead back to getting a team in 2011.

Somehow we picked up the pieces. Businesses that had run for years kept working, people who looked to change things in government continued to do so, people in neighbourhoods still looked after them. And for hockey, we had people go back to basics with a downtown arena and a team not named the Jets.

It wasn't easy but the city with some strong building blocks climbed out of the hole and with a progressive immigration policy, diverse business community in various areas of economy, strong education push from areas ranging from Red River College to universities to private business schools training people for the job market, we have done it.

We did the other things like build the best local arts and sports scenes you can find nationally. Festivals and concerts here packed them in. World curling, junior hockey, women's soccer and and Pan Am Games showed we could organize events and make them shine.

When Winnipeg Jets returned to Winnipeg from a city we did not expect to send us one, it took some polishing and a close run in 2018 that had the city peacefully and joyously celebrating in the streets. I was happily part of that renting equipment and working all day every other day to put it on.

And now after Covid continues to put us on our knees, the Winnipeg Jets come to sweep us away in four games.

We can't see them in person. We can't celebrate in great numbers on the streets but we feel joy.

We don't know how much longer we have in these odd play-offs but we'll enjoy the ride as long as we can.

Covid 19 is hurting us. And it isn't just the infections but businesses closed and suffering, employees hobbled and worried and so many people bereaved with loss from those who have not made it, those who are waiting treatment for others things and losing the battle.

We are seeing amazing achievement and terrible indifference but the Jets are filling us with cheer. 

For a long time Edmonton has had our number. This odd Canadian division in the NHL gave us a chance to say: Not this time. No more, no further. Not one win. For all those times before, 40 years of making us hate Winnipeg, believing in the curse.

And not just for hockey. For Winnipeg. Few things unite us. This is more sweet relief than bravado. Hope everyone can enjoy the moment and in weeks, it would be sure nice to celebrate some more.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers 2019 Grey Cup Champions - And what's next?

Joy.

The players have had it the last number of games. And they had in the Grey Cup final in Calgary this past weekend. Play and play, they smiles, the laughter and sheer joy was seen on the faces of the players as well as the fans.

We've had teams with swagger, confidence. The Blue Bombers may not have won since 1990 but it had been to the show a number of times. They lost in 1992. They lost in 1993. They went a lot of years of bad football. They lost in 2001. They lost in 2007. They lost 2011.

They lost heartbreakers. They were outplayed. They blew it so many times that we almost expected to be kicked every year even when we looked like a good team. Even when we played like a good team. We were cursed.

Cursed.

Catastrophic injuries, penalties, missed plays, poor QBs, poor management, sometimes poor coaching and Bombers went year and year without winning and even missing play-offs.

In recent years, they added people here and there in coaching or players. A few free agents, a few good drafts, some development. Brought Winnipeg players on who really get what this is about in terms of commitment. Even with all that, the curse of injuries or encounters with teams that seemed unbeatable confounded the Blue Bombers. It is kind of crazy that 28 years just seemed to pile on.

As been mentioned, hard times have ebbed and flowed in Manitoba. By 1990, deep cuts were happening at all three levels of government. The early 1980s had been hard but we seemed to finish the decade a bit better. The 1990s hurt. People had been leaving in the 1980s. By the 1990s they were pouring out of the province. As bad as parts of Canada was cuts, Manitoba seemed to be worse.

And the football teams go to the show in the early part of the decade and then stopped. To top it off, the Jets left in 1996 and we were the arson/murder capital that was on its knees. In 1997, the whole province flooded and we nearly lost the city.

Slowly, we crawled out of recession, deficit and tried to find our economic footing. In 1999 we felt that pride again when we hosted the Pan Am Games and did a great job. We hosted World Junior Hockey and curling events but try as we might our football team couldn't win the big one nor could our AHL Moose team and we were a long way away from getting the Winnipeg Jets back in 2011.

In recent years the return of the Winnipeg Jets has stolen Bomber thunder. The Winnipeg Jets street parties showed just how much the city was craving to celebrate together. And boy did they ever with thousands upon thousands coming out.

This year's march to a Grey Cup was very much something that was won on the road. Signs across the city made the hashtag of For the W trend. Winnipeg fans almost feared to hope. Injured quarterback, young quarterback trying, a doping scandal, a record reflecting a good but hard to measure as great team.

The arrival of Collaros was promising but he too had suffered terrible injury and no one knew if he really was out of the woods. In the end, the team showed a level of collaboration and drive and joy of playing that wouldn't be denied.

We are already seeing some of the talented coaching staff being hired away. Some quarterbacks are likely to go as well and free agents. Still, the monkey is off the Bombers back, they had a great win and the resulting parade, social and family day showed just how much happiness the city felt for bringing home the Grey Cup.

It has been a tough number of years for Manitoba and not just in sports. For every bright spot we sometimes seem to be hit by setbacks. It isn't lost on anyone the desperate addiction and crime wave recently. And yet for a brief moment, we had joy and that brings out even the saltiest of us out to Portage and Main.

Spice Affair: Essence of India Restaurant Coming Soon.

Dhoom Indian restaurant at corner of Donald and York has been there for a while. A keen reader took a picture of the closed restaurant and discovered a sign promoting Spice Affair: Essence of India coming soon.

It is unknown how much construction and remodeling is taking place but there are a few new places to eat in the area. In its earliest incarnation the building housed a Pizza Hut for many years. In the last Dhoom was a sports bar and buffet.

DT Urban Kitchen + Oyster Bar is almost immediately across the street on York Avenue.

The massive expansion of the RBC Winnipeg Convention Centre across York Avenue and the large Chipman hotel office and condo/hotel project seems destined to draw far more people downtown. Both projects have taken up massive surface parking lots.

Sadly, Donald Street is one long stretch of parking lots and only a few places are actually street friendly in between. The Jets, Moose, concerts and conventions attract a steady crowd of people and some of the large apartments and offices nearby should provide clientele for the restaurant. However, the wasted space of surface parking lots is more pronounced than in many places.

Spice Affair and a number of other new restaurants, coffee places and bars are adding some life to the streets and hope this continues to be true.

The old Dhoom being converted

It will take some time to fill in all the gaps in such an expansive city such as Winnipeg. It is good the people still want to build restaurants downtown but building a neighbourhood is slow and organic. Too many buildings are bunker-like and decidedly not friendly to the street.

Spice Affair could be a sign of more activity coming down Donald Street and for that, we can all be happy.

Brown's Socialhouse Coming to Centrepoint 2017

It has been known for some time that Browns Socialhouse was going to open in Centrepoint opposite. However, week after week would go by and all that can be seen was paper in the windows. Meanwhile the Merchant Kitchen tucked beside the Alt Hotel entrance has been bubbling along.

One wonders if we will ever know why Milestones backed out of a long term lease at the last moment.

The new Brown's Socialhouse will join two others already on the city at Main Street and another at Plessis Road. The restaurant group started in 2004 in Vancouver and has expanded rapidly across the country. The founder Scotty Brown was one of the principals of Vancouver's Cactus Club group. His new enterprise has surpassed his old one and now there are 40 locations.

The casual dining/pub crossover is growing more popular as people want to gather together and move around rather than just be parked at a table. The evolution of flat panel and high definition televisions has changed bars and restaurants. No more picture tube TVs, projection screens of flat panels that are blurry. It is all large HD screens and can be done cheap enough that even the a mom and pop restaurant can now transform to sports bar.

The increasing isolation and a change in television has meant that people are craving certain meeting places and the focal point is the only thing that really isn't worth watching in a recording: sports. The return of the Jets in 2011 coincided with widespread HD channels in that same year. Can't go to the Jets games cause they're sold out? Well, attend any number of bars and restaurants and be part of the excitement.

The bars and restaurants surrounding the the MTS Centre have done well. Moxies, Boston Pizza, Tavern United and others have not just the Winnipeg Jets but the Manitoba Moose and numerous concerts to bring people downtown.

The Jets owners have improved their facility and doubled the sports events with two professional teams calling the arena home. Still, the Chipman family have been instrumental in the plan to expand the entertainment footprint beyond the arena. At first they did this by using the building across the street to bring in special touring events such as Bodies and Titanic. This proved wildly successful.

It is hard to say when the Chipmans decided to embark on a grander scheme for just north of their building but it is likely the event center's popularity made them believe a large project would work. It was thus that Centrepoint was born.

The parkade, hotel, office building, condo and restaurant complex has taken a very long time to complete. It seems that barricades and the like have been around that area of Portage for a few years. In that time though, each section has opened up. The offices and hotel appear to be doing well. The parkade is well used although the neon lights on the side still take a bit to get used to.

The one glaring area giving the whole thing an incomplete look has been the papered over windows on the main level. Brown's Socialhouse says that will change in January of February of 2017. At that time they will build a 225 seat restaurant with a 75 seat patio. This will be double the normal Brown's location and as such, it has been a daunting task to fill the space.

The connectivity of the restaurant and bar scene to venues like the MTS Centre and the RBC Winnipeg Convention Centre is seen as critical to their long time survival.  The proximity to each other is also essential.

Brown's Socialhouse will fill a hole on the north side of Portage and will likely make that corner more lively and pedestrian friendly. More people draws more traffic. There are safety in numbers but no one will stick around for papered over windows. They will for a patio filled with people.

Palomino Club To Move Downtown?

The Green Tinted Building...Future Palomino Club?

In 1988 the Palomino Club was opened on Portage Avenue and after 27 years, it has never looked back. Until now. The old location will make way for condos at Portage and Minto and the owner is looking for a downtown location near the MTS Centre. The spot that owner Carey Paul has his eye on is the empty space where 4Play Sports Bar was.

It is the end of an era for the Palomino Club not to mention for restaurants and bars at that location over many decades.

At Portage and Minto there have been many places. Here's a list that is likely not complete:

Palomino Club
Blue Jeans
Gabby's
Thomas Buttons
The Avenue
Koko's
Pierre's, the original restaurant in 1954

Not sure of the order or years for the last ones.

One wonder when the 60 condos are built on the site whether the faint sound of ghostly music will waft through the air.

The location that Palomino is mulling also has had many years as various incarnation of nightclubs. In 1984, it was converted into a very fancy place called Dayton's. It took the name from the 1955 building it occupied of the same name that had housed a department store. The basement of the building was home of Holiday restaurant from 1955 to 1967 and then it was the Prime Rib Steakhouse from 1967 to 1973.

The Dayton's department store lasted till 1983 before finally closing. The recession had hit Winnipeg hard with massive business closure during the 1980s. North Portage was a patchwork of some viable businesses and pinball shops and an adult theatre. Still, four Vancouver businessmen thought enough of the Dayton's building to covert it into a nightclub in 1984. Some $750,000 was spent and a dress code and cover charge was put in place. Friday and Saturdays were very busy but the sound of crickets was heard other days of the week. By 1986, a refurbishment and change of name to Times took place and the atmosphere was less fancy.

The new California format worked well on weekends but the continued migration of business, residents as well as nightclubs to the suburbs continued unabated. A murder on the premises in 1999 reinforced the idea that there was danger around. The business continued to run primarily as a weekend club.

The arrival of the MTS Centre in 2004 inspired some confidence to the area and new investors jumped and a new club format was introduced called Blush Ultraclub. Nearly $2 million was spent and the security was very tight to inspire some confidence which had nearly evaporated in the area. Despite a good effort though, the club was not able to breakaway from just being successful on weekends. The Manitoba Moose were not the Winnipeg Jets. many young families attending games had no use for a nightclub before or after games.

By the end of 2009, Ultraclub closed down. It opened a year later as 4Play Sports bar just as the Jets came back to town. To be sure many bars and restaurants found their business boomed with the team's arrival. 4Play found it difficult to expand beyond evenings, It didn't help that the NHL had a lockout as well. A shortened season was enough the put a crimp is most downtown businesses.

As of 2013, the old Dayton's space has sat empty waiting for a concept. The Palomino has a proven customer base and has busy nights other than just weekends. There are now residents downtown where there were none just a few years ago. And the Jets and the Moose now share the MTS building and next year RBC Winnipeg Convention Centre doubles in size.

The dream of creating a bustling entertainment district just got a little stronger this week.

TSN Radio To Broadcast Manitoba Moose Games

TSN 1290 is already a powerhouse in local sports broadcasting and will continue to be so with the addition of the Winnipeg Jets' AHL affiliate , the Manitoba Moose, to their radio roster. It was announced earlier that former CBC sports broadcaster Mitch Peacock would be doing the play by play for the Manitoba Moose but no word on what radio station. Now we know.

The addition of the Manitoba Moose to TSN's radio broadcast means that almost every night of the week will feature hockey in Winnipeg. Mitch Peacock adds incredible strength to the station and it is not hard to imagine the cross guesting that will happen over all the hockey coverage.

Peacock was with CBC Winnipeg six years and is an experienced play by play broadcaster. Given the loss of the hockey at CBC and the shortened news at the station to one hour, it must have been appealing to jump to a place where sports rules 24 hours a day.

TSN Sports Radio has been locking down all the sports writing and broadcasting talent in Winnipeg. Gary Lawless from the Free Press made the jump and now Mitch Peacock had done so as well. In short, the amount of local coverage and employees TSN has in Winnipeg is large.

The first broadcast of the season starts this Friday against the Toronto Marlies. Expect to hear more about the broadcast and format in the next days

Home2 Suites By Hilton Coming to Winnipeg

The Westport Festival development gets a boost with the hint of another hotel joining the planned Hampton Inn.  No official announcement has been made but on the Shindico website, the Home2 Suites by Hilton logo appears in the large space fronting the Red River Ex and adjacent to the MTS Iceplex and Assiniboia Downs.

Make no mistake though, it is the complete success of the MTS Iceplex that is driving the hotel boom along Portage Avenue. For fourplex ice service hosts so many out of town teams that there has been a scramble for hotel space nearby.

Home2 is an extended stay hotel chain. It will be curious to see what client base will use the hotel. The Winnipeg Jets as well as the Manitoba Moose use the MTS Iceplex and the facility continues to see multiple tournaments a year. It is a quite busy area and can be even busier when Red River Ex is up and running.

No announcements of stores and officer at Westport Festival but can they be far behind? Rumour has it that Overwaitea from British Columbia is looking for space for one of their grocery stores in Winnipeg, possibly a Save On Foods. Expect to hear more in the next weeks and months.

St. John's IceCaps Canada's Team

The Stanley Cup is being fought by the New York Ranger and the Los Angeles Kings. There are many Canadian players on both team but alas, the excitement of supporting a Canadian-based team won't be happening this year.

There is a Canadian-based team in the second best league in the world though that begins the Calder Cup play-offs starting this Sunday and that is the St. John's IceCaps.

While many Winnipeg Jets fans have been pouting about another play-offs denied for the home team, the farm club team of the Jets has been soldiering on from one round to the next. It is now all on the line against the Texas Stars for the Calder Cup.

In the 15 years of the Manitoba Moose, Winnipeg never did win a Turner Cup (in the old IHL) or a Calder Cup in the AHL. In less than three years, St. John's, Newfoundland is not only in the final but has a very, very good shot at winning the Calder.

In many ways Winnipeg and St. John's are the same in regards to the terrible loss we experienced losing our hockey teams. In Winnipeg's case, it was the Jets and St. John's case it was the Maple Leafs (who moved to become the Toronto Marlies).

Winnipeg's good fortune was also St. John's good fortune in that Winnipeg chose to place their farm club team of the AHL in St. John's. The unadulterated joy in both cities was palpable. And St. John's has rewarded that commitment by selling out the arena all the time.

It has always been joy in IceCap land. Last year the team was not in the play-offs and finished second last in their conference. The joy is back now and this a reflection if three years of drafts for the Winnipeg Jets and from sound management practices that saw the old Moose consistently advance in the play-offs.

Why should Winnipegger's play attention?

Well, the short of it is that many of the players playing their hearts out have played on the Jets for a few stints and are now eying permanent jobs on the team.  Easily the stand out that we in Winnipeg need to watch Is Michael Hutchinson, the goaltender the Jets picked up as a free agent this year and who had started in the even lower East Coast Hockey League. This young man has amassed over 50 wins in three leagues including the Jets this year!

Three veterans on the team have shown leadership to many of the young guys coming up. Jason Jaffrey, Andrew Gordon and Blair Riley have helped the kids do well and wracked up points too. But this isn't just core vets getting the job done. Winnipeg Jets prospects like Adam Lowery and Josh Morrisey have jumped into the line-ups and helped the team. Eric O'Dell at center has been solid on Jets and with the Ice Caps. Zach Redmond is making his way from that terrible injury with the Jets.

Many of the prospects had a chance to show some stuff with the Jets when late season injuries crippled the team. Ben Chiarot helped on defence with Jets this year. Patrice Cormier and John Albert showed some center ice promise. J.C. Lipon, Karl Klingberg and Brenden Kitchon are playing their hearts out.

Yes, all in all, this is an exciting team and we have gotten to know a few of these players this year.

Quite frankly, we need to see these guys get experience and confidence as they play the Calder Cup. Why? The reason why is that the new Winnipeg Jets and old Atlanta Thrashers don't have a lot of play-off experience. We need that grit, experience and confidence going forward.

Not all of the Jets on the team this year will be back next year. We could lose a few to free agency. We could lose a few to trades. A possible retirement could also happen. In all likelihood, some of the St. John's Ice Caps or others in Winnipeg's system will make their way to big show this year.

In the mean time, it is a crying shame that we can't watch Canada's team, the St. John's IceCaps, play the Texas Stars. The IceCaps have one heck of a good website and update Twitter so Winnipeg fans can enjoy it through there.

So, go IceCaps go! You deserve it St. John's! Hope you can hold that cup high!

The Cityplace Casino

CityPlace with MTS Centre at Right.

CityPlace with Walkway to MTS Centre. Photo by Bryan Scott.

CityPlace

CityPlace was Winnipeg's first downtown mall built in 1979. It emerged from the ashes of the closure of Eaton's catalogue division in 1977 and initially was called Eaton Place.

It would be wrong to say it was not a success at the start. It was. The mall and office portion of the building were a going concern and Eaton's beside it did well.

The opening of several more malls all in a matter of years including Portage Place had an impact on shopping everywhere. However, the writing was on the wall and with the movement of multiplex movie theatres to the suburbs, the younger crowd that inhabited the mall left as well.

In 2001, Eaton's closed for good and it is a wonder we didn't see Eaton Place go as well. However, the newly re-branded Cityplace had the income from its offices to sustain it as well as generous revenue from the parkade and parking lots. The building has increased in value in every decade since it has been open unlike Portage Place.

The mall is a shadow of itself now. The connection to the MTS Centre built in 2004 did not help the mall in a meaningful way other than ensure that the restaurants still had people to come to them. The extended walkway in 2010 also helped in that regard as people from the Winnipeg Convention Centre came over to use restaurants.

The mall continued to serve a very niche local business area but it was not a destination mall nor did it have a huge retail anchor. The prospects for Cityplace all changed when the Winnipeg Jets returned last year.

While the Manitoba Moose were appreciated, they drew a smaller crowd, more of a family crowd and one with a more limited budget.

The arrival of the Jets and some rushed renovations to upgrade from True North drew a commitment from the province of Manitoba for further investment in the MTS Centre in the form of video lottery terminals. At present, those VLTs are in the Tavern United across the street with revenue going to pay off the arena.

Public support from the city and the province will rise to $11 million a year with all the revenue from tax discounts and VLTs added in. I don't know the economics of this. I have to suspect that the province makes a lot of money back on sales tax for liquor and merchandise sales, food and for parking. The city has fewer revenue streams but if the property values around the MTS Centre have risen, it may be worth the investment.

The fact that Longboat and Artis are building a large complex across from the MTS Centre indicates that the investment in MTS Centre is paying off. By my reckoning, the increased tax from off site might well make up for the discount the arena gets. However, I am not a accountant so I can only guess. It would be nice if someone actually did an economic impact study of the subsidy and how it affects government and business for Winnipeg and the province.

Back to the casino though...

I have long advocated a return of a casino to the downtown. I had said it would be a great way to get the Winnipeg Convention Centre the expansion they wanted. In the end though, the three levels of government stepped up and work is being down now.

All that was left was to fulfill the promise the NDP government made to True North about more VLTS to pay for improvements to the arena. The rumour had been that a sports bar was coming and the talk was the Shark Club, a sports chain in every western province except Winnipeg. But wait, we have a Shark Club. Doh, wrong club!

Like the problems we faced with Calgary's Cowboys coming to town, someone has registered and is using the Shark Club name on Lombard. If the Shark Club wanted to come here and use their name, they would likely have to make a deal with the Winnipeg club using the name these last years. Ask the The Brick how they feel that worked out for them when they sued Brick's Fine Furniture.

We finally know some of the details about what the province is planning. We are not just going to see the Tavern United's VLTs combined with new VLTs in a new restaurant. We are going to see a full restaurant and casino with 140 slot machines, 2 poker tables and 4 blackjack tables.

Holy big difference from VLTs, batman!

Some local bloggers have indicated there are a strong gains that can be made to the facility that holds a casino. We can expect this is going to trigger a property value increase as well as help elevate the value of all surrounding property in 2013 and beyond.

Some of the negative comments from bloggers and people posting to Free Press and CBC pages is in regards to gambling.

No argument there. Still, prohibition comes with ill effects too.

Would eliminating gambling and drinking cause more crime than regulating and taxing said vices? I think there is strong evidence to support that it does.

The provinces online gambling site is now love today. I think that might have a bigger impact than the casino.

As more details come available, we will see what the name will be, what the look will be and how the casino will be in relationship to the MTS Centre.

My view is that there is more good in this decision than bad. It will be interesting if in later years what the Jet Effect will actually be.

Winnipeg Jets TV and Radio Broadcasts

The Winnipeg Jets continue to prepare for the new season.

In terms of the radio broadcasts, it is confusing. CJOB's Brian Munz is moving to Sports Radio 1290 to share the radio broadcast with Dennis Beyak

Dennis Beyak is TSN's man and will be doing all the regional TSN TV broadcasts of the Jets and all radio broadcasts on Sports Radio 1290 when he is not on TV.

In other words, Munz is the fill in host when Beyak is not around.

I don't know how this is going to work but it does have to be disappointing to Munz who has been the radio voice of the Manitoba Moose all on his own and now will be sharing that role.

Overall, it is shaping up to be a great year in terms of Jets broadcasts. The national exposure is pronounced. The Jets will appear in the top tier when it comes to total games. The interest seems to be coast to coast in terms of viewing the games.

It is a big difference from 1996 when there were only a few times to watch the Jets nationally and locally, the coverage was fairly limited. With fives years of sell-outs, there is no such thing as a black out. Every game will be on the tube and in high definition, it will be glorious.

CJOB who lost the radio rights have hired a reporter as well former Manitoba Moose play by play guy Kelly Moore to cover the Jets. The plan is for a pre and post game offering. This is similar to when CJOB lost the NHL to CKY and did the same thing. The station was well positioned later on to take the broadcast rights back again.

I suspect that we will see a full court press from the media when it comes to Jets coverage. One wonders if Global and CTV will kick it up a notch as well with Jets programs or NHL reports.

The expanded TV coverage is good for bars and restaurants as well. What makes a good sports bar? Lots of hockey coverage and now the Jets might pack them in.

Big screens, high definition, wall to wall coverage and no black outs. It certainly isn't 1996 anymore.

Winnipeg Jets national TV broadcasts.

Sunday, Oct. 9th vs. Montreal, CBC/RDS/NHLN, 4 pm.

Thursday, Oct. 13th @ Chicago, TSN, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 15th @ Phoenix, CBC, 5 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 19th @ Toronto, TSN, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 22nd vs. Carolina, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 29th @ Tampa Bay, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 5th @ New Jersey, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 12th, @ Columbus, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 19th vs. Philadelphia, CBC, 2 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 26th, @ Boston, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 3rd vs. New Jersey, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 10th vs. Detroit, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 17th vs. Anaheim, CBC, 6 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 22nd vs. Montreal, RDS, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 31st vs. Toronto, CBC, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 4th @ Montreal, TSN/RDS, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 7th @ Buffalo, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 14th vs. New Jersey, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 21st vs. Florida, CBC, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 5th @ Montreal, CBC/RDS, 1 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 11th @ Pittsburgh, CBC/NHL, 1 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 17th vs. Boston, TSN, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 25th vs. St. Louis, CBC, 1 p.m.

Monday, March 5th vs. Buffalo, Versus, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 24th @ Nashville, CBC, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, March 28th vs. New York Rangers, TSN, 6 p.m.

Saturday, March 31st @ Tampa Bay, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, April 7th vs. Tampa Bay, CBC, 6 p.m.

CJOB Will Prevail

It is being reported that TSN has completed an agreement for Winnipeg Jets broadcasts. This would include TV and radio broadcasts and push CJOB for only the second time in its history out Winnipeg Jets broadcasting. Three years after the Jets got into the NHL in 1979, CKY won the broadcast rights and Curt Keilback and Ken (The Friar) Nicolson were allowed to leave from one broadcaster to go the other. They would make the return trip a number of years later when CJOB regained the broadcast rights. 

I still can't remember the exact dates they moved back and forth nor can I remember about the TV broadcasting. I re-call the CKY years for local Jets broadcasts but the WHA had CKND broadcasts. Any help here would be appreciated. CJOB has been the broadcaster of the Manitoba Moose the last 15 years. No one has done hockey more than they over the last years.

If CFRW had not converted over to sports radio broadcasting in the last year, CJOB might have been a shoe in. However, Sports Radio 1290 with the backing of Bell and the TSN sport network had the one-two punch of TV and radio broadcasts under one roof. Something that CJOB just didn't have.

CJOB's parent company Corus Entertainment does not have a national sports broadcaster for TV. Well, at least nothing that does hockey broadcasts. For Manitoba Moose broadcasts, this was not a big impediment but in today's NHL where every game is televised, it is. Unlike in the past when CJOB wrested the broadcasts back to their station, it seems the loss of hockey will be permanent unless Corus acquires a sports broadcaster or if some sort of partnership is formed with another TV network.

I have no idea how long the Blue Bombers radio contract is tied up but CJOB is no doubt going to find they face the same problem of a radio/TV connection. TSN already does CFL football. Is it really a stretch to think that 1290 Sports Radio might eventually buy the radio rights too?

CJOB will prevail. However, the loss of hockey broadcasts is huge. One wonders if this the event that knocks the station out of first place in the radio ratings.

Manitoba Moose Game Today

Today is the first day for the CBC coverage of Manitoba Moose games. They play Abbottsford Heat at 12 noon.

Hope lots of people tune in so that we see more coverage next year including play-offs.

Parking Lots

Winnipeg parking lot of the future?

Mary Agnes Welch in the Free Press is doing a four part series on parking in Winnipeg. There have been some good blog reports on this subject over the last several months but kudos to the big paper for a detailed look that includes locations and values on the land.

One thing from the article that Welch wrote:

Other lots are unofficially earmarked as sites for future development. The large Impark lot on Main Street north of the Manitoba Museum is seen as a location for the museum's expansion one day.

I've said it once before and I'll say it again: I believe the land by the museum should be reserved for Manitoba's first dedicated Science Museum.

I am seriously considering mounting some sort of campaign for the idea. What do others think?

In the mean time, I do think I see a few positive nibblings at some of the surface lots. However, we keep seeing things like the Shanghai restaurant crop up.

Good blogger articles on the parking issue here from West End Dumplings. And here from Rise and Sprawl.

As I've said, a few bloggers have covered this. I was rather surprised in the election that there was a lot of talk about surface lots and few answers.

I honestly think that the city has to make sure that they continue to resist demolitions of buildings for future plans that are non-existent.

At the same time, I think that on land set aside for things like the Manitoba Museum and the Convention Center that serious consideration be made to fulfill their expansions.

Manitoba and the Winnipeg will soon be 150 years old. To this day, the Museum remains one of the top Michelin attractions for the province. It is time to invigorate and expand that legacy.

As far as the Winnipeg Convention Centre goes, it is time to think big in the same way as the original building was thinking big. I know some focus on whether the facility earns back the money it cost to build and operate it but I'd argue that the numerous conventions hosted there have economic impacts far beyond the subsidy of $2 million it receives from the city.



Sam Katz and other rejected the expansion the Winnipeg Convention Centre announced in 2008.

I certainly don't think the project should go forward with only public financial backing. I personally think it is time to invite a private casino operators to make a bid for Winnipeg's first Las Vegas-style hotel, casino and sportsbook attached to an expanded Convention Center. A royalties agreement should be put in place to support the expansion and operating costs of the Convention Center within a timeframe that made its goal one of self-sufficiency.

It is time for innovative thinking that involves more private funding being brought to the table.

Update: I spoke to two clients yesterday about the Manitoba Moose game on New Year's Eve. Both expressed interest in attending this fun evening that is really geared to families but worried about parking. They said that they might not go because they weren't sure where to park or felt it was hard to find parking.

I realize this is exasperating for those who say there are 20,000 parking spaces in the downtown but it doesn't mean that people don't feel that way anyway.

Some people who do know about parking downtown resent paying for it and circle endlessly looking for free street parking.

In any event, I was able to convince both people I talked to that the Manitoba Moose game was too good to miss and that Portage Place (among other parking lots) was priced at $5 for the evening and that this was a great price for a family of four of five to manage on a night out.

I explained that the skywalk was was warm and safe for a family to navigate for the game and that Portage Place was a good place to store the car to melt some of that winter snow that accumulates at the wheel well. No sweeping or warming up the car after. The only thing I said was to be patient while exiting but that I had never had to wait more than 15 minutes or so while leaving the parking lot.

I think I convinced for certain one of the families I talked to. The other was giving it serious consideration.

These can't be the only families weighing out their evening out based on parking. Overall, I believe that many families when they hear what $5 pays for when going to a Moose game in terms of parking, they find it is a reasonable cost.

CFRW Back to Sports

Back in 2001, CFRW became the Team sports radio station. The format lasted only a year before the station went back to oldies. The ratings were even more dismal than before their conversion to sports.

CFRW is now the only oldies radio station but has lingered near the bottom for years on the AM dial. The AM dial is now mostly talk.

Sports radio has been a successful formula in other cities. Toronto fans tune into their sports radio station is respectable numbers. The thing is that sports radio seems to succeed in cities with major league teams, specifically hockey when it comes to Canada.

CJOB remains firmly in control on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Manitoba Moose games in radio. CFRW has the Winnipeg Goldeyes. Unless CFRW is going to outbid CJOB for the rights to those games, they will be shut out of local coverage.

It would appear that CJOB knows that sports really helps their ratings. They have increased their sports talk shows with Hustler and Lawless which is a far ranging sports talk show hosted live in a Winnipeg sports bar.

The TEAM radio station that Winnipeg hosted was very much about syndicated sports talk shows like the Jim Rome Show. While that show was quite good, it was not a local program nor was it a live program hosted in the city.

It will be interesting to see if the re-emergence of sports radio will differ from what we saw in the past in Winnipeg. It may be that that CFRW is anticipating the come back of NHL to Winnipeg and if this is the case, it will be a real dogfight for broadcast rights. The station might be trying to get his sports chops in gear early.

Is it a coincidence that the MTS Centre is expanding their press box?



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Manitoba Moose on CBC

Bravo to the CBC for striking a deal to broadcast 10 AHL hockey games this coming year. The Moose will be seen in four games during the year.

The schedule is:

AHL on CBC

Binghamton at Toronto (Oct. 17, 1 p.m. ET).

Oklahoma City at Hamilton (Oct. 24, 1 p.m. ET).

Hamilton at Toronto (Nov. 21, 1 p.m. ET).

Toronto at Hamilton (Dec. 12, 1 p.m. ET).

Toronto at Abbotsford (Jan. 16, 2011, 2 p.m. ET).

Abbotsford at Manitoba (Jan. 23, 2011, 1 p.m. ET).

Manitoba at Toronto (Feb. 27, 2011, 1 p.m. ET).

Hamilton at Toronto (March 6, 2011, 1 p.m. ET).

Abbotsford at Manitoba (March 27, 2011, 1 p.m. ET).

Manitoba at Toronto (April 3, 2011, 1 p.m. ET).

As you can see, the schedule is heavy on the Toronto Marlies. This is to ensure big Ontario audiences. However, I can complain Moose finally get exposure nationally.

The only thing missing from this deal is play-off coverage.

Still, kudos to the CBC. Hope we see some cable deals coming as well.



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Mooseplex

I'm surprised that there hasn't been more written in the blogosphere about this project to build this arena complex.

With all the federal funds being thrown out there, the Chipman family stepped up with a project that is supposed to be shovel ready. The arena multiplex is costed out at $25 million and will be 172,000 square feet. It will consist of four NHL surface size rinks with 20 dressing rooms. An additonal 30,000 square feet will house Hockey Manitoba, Hockey Canada and True North offices as well as a high performance training center. One of the rinks will have seating for 1,500 fans. A restaurant, pro shop and concession area is listed in the specs.

The project will cost $25 million. The Chipmans will contribute $13.2 million and the feds and the province will contribute $5.9 million each for a total of $11.8 million.

According to the Chipmans, the building with become on of only three high performance centers for hockey training in Canada, the other two being Toronto and Calgary.

The opening of the Mooseplex is set for 2010 and the Chipmans have indicated they will bid World Under-17 Hockey Championship for two consecutive years to coincide with competition. This Canadian tournament also has international teams participation and many future stars of the NHL show their stuff.

My suggestion is that the Chipmans should also bid on the IIHF World Under-18 Championships since they have never been played in Canada. In 2009, they were played in Fargo, North Dakota.

The Fargo U18 games were played out of two buildings: Moorhead Arena and Urban Plains Center. The Urban Plains Center is a 5000 seat arena where the Fargo Force pro team plays and the Moorhead Arena is a two rink facility that is where high school and college teams play.

It is obvious that if Fargo could carry off the U18 games, Winnipeg could as well.

There were hints that there may be additional announcements of arenas in the city. I'd be interested to know if the University of Winnipeg might be one of those announcements.

The University of Manitoba has the Max Bell Center for hockey. It would be good for the University of Winnipeg had its own version.

The merits of a university arena are seen in Grand Forks, North Dakota where the Ralph Engelstad Arena has become the centerpiece of a large development around the University of North Dakota. It is unlikely that we'd see a $100 million private donation the likes of UND got to start their arena but it is possible that the University of Winnipeg could get a quarter of that if they teamed up with the school divisions and private donors. Who knows.

The Mooseplex will be an interesting and welcome addition to the city. The one problem I see is that it pushes the boundaries of the city right to western limit. The arena location by Point West Autopark, Red River Ex and Assiniboia Downs might trigger more development just outside of the city. The province should be wary of letting exurbia growth going wild. The Trans-Canada through Headingley is already dangerously busy with businesses alongside the road.



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