I'm not completely convinced it could work in Winnipeg, but I'm hopeful. Even though I always hated the Jets I would love to see an NHL team back in Manitoba.
There are currently 48 suites in the MTS Centre. I know there were at least 90 on the waiting list as of February 2009. The number of suites can be expanded, and the owners have discussed expansion, even without the NHL.
When talking attendance numbers, it's tough to compare the numbers of the Southern teams. How many of those tickets are given away or sold for $10-$25? In Phoenix's case, the actual gate numbers since the lockout have been anywhere from 2,000-5,000 less than the "paid" attendance. I can't imagine that ever happening in a strong hockey market.
Most importantly, the majority owners of the Moose and MTS Centre are Mark Chipman and David Thomson. The Thomson's happens to be the richest family in Canada. If he comes to the conclusion that Winnipeg can support an NHL team, I'll take his word for it.
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I feel for Jets4Life so I've gathered some info that could help his arguments.
Here's some census numbers I grabbed from another forum and posted in a previous Jets thread:
Corporate presence in Winnipeg compared to other Canadian cities:
Corporate head offices; Top 500 largest publically traded companies (2008):
Winnipeg: 12
Edmonton: 7
Ottawa: 7
Quebec City: 2
Hamilton: 1
Corporate head offices; Companies of all sizes (2005):
Edmonton: 157
Winnipeg: 129
Ottawa: 101
Corporate head offices; total employment (2005):
Winnipeg: 6 890
Ottawa: 4 667
Edmonton: 3 428
Winnipeg’s key economic indicators comparison 1994-2008 (since the jets left):
population:
1994: 676 000
2008: 733 000
population growth:
1994: 1600
2008: 10 000
average house value:
1994: $84 000 (Canadian average $158 000) 53% of the canadian average
2008: $191 000 (Canadian average $275 000) 70% of the canadian average
total value of building permits issued:
1994: $300 million
2008: $ 1 billion
housing starts:
1994: 972
2008: 3400
average household income:
1994: $43 000 (Canadian average $49 000) 87%
2008: $72 000 (Canadian average $70 500) 102%
unemployment rate
1994: 10.4% (Canadian average 9.5%)
2008: 4.3% (Canadian average 6%) (3rd in Canada)
total employment
1994: 318 000
2008: 400 000
retail sales:
1994: $4.3 million
2008: $9.3 million
GDP per capita
1994: $21 100 (Canada $26 700) 79% of the canadian average
2008: $44 500 (Canada $46 400) 96% of the canadian average
2008 economic growth 3.9% (third among Canadian cities)
Canada's 800 largest corporations (according to Financial Post):
Winnipeg: 32 + 3 subsidiaries = 35
Edmonton: 25 + 1 subsidiary = 26
Quebec City: 16 + 2 subsidiaries = 18
Ottawa: 15 + 1 subsidiary = 16
http://www.financialpost.com/magazine/fp500/list.html