The man who granted Winnipeg a National Hockey League franchise 13 years ago says he believes that the Jets will overcome struggles to keep fans in the seats.
“This is a place — Winnipeg — where hockey matters,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said at a 5 p.m. CT Tuesday press conference before the Jets’ home game against the St. Louis Blues.
“I believe that this is a strong NHL market. I believe that ownership has made extraordinary commitments to the Jets, to this arena, to the downtown area involving hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said.
“I’m not sure why people are now speculating that somehow they’re not going to be here.”
Bettman’s Winnipeg visit comes shortly after public lamentation by the owners of the city’s NHL team about low attendance and possible impact on the team’s future.
Bettman said he was not interested in speculating how the situation with the Jets’ attendance came to be, saying it “kind of doesn’t really matter.”
“This will get sorted out. I don’t believe that this is a crisis, but I do believe as with any team and any market, that there needs to be collaboration between the community, the fan base and the club, and I believe ultimately it will be here,” he said.
“Obviously, the attendance needs to improve, but it will. I have confidence in the organization … and this community.”
Jets not on ‘razor’s edge’
In an interview published in The Athletic last week, Mark Chipman — the chairman of the Jets and owner of True North Sports and Entertainment — said the team needs to get back to a season ticket base of 13,000, and current attendance numbers are “not going to work over the long haul.”
When asked Tuesday about those comments, Bettman said he shares Chipman’s view, but added that the deadline to get fans back in the seats is not dire.
Chipman’s recent comments show that he’s focused on ensuring that the Jets fan base is “maximally engaged,” said Bettman.
“I applaud the effort, but we’re not operating under … a razor’s edge. This is part of the evolution of what franchises sometimes go through.”
Bettman says the club is widely known around the NHL as “a model franchise, well-run from top to bottom.”
He also rejected the notion that the NHL’s board is concerned about the team.
“If we didn’t believe in places like Winnipeg, we never would have bought the Jets back.”
The NHL commissioner said he was “mystified” by the tension that appeared to surround his visit to the city following Chipman’s comments, saying he tries to visit as many team buildings as possible throughout the league each season.
Asked for his message to Winnipeg Jets fans, Bettman was concise:
“Get over your anxiety and come to games.”
