'I believe this is a strong NHL market': Bettman tries to put fears to rest as Jets deal with low attendance
CTV
Gary Bettman had a clear message for Winnipeg Jets fans during his media availability Tuesday – he is confident in the team and the hockey market, and the Jets aren't going anywhere.
Gary Bettman had a clear message for Winnipeg Jets fans during his media availability Tuesday – he is confident in the team and the hockey market, and the Jets aren't going anywhere.
"If I didn’t believe in places like Winnipeg, we never would have brought the Jets back," said Bettman.
These comments from the NHL commissioner come after the chairman of the Jets, Mark Chipman, said in an interview with The Athletic last week, that the season ticket base needed to get back up to the 13,000 seats that the team had when it came back to Winnipeg. Currently, he noted the base was under 9,500.
In the interview, Chipman said the shrinking season ticket base wouldn't be sustainable over the long haul.
On Tuesday, Bettman wanted to squash any concerns that may have arisen in the past couple of days.
"I think there was a lot of speculation as to why I was here today, and even what I'm thinking in anticipation of being here today. This is a place, Winnipeg, where hockey matters. I believe 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 and I'm not sure why people are now speculating that somehow they're not going to be here," Bettman said Tuesday.
Winnipeg has been averaging the second-lowest attendance in the NHL at just over 13,000 fans a game.
