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Flight Plan For Success - Jan. 13 2020 - Vol. 73 Issue 1 - Jared Clinton
THERE’S A story, one you might have heard before, about the Winnipeg Jets returning home. No, not the current Winnipeg Jets, not the ones who headed north from their former home in Atlanta and have since put down roots in Manitoba’s capital. The other ones, the original franchise, which now makes its home in the Arizona desert. And as the story goes, it was only by the narrowest of margins the franchise that left Winnipeg in 1996 and headed south to become the Coyotes failed to complete the circuit. But Mark Chipman isn’t sure it’s understood just how close that return was to coming to fruition. “We had a press conference scheduled for a Saturday morning and the chairs were set up,” said Chipman, chairman of True North Sports & Entertainment, of the flirtation with an NHL homecoming in May 2010. “Nobody knew that. But on that Friday, there was a good chance that we would have reacquired the original Jets.”
It took another year, however, before Chipman, along with True North’s David Thomson, commissioner Gary Bettman and other executives, stepped on stage to announce the acquisition of the Thrashers and Winnipeg’s reintroduction to the NHL ranks. But after 15 years spent laying the foundation for the historic return by turning the Manitoba Moose into a first-rate AHL organization, Chipman didn’t see the May 2011 announcement as mission accomplished. “It’s never, ever been our intention to just be in this league – it was never, ever (assistant GM) Craig Heisinger’s or (GM) Kevin Cheveldayoff’s or any of our mindset to say that we’re in. ‘Let’s just be satisfied that we’re in,’” Chipman said.
THE PHYSICAL SIZE OF THE MARKET DOESN’T DICTATE HOW MANY HOCKEY FANS RESIDE WITHIN IT
- Mark Chipman
Despite the lack of early on-ice success, the results, particularly in recent seasons, bear out Chipman’s assertion that satisfaction didn’t come from simply punching Winnipeg’s ticket back into the big leagues. Across the three seasons prior to 2019-20, Winnipeg iced one of the NHL’s most competitive rosters, and the Jets’ 300 points are tied for the seventh-most in the league over that span. That’s not to mention Winnipeg’s back-to-back playoff appearances, which included a trip to the 2018 Western Conference final.
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It’s that success, and the capacity to retain star players such as Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey on long-term deals, that also sees Chipman repudiate the long-held notion that the majority of NHL players bristle at the thought of playing in Winnipeg. Some have considered the small market – at a population of roughly 750,000, the city proper is the smallest in the NHL – and Winnipeg’s climate as two of the greatest challenges facing the organization. Chipman, however, maintains that perception has been “fictional for so long,” something that was even said, and did not hold true, during his pre-professional hockey ventures. “It’s really a fallacy,” Chipman said. “The physical size of the market doesn’t dictate how many hockey fans reside within it and how many really passionate hockey fans reside within hockey fans. The collective bargaining agreement that we operate under makes it not only possible for us to succeed, it absolutely allows us to compete.”
However, if there is a sector where the market size does present drawbacks, Chipman concedes that large corporate sponsors can be more difficult to secure in Winnipeg. “There are not as many large headquarters (as bigger markets),” Chipman said. “Although Winnipeg, surprisingly, has a lot of head offices in it that people don’t appreciate or understand, more so than Edmonton. Still, the biggest revenue number on any team’s profit and loss statement comes from tickets, the sale of tickets. We do really well there.”
Indeed, that is the case. Prior to a failed sellout in mid-October – for which a winter storm that felled trees and left large swaths of the city without power was somewhat at fault – the Jets had packed the house for 332 consecutive games. It’s no surprise, then, that the streak has started anew. Winnipeg is often heralded as one of the most raucous arenas in the league, and the famed Whiteout, which has been co-opted and parodied by other franchises throughout the NHL and North American professional sports, is inarguably among the fan base’s greatest exports. Coincidentally, it’s the passion of the fan base that presents the greatest test. “People are so invested, financially or emotionally, that you carry this responsibility,” Chipman said. “That’s the biggest challenge, not wanting to let people down.”
That goes beyond the ice, too, and Chipman and Co. pride themselves on the establishment and evolution of the True North Youth Foundation.
With humble beginnings that date back to its days as The Manitoba Moose Yearling Foundation, which was established in 1996 and served primarily as a charitable passthrough, TNYF has transformed into a self-programmed organization that features several initiatives, including the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Academy, Camp Manitou and Project 11, a mental-health awareness program that was launched following the suicide of former Moose player Rick Rypien. Last year, the program reached 30,000 students, and its growth – and the work that Heisinger, a close friend of Rypien’s, has put into the program – has been among the most fulfilling of TNYF’s accomplishments. It’s projected to be in more than 2,000 classrooms in the coming year. “We are extremely mindful of the responsibility of being an NHL team in a Canadian market,” Chipman said. “It’s often referred to as the responsibility to give back. It’s more than that. It’s a responsibility to be a part of, to be woven through the community, so that’s what we try and do.”
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THAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE, NOT WANTING TO LET PEOPLE DOWN
- Mark Chipman
The most recent way, and unquestionably the most visible way, in which True North’s footprint in the community has grown is through its development downtown. After announcing its intention to transform a downtown space adjacent to Bell MTS Place, True North purchased the land and has since opened a 17-story office building and retail space and a 25-story residential building. Additionally, a food hall is set to open its doors in early 2020, while the announcement of an intention to build a fifth tower, which will act as the North American headquarters for Wawanesa Insurance, was made in June 2019.
Chipman insists this wasn’t in the cards, let alone even dreamt up, a decade or two ago, though he did have hopes that putting the arena in the city’s core would rejuvenate the downtown. Even now, he says the development of True North Square was solely the result of an opportunity presenting itself. “That’s all this was, a matter of looking out the window at some less-than-favorable conditions and saying, ‘Maybe we can leverage the momentum that was starting to occur in downtown,’” Chipman said.
As for what comes next, Chipman is quick to note that True North has its hands full. Not only is there work to be done on the ice – “It’s an up-at-dawn strategy trying to win in this league,” he said – there are upgrades to be completed inside Bell MTS Place, there’s another tower to be constructed in the burgeoning arena district, and the efforts of TNYF are unceasing.
But Chipman has faith that the Jets and True North will continue to move in the right direction despite the reputation as a small market with a harsh climate, especially if they adopt the resilience that he believes is born, bred and has been baked into the community throughout generations. “As long as that mindset resides here,” Chipman said, “we can be the smallest team in the NHL and not just be a team in the NHL.”
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