Jets whiteout parties slapped with higher ticket prices, smaller crowd size

This year's whiteout parties are going to cost you more green.

The Winnipeg Jets will charge $10 for a ticket to get into the downtown street party during the NHL team's home playoff games, which will again see Donald Street closed down between Portage and Graham avenues.

There will be 5,000 tickets for each party, which will include food and alcohol vendors and Jets merchandise.

This year there will also be a Party in the Plaza, near the statue of Jets legend Dale Hawerchuk in True North Square, kitty-corner to the Jets' arena, Canada Life Centre.

That one will cost $20 and it's limited to 1,000 people.

WATCH | Kevin Donnelly talks about the reason for ticket prices:

"We know it's important for Winnipeg fans to have a rallying point and this show of support is vitally important to us, to the team, to the city and to our country," said Kevin Donnelly, senior vice-president of venues and entertainment for True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns and operates the NHL team.

"We know the entire hockey world watches these events and marvels at the incredible atmosphere that our fans create both inside and outside of our rink."

Half of the proceeds from the street party tickets will go to local agencies focused on homelessness, mental health and addictions. The plaza party is separate, hosted by Hargrave Street Market, and a portion of those proceeds will also be donated, though it was not stated how much.

Donnelly said it is necessary to have some control over the crowd size and charging admission helps.

"Having a fluid number like we did before really put immense pressure on all our partners, including neighbours downtown," he said at a news conference Friday.

In 2018, fans in white flooded down Donald for two blocks, along Graham for another two, and even into the plaza at the Millennium Library. An estimated total of 120,000 were in the crowds over the course of nine street parties.

In 2019, True North charged $5 for tickets and limited the capacity to 15,000 for each party.

WATCH | Kevin Donnelly talks about controlling crowd size:

Other NHL cities have fixed capacity for outdoor events as well, Donnelly said. The 5,000 limit allows a comfortable and safe gathering that can still be loud and fun, he said.

"We felt it was a sweet spot that is going to create that atmosphere," he said.

But if the Jets happen to have a deep Stanley Cup playoff run, "I think we'll revisit this," Donnelly said.

Tickets for both parties will go on sale April 17 at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster.

The Donald Street party will open two hours before faceoff for each home game. Giant screens at each end will broadcast the game.

The Party in the Plaza will open four hours before puck drop. It will offer live entertainment and the game on a big screen.

There haven't been any whiteout parties in Winnipeg since the spring of 2019 — and they didn't last long that year. The Jets were knocked out in the first round by the St. Louis Blues.

The Jets made the playoffs in 2021 but the parties were cancelled by pandemic restrictions. The team missed the post-season last year.

PHOTO GALLERY | Scenes from the Jets' playoff run in 2018:

The Jets begin their first-round best-of-seven series against the Golden Knights on Tuesday in Las Vegas. Game 2 goes Thursday in Vegas before the series shifts to Winnipeg.

The schedule for those games has not yet been released.

The Jets have an 8-4-2 all-time regular-season record against the Vegas Golden Knights. But in three meetings this season, Winnipeg has lost every time.

It was also the Golden Knights who delivered Winnipeg's biggest heartbreak in 2018.

The Jets won the first game of the Western Conference final, but Vegas went on to win four straight and head to the Stanley Cup championship, while the Jets cleaned out their lockers.

Donnelly said for this year's parties, in addition to keeping a lid on crowd sizes, the money from ticket sales will help cover some of the cost of hosting the event.

"These things are expensive to put on. Our operational cost … is a six-figure effort for each and every event," he said.

In 2018, the street parties cost $2.2 million through three playoff rounds. The city, Economic Development Winnipeg and True North split the cost.

The city and province are contributing to the costs this year, but "we're still working out the exact details," said Dayna Spiring, CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg.

WATCH | Full news conference: