So who is offside this time? It's none other than the greatest NHL player to ever play the game. Yes It's #99 himself.

Many ROTJ supporters were surprised by Gretzky's latest comments about Winnipeg. Why? Because he has been so supportive of the NHL returning to Winnipeg in the recent past. The fear is whether or not he has any inside track on information. So what to make of his comments earlier this week?

Then on the very next day we hear from Carolina's GM Jim Rutherford who has Winnipeg and Southern Ontario as his main priorities for NHL markets. Added to that, we have by now all heard and read the quotes 2004 and later from Bettman and others about Winnipeg. So the NHL BOG can't be united in their belief one way or the other about Winnipeg. Therefore, you have to conclude that there is still no "official" NHL position on Winnipeg re-entry and all we are hearing are various opinions from NHL people.

Of course, Gretzky's comments carry weight (It's #99 Gretzky after all!!) if with no one else but the media. However the media airplay that these comments will continue to generate is just because it was the most recognizable face in hockey making them. But his credibility in making these statements falls short when you look at the situation his own team, the Phoenix Coyotes, finds themselves in. He is not only the head coach but also a part owner of a team that has lost $30 million each of the past two seasons and alot more before that. Attendance is a mess and corporate involvement is less than stellar.

But his latest comments will get even more airplay soon as his team comes to Winnipeg in a week's time. Can you imagine the media frenzy here and these comments he made about Winnipeg while in Southern Ontario?? There will be alot of skating backwards by Gretzky next week and most will be off the ice.

Gretzky seems to have it all backwards.

Here's how I see it: the more paid seats and fans in them, the more eyes see rink board ads, hear ads over the loudspeakers, etc. So corporate ads are worth more for teams with higher attendance. And besides, would a cool/hip product want to advertize at a hockey arena when attending the game isn't very hip?? If the rink isn't "THE place to be", then neither will alot of demand for advertizing.

This also translates into luxury box sales and demand for them. Why would a company in say in Nashville buy a box to schmooze potential clients if the clients have alot less interest in hockey than the NFL Titans or NASCAR? If hockey is "THE place to be" then potential clients would love to go to a luxury box to see the game and it should help close sales deals. This in turn keeps demand for the boxes higher and that keeps higher prices for them too.

So as you can see, if it's "THE place to be", paid attendance is higher, game advertizing is worth more, luxury boxes are more valuable to the business community and radio and TV rights are worth more because there's more interest in listening and watching the game than other cities. Fan interest in hockey drives all these revenue streams, not the size of the population or the size of the corporate/business community.

That is a huge myth that Gretzky has apparently come to believe unfortunately. Yes the size of the business community is important to have a foundation for success, but if it is indifferent to paying for NHL hockey then it's size is a moot point.

After all, remember why the NHL was hell-bent on growing the game in the USA. It wanted a larger TV footprint so that it can get a large national network TV contract. Otherwise, hockey will remain primarily a gate-revenue-driven league. And if tickets are the lion's share of total team revenue, then having good paid attendance is key.

So that is why Gretzky's conclusion is so baffling to me, because he stated that Winnipeg COULD sell 15,000 or 16,000 seats a game with no problem. His conclusion would be more believable and understandable if he said something like "I don't think Winnipeg can sell 15,000 seats a game." At least then, his opinion would make some sense.

I guess we will have to wait until next week, when the Great One returns to Winnipeg.

If you think I'm offside, then by all means, have your say.

Chris
Chair, Manitoba Mythbusters.com