Downtown Winnipeg needs to feel safe for struggling Jets, arts sector to thrive, mayor says

With ticket sales for the Winnipeg Jets slumping, Mayor Scott Gillingham says filling seats begins with making the city's downtown a safer and more comfortable place to be.

Earlier this week, the Jets drew just over 11,000 fans for a game — the lowest attendance for any home game since the NHL returned to Winnipeg in 2011, not including the games when COVID-19 restrictions limited attendance.

If people and businesses see more positive activity in the downtown, they'll be more likely to invest in season tickets, Gillingham said at a news conference Friday, where $2 million in federal government funding was announced for four Manitoba social enterprises.

The same applies to the arts sector, said Gillingham, where some organizations have also said they're facing significant deficits and low ticket sales.

"What people want in the downtown is to feel confident, and to feel safe, and also to enjoy their experience," Gillingham said.

"That's key to us, as governments working together, to create the environment that instills confidence in investors, instills confidence in visitors, to our community and especially to our downtown."

The long-term health of downtown Winnipeg matters to everyone in the city regardless of where they live, he said.

"We have to have a healthy downtown. Our city's strength will only rise to the level of our downtown."

The Friday funding announcement at the United Way in downtown Winnipeg included representatives from all three levels of government.

Among the four projects receiving funding is one by BUILD, or Building Urban Industries for Local Development, and Purpose Construction. The two social enterprises, which offer training programs in the inner city, will get funding for a  green retrofit of their headquarters that will create employment and training opportunities for vulnerable people.

Gillingham said the announcement marks a "renewed relationship" between the municipal, federal and provincial governments — the last of which changed in the Oct. 3 election.

Friday's announcement is "just the start" of the collaborative work to transform Winnipeg's downtown, Winnipeg member of Parliament and parliamentary secretary Terry Duguid said at the news conference.

A series of investments totalling more than $100 million has been announced to support the area over the last two years, he said, including the Red River Métis National Heritage Centre and the redevelopment of the Hudson's Bay Building by the Southern Chiefs' Organization.

Boosting the downtown is a "collaborative effort," that requires "business, community organizations, non-profits, and governments … to work together to find solutions that work for everyone," said Duguid.

He also said he hopes Winnipeg residents and visitors will feel proud of the city's core.

"This is a major economic driver in Manitoba, and a cultural and sporting destination for Manitobans and so many others."