Virden and Winkler take top spot in MJHL attendance rankings
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This article was published 30/04/2024 (377 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
More than 150,000 people attended Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) games this season, as Steinbach’s spot as the most-well attended franchise took a step back this year.
With their new rink still under construction, the Steinbach Pistons played games inside La Broquerie’s HyLife Centre, averaging 563 fans per game this season. That total ranks them sixth in the league, according to game-by-game attendance figures recorded on the league’s website.
Steinbach’s sales/marketing manager Jamie Roy said the club had a good year in La Broquerie, selling every seat in the stands for every game. The HyLife Centre only seats 379 in the bleachers, compared to the 865 in the T.G. Smith Centre’s now demolished Centennial Arena.
“(We’re) certainly looking forward to moving into the the new events centre and being able to offer fans 2,400 actual seats with backrests,” Roy said.
“Sounds basic, but for Pistons fans it’ll be a luxury we’ve never had.”
The Pistons will start the regular season in La Broquerie this fall, before moving over to the new Southeast Events Centre when construction is completed in either late-2024 or early 2025.
Virden, Winkler, Dauphin, Portage and Niverville all averaged more fans than Steinbach this season, with Virden leading in average attendance and Winkler leading in total recorded attendance thanks to a nearly complete data-set of games throughout the season.
Niverville enjoyed a strong showing in their second season, averaging nearly 600 fans per game, although they failed to record data in five instances.
Virden had four games missing from their 28 home games this season. What they lacked in recording, they made up in consistency. The lowest recorded attendance for the Oil Capitals this year was an impressive 721. Only Winkler and Portage also had over 500 people in attendance at every home game this season.
Those six teams were also the only franchises to record average attendance above 500 last season.
Steinbach’s 2022/2023 average of 913 would have led the league this season as well.
The highest attended MJHL game this regular season came in Portage, as nearly 2,000 people were in attendance for a Ukrainian Night celebration Jan. 27.
Steinbach’s best-attended game came when the team played a game inside the University of Manitoba’s Wayne Fleming Arena, celebrating minor hockey across the province.
It was yet another tough season in Winnipeg for the Blues and Freeze, both in attendance and on the ice. The Blues recorded attendance for all but two of their games, drawing an average of 117. The Freeze were even lower, not recording attendance for 22 of their 28 home games this season, and only getting an average of 112 people in the building when they did record figures.