'A huge opportunity:' Winnipeg businesses hope this Jets playoff run will be a lengthy one

Gavin Axelrod · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 21, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

The Winnipeg Jets are disconnected to the races successful the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and while fans proceed to thrust the question of a thrilling opening crippled victory, they're not the lone ones who are celebrating. 

Businesses successful the metropolis besides person a vested involvement successful the team's occurrence arsenic they acquisition an uptick successful ft postulation and sales, portion lasting to currency successful arsenic the squad goes deeper successful the postseason. 

"The past fewer weeks it's been flooded with a batch of worldly to beryllium done," said Matheus Aquino, wide manager of Royal Sports connected Pembina Highway. 

"More radical coming successful for hats, much radical coming successful for merch," helium said. "It's been a batch much than we've had successful the past 2 years I'd adjacent say." 

Aquino attributes the uptick successful demand for Jets merchandise to the team's occurrence connected the ice. They won a franchise-record 56-games, the Central Division and Presidents' Trophy successful the regular season.

He said 1 of the astir fashionable pieces of merchandise truthful acold has been a achromatic shot chapeau with the Jets logo utilized from the 1990 to 96, which besides features a "Goals for Kids" spot connected the side. 

"This existent exemplary sold retired wrong an hour," said Aquino portion joking that helium was fortunate to beryllium capable to get his hands connected one.

'A immense opportunity' for downtown businesses

Businesses successful downtown Winnipeg are besides hoping the Jets are successful for a agelong enactment successful the playoffs. 

Businesses successful the country saw a 90 per cent summation successful income conscionable for the Jets' archetypal crippled of the 2024 playoffs — a tally which yet ended with the squad getting knocked retired successful the archetypal circular — according to Olivia Billson with Downtown Winnipeg BIZ. 

"This is simply a immense accidental for our downtown businesses," said Billson. "They're excited, they're putting their champion ft forward. 

"We person dozens of businesses who are expanding their hours, they're putting connected specials, bringing successful projectors," said Benson. "It is huge." 

At Boujee Restaurant & Bar connected Main Street, proprietor Amit Saini said the edifice is already reaping the benefits of the playoffs.

Saini said they did 50 to 60 per cent much concern than connected a regular play crippled time during Winnipeg's 5-3 triumph implicit the St. Louis Blues Saturday.  

"Our lounge was afloat and aft the crippled determination were truthful galore walk-ins that came by, our barroom was full, our edifice broadside was full," helium said.

"Compared to a regular Jets game, we don't get truthful galore walk-ins, truthful it was overwhelming and good." 

More large sporting events connected the skyline for downtown 

The Jets existent playoff tally isn't the lone large sporting lawsuit that volition thrust radical downtown this year. 

The Winnipeg Sea Bears big pre-game parties successful True North Square earlier each location game, but aboriginal this summer, they'll big the Canadian Elite Basketball League's title play festivities.

Part of that includes a three-day thoroughfare festival featuring unrecorded music, nutrient trucks and more, which is acceptable to instrumentality spot successful True North Square and connected Graham Avenue betwixt Edmonton Street and Hargrave Street, according to a quality merchandise from the league. 

The Canadian Football League is besides promising to present "Canada's biggest social" erstwhile the 112th Grey Cup rolls into the Manitoba capital. 

Part of the festivities volition see a escaped thoroughfare festival with indoor and outdoor spaces connected the University of Winnipeg campus, and the CFL instrumentality acquisition volition instrumentality spot astatine the Axworthy Health and RecPlex, according to Instagram posts from the Grey Cup Festival Instagram account. 

"Downtown is seeing a immense transformation," said the BIZ's Billson. 

Those events are besides thing that excites Saini for Boujee.

"These things volition marque radical happy, excited and marque them travel retired of their houses and socialize … truthful very, precise excited for the concern portion and the [socialization] portion too." 

Meanwhile, backmost astatine Royal Sports, Aquino is assured the Jets volition spell acold and hopes radical volition proceed to store locally. 

"It's been very, precise good," said Aquino. "We're precise blessed with it."