No tickets? No problem: outdoor Winnipeg Whiteout watching party to cheer on Jets
Party on Donald Street between Portage and Graham Avenues will feature 2 giant screens to watch home games
Jets playoff excitement will spill out onto the streets at an open street party, so fans without tickets can watch games live outside the arena.
The first Winnipeg Whiteout Street Party is set to start two hours before puck drop for the Jets' first playoff game next week on Donald Street between Portage and Graham Avenues — no matter what the weather has planned.
"Even if it's snowing out, people will show up," Mayor Brian Bowman said Friday. "We're Winnipeggers. This isn't Toronto. We can show up and deal with the snow."
Earlier this week, the city said it was considering whether it could close a street near Bell MTS Place for the party. The closure was made official at a news conference Friday afternoon.
The party, hosted by Economic Development Winnipeg in co-ordination with True North Sports and Entertainment, will include food trucks and beverages for sale, and the whole area will be licensed, said Kevin Donnelly, senior vice-president of True North.
Dayna Spiring, president of Economic Development Winnipeg, said more details about the event will be released closer to game day. Organizers still don't know, for instance, how many events they'll be hosting — that depends on how long the Jets stay in the series — or how many people will show up.
"Five thousand, 10,000, I don't know," Spiring said. "We're open for big numbers and we're going to see what the weather brings and what people want to do, and we'll make sure that we adapt our plans to the number of people that tend to come here.'
Donnelly said he's anticipating people will want to be there.
"There's demand that outstrips the number of seats in the arena," he said. "There is a Jets nation that is growing. It includes Snoop Dogg now."
The hip hop star jumped on the Jets bandwagon in a video the NHL posted on Twitter, in which he congratulated the Winnipeg team on clinching its berth.
"The one and only 99 + 2 - The Greater One" <a href="https://twitter.com/SnoopDogg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SnoopDogg</a> is ready to see what the <a href="https://twitter.com/NHLJets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NHLJets</a> are made of in the playoffs. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StanleyCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StanleyCup</a> <a href="https://t.co/Vug4fwYjh0">pic.twitter.com/Vug4fwYjh0</a>
—@NHLSpiring, Donnelly and Bowman jokingly responded to questions about whether Snoop Dogg will be invited to the party in the affirmative.
"I'm looking forward to welcoming Snoop Dogg to Winnipeg," Bowman said.
The city has worked with Winnipeg Transit, Winnipeg Downtown Biz and the Winnipeg police to plan for transportation and security at the event, the mayor added.
Spiring called the Jets' playoff status and the buzz that accompanies it a "once-in-a-generation opportunity."
"For anyone who didn't get a playoff ticket, and I know those were hard to come by, this street party is going to be the must-attend event every time the Jets hit the ice in Winnipeg."
