As the Winnipeg Jets make their way into the second round of the playoffs, local businesses are reaping the benefits.

The last Winnipeg Whiteout Street Party took place when the Jets finished off the Minnesota Wild in game five of their first round series on Apr. 20. Winnipeg Police estimated approximately 36,000 people made their way through the downtown area that night.

This increased foot traffic means more people are experiencing downtown Winnipeg’s shops, restaurants and bars, according to Tineka de Jong, Downtown Winnipeg Biz’s director of marketing, events and communications.

“Some of our businesses we’ve heard are up 200 to 500 per cent in terms of sales over a specific period on the nights where Whiteout Street Parties are happening downtown,” de Jong said. “That’s exciting, and it’s bringing in sales and exposure to our businesses in the downtown community.”

“We’re seeing a lot of people who are coming to downtown Winnipeg for the first time in a long time, so they’re walking past and going into a lot of these places they haven’t experienced before.”

de Jong says White Star Diner, which moved into a new location on Kennedy St. just over a year ago, saw a 500 per cent increase in their evening crowd as opposed to a regular Jets home game. She also says Uptown Sports Cards and Collectibles in Portage Place saw a 200 per cent increase.

de Yong hopes the Jets playoff run will change perceptions about downtown and people will be encouraged to come back when the Jets aren’t playing.

“We’re hoping this is an opportunity for people to experience the Whiteout Party and celebrate and then maybe they’ll come back later throughout the year,” de Yong said. “Seeing our Winnipeg crowd support these small businesses and shopping local is exciting to see and when the Jets playoff run is over, hopefully after they win the Stanley Cup, we hope they’ll continue that support.”

Cheryl Roney is the director of leasing and marketing for Triovest Realty Advisors Inc., which manages Cityplace.

She says their stores and restaurants also noticed large increases.

“The tenants and restaurants and the food court all saw huge spikes in customers, which of course translates to sales,” Roney said. “I think it’s extremely important for the local and national tenants downtown, in particular in Cityplace, to have the opportunity to be noticed by people who might not normally be downtown during the week.”

Andrew Shefchyk, Boston Pizza's director of marketing for Manitoba says their Cityplace location, which is connected directly to Bell MTS Place, saw a whopping 90 per cent increase in business on Apr. 20 as opposed to a regular Jets game. 

"We were completely full and there was a lot of people who wanted to get in but couldn't," Shefchyk said. "We can feel the eyes of the nation on Winnipeg and we're really excited to be part of it and to benefit from it." 

These businesses will have at least two, but hopefully more, opportunities to cash in on large downtown crowds. Whiteout Street Parties will be held May 1 and 3 for games three and four of the Jets’ second round series against the Nashville Predators.

Economic Development Winnipeg announced it will be expanding the Whiteout Party again for the second round of the playoffs.