FedExField Seat Upgrade Thread 2010 - Policies and Experiences

Policies:

The following was stated in literature included in the season ticket invoice package for 2010:

With new Auto Upgrade technology, the Redskins can now improve the seat location of account holders in good standing faster than ever. Each year account holders in the Upper Level will be moved down in their same section and price level to get closer to the action. Account holders in the Lower Level will be moved closer to mid-field.*

...

Look for more information in your 2010 renewal invoice package.

*Based on availability. Not all accounts can be moved each year.

On ticket invoices, the due date is March 1, 2010. On non-premium season ticket invoices, on the back of the form, it gives several upgrade options. Season ticket holders are supposed to check a box as shown on the back of ticket invoices:

- Do NOT move my seats for the 2010 season.

- Automatically upgrade my seats! I am willing to move to a higher price level.

- Automatically upgrade my seats, but please do not move me to a higher price level.

- I allow the Redskins to split up my blocks of seats to improve the location of some of my seats.

- Only move my seats in conjunction with the following account holders:________________

(There is no upgrade policy on the back of Restricted View seat invoices or premium seat invoices.)

The following is found in the FAQ portion of "manage my account" at Redskins.com:

1. How does the Auto-Upgrade Program work?

All account holders who are in good standing by the renewal invoice due date are eligible for a seat upgrade. All upgrades are based on availability. Because of historically high renewal rates, not all accounts can be moved each year.

• If your seats are in the Lower Level, you are eligible to move one section closer to the 50 yard-line at or

near your present row.

• If you are in the Upper Level, you are eligible to be moved to a lower row in your same section.

• Terrace and Obstructed View seats (Sections 213-230, Rows 14-23) are not eligible for the Auto-Upgrade Program.

Edit: On March 10th, member skinsfan03, among others, received an email from the team (bold added):

Thank you for renewing your 2010 Washington Redskins season tickets. With your renewal you are eligible, subject to availability, for our Auto Upgrade Program which will improve the seat locations of more season ticket holders than ever before. The process is very simple:

Lower Level account holders will be moved closer to midfield at or near their same row. Upper Level account holders in the lowest numbered rows (i.e. Row 1, 2, 3, etc.) will be moved to the Lower Level endzone section(s). Remaining Upper Level account holders will be moved closer to the field within their same section.

In future years we hope to add more Auto Upgrade options, such as Upper Level account holders being moved closer to midfield.

Priority in the Auto Upgrade Program is based on seniority as a Redskins season ticket holder. If you are automatically upgraded, you will be notified via email of your new seat location. Account holders who are assigned seats at a higher price-point will receive an invoice for the balance due.

Experiences:

Please post your 2010 seat upgrade experience here. Thanks.

Edit: HOF44 received this email on March 10th (interesting points in bold):

As of March 9, your Redskins Season Ticket Account is unpaid for the 2010 season. As a loyal season ticket holder, you’ve been extended a grace period through March 19, 2010, to make payment on your account. We are offering a convenient interest-free payment plan to make a 1/3 payment now and the remaining balance over the next two months. To make payment or enroll in the payment plan, simply go to www.Redskins.com/MyAccount, check the appropriate box on your invoice, or contact the Redskins Ticket Office at 301-276-6050. If you’ve already made a payment, kindly disregard this notice.

In addition, as long as your payment or first monthly installment is made by March 19, you are eligible, subject to availability, for our new Auto Upgrade Program which will improve the seat locations of more season ticket holders than ever before.

...

Season ticket holders who have not paid by March 10th are being called by the ticket office and being told verbally that March 19th is a hard deadline.

Edit: NedFlanders called on March 23rd and was told he is still eligible to be upgraded, if he would be willing to pay his invoice.

I called the TO this morning, and they said no upgrades have been done yet - we know that's not true.

They are still allowing me to pay late, and didn't say I had a deadline to do so. They ALSO said I was still eligible for UPGRADES even though i am paying late.

...

The following was posted on April 7th:

I just called and renewed my tickets. I was going to dump them this year but decided i just couldn't. I was able to be added to the autoupgrade list still and they said the upgrades are going to begin being mailed/emailed out next week.

Posted April 16th:

Heard from a buddy that the TO is now telling people the auto-upgrades will start next week and the TO will go section by section. The current plan is not to make any notification phone calls/e-mails until the end of May or early June when the whole upgrade program is complete.

Posted April 28th:

On Monday [April 26th] I got a call from the TO letting me know that I have been selected for the auto upgrade. I currently have four tickets in the third row of Section 432 (last sidelines section, next to front corner) and paid before the 3/1 deadline. I was told by the rep that I could purchase up to two more tickets at that time, but I declined. They said i would be notified of my seat location and receive the invoice in June or July.

The first part of the conversation was only about the upgrade. It wasn't until later on that he offered the extra tickets. After I declined the extra tickets was when told me when I would get the invoice and the location of my seats.

I was told that I would be moving to the lower level, either endzone or corner. My wife and I were just talking a few weeks ago about maybe changing our auto upgrade option to allow them to split our tickets (since we have 4) so we would have a better chance to move down, but I am glad we didn't do that.

Posted April 29th:

That is the exact same call i got on Monday. I am row 2 upstairs (in 419, mid corner).

I was told by a member that he was able to successfully upgrade his seats on Saturday, Draft Day, April 24, by talking in person with a TO employee. He had not paid his 2010 invoice, and the TO guy told him his old seats were "taken" and no longer available. However, he was allowed to move anyway to an available pair of seats one section closer to mid-field in the LL. He purchased these on the spot, in person, with his credit card.

Okay, so I just called the TO to check on my upgrade (seats in 117) status. I'm trying to get closer to my 122's.

I was told to expect LL upgrades completed by late May/early June and that all that paid on time would be upgraded first. She did say expect notification anytime between now and that time period. She also said that they had "shut down" LL seats where people hadn't paid by now. However, those LL STH's who paid late would be in the second wave of upgrades.

Take it for what it's worth.

Posted June 11th:

I paid two months late and I moved from 427 row 13 to 235 row 7. I negotiated this upgrade by paying late.

This will be my second year as a season ticket holder. When I came off the waitlist last year, I was offered seats similar to what you have been offered -- corner end zone, high 20s row. I decided not to buy these seats and just eat the $200 deposit. The T.O. ended up calling me in or around early July and offered me Section 401, row 11. I sat on this offer for too long and ended up across the field in 427 row 13.

I did not pay by the March 1st deadline this year; trying to negotiate better seats outside the auto-upgrade process. This strategy was unsuccessful. However, in late April, the TO called me and asked if there was anything that they could do to bring me back. My goal was to get to 200 level home side -- great sight lines and in the shade (personally, I prefer these seats over 100 level seats). TO would not give me 200 level at this time, but they offered to move me to 401, row 11 (I complained about the sun on the visitor's side), still include me in the auto-upgrade program, and note my account for a 200 home side preference. I took this deal and paid for seats in 401 row 11 at that time.

When upgrades came out, I was assigned section 232 (middle end zone). I was not very excited about these seats. I called the TO and asked for something on the home side. When I offered to buy two more seats, they moved me to Section 235 -- they also offered 100 level seats in that general vicinity.

I have no idea if a similar strategy will work for you -- as many people have noted, last year's free-for-all is gone. However, my experience with the TO (even this year) has always been that better seats are available if you retain some leverage, e.g. wait to pay, offer to pick up more seats.

Other posters' points about this being a different approach in the TO from years past are valid. However, my gut and experiences tell me that there are probably better seats available than what you have been offered if you're willing to play a little chicken. Obviously, you will have to make your own decision on the best approach for your situation.

Good Luck!

Posted July 6th:

I got the no upgrade email today. I moved from 431 to 112 but only after not renewing my tickets and responding to a win back offer. So I guess I technically did not get an upgrade.

...I think a negotiated upgrade probably fits best. The TO has definitely acknowledged that they have more flexibility to award better seats in response to "win back offers. After you are in the system and they have collected your money they hold all of the leverage. I wish I could take the credit and say that I planned this whole thing out. To be completely honest I did not renew my tickets and later had second thoughts. I sent the TO an email and they advised that I was eligble for a "win back offer" and to call to see what they had available.

Posted July 17th:

Good experience - was in 139 Row 4 (4 Seats). Then moved one section closer to the 50 - Section 140 Row 4 (still 4 seats).

Will say - I tried to add seats in the upper level - wanted a good pair (thats what she said). Phone call #1 - only corners in high rows. Phone call #2 - 10 yard line - high row. Phone call #3 - 30 yd line - but must buy a three pack in a row in the teens. Phone call #4 - Section 401 (50 yd line) but must buy a three pack and they will be in the low 20s. Phone call #5 - Section 401, Row 8 - procured a pair. Persistence and getting a name and calling and calling is still rewarded.

it depends on how much you complain, how early you complain, and who you complain to. I was able to move sideways, but had to be willing to move UP to do it. Which I was willing to do because I was in a corner, and pretty high up.

I simply said that absent moving out of the section, I wouldn't renew the seats. And since I was more than willing to follow through on that, I couldn't lose.

Anyway, I moved to the 40 from corner end zone. High up, but hopefully they will move down over time.

Posted July 19:

persistence does pay off.....My Wife called Saturday about upgrading our current ST..was told call back today (MOnday) so she called back at 9:30 and was told by a women no tickets available, wait until next season (to upgrade)..so after I read the board I asked her to call back, so she did and just now spoke to a guy...well guess what...I went from sect 438 r21 to sect 441 r15 (all the while being told no tickets were available)...I really don't know how to take this though...as a blessing or as a sign that people just don't want to do their jobs as clearly she didn't want too.....

FYI, I renewed over the phone yesterday, and the sales rep stated they will start the upgrade process in April or May, with tickets being sent to the printer in July. The upgrade process will be done "one section at a time". I asked if it was a manual process or a software-based application, and the rep paused for a good 5 seconds before saying "um, both". He then said I will find out in May or June if I had been moved. When I asked how I would find out, there was no response. After a few awkward seconds of silence, I said "by email?" The rep replied, "um, yes, probably by email."

It sounded like he wasn't too familiar with how this would play out, or maybe I was just asking dumb questions? At any rate, according to him it will be another month or so until they actually start moving people.

It would be good to know when they are going to "press the auto-upgrade button." You would think they could do it mid-March as they have stated not paying on time will effect your upgrade eligibility. Isn't March 1 the deadline to start the payment plan? Maybe they are waiting until May to make sure all the payment plan people make all 3 payments before they start the process.

After thinking about it a lot yesterday, I went ahead and renewed my season tickets last night. But if I am still sitting where I am now, this will be my last year.

See, the thing is, I am in the upper deck and don't want to stay in the same section. But according to the literature, they are only upgrading upper level ticket holders down in their same section.

I am in the last "sideline" section, and have been for seven years. I could move over about eight seats and be in the end zone seating and be paying a lot less. I would much rather move over than down in my same section. I have brought this up for the last few years, and it really has not gotten me anywhere.

I spoke to the ticket rep yesterday and he did not sound terribly sure about the process. I said "so I will only be upgraded within my own section?" And I was told "well, not necessarily."

But if they are done by section, it is likely going to be that way. It is just the luck of the draw of when your section is being reseated. Doing things that way just does not make sense to me. Essentially wherever your tickets were when you originally got them...that is where you are going to be for a while.

I don't know why it is so difficult to do upgrades by how long people have been STH's.

It would be good to know when they are going to "press the auto-upgrade button." You would think they could do it mid-March as they have stated not paying on time will effect your upgrade eligibility. Isn't March 1 the deadline to start the payment plan? Maybe they are waiting until May to make sure all the payment plan people make all 3 payments before they start the process.

I asked that too, and they told me that it would be in mid-March or April. Because I told him that in previous years, there have been plenty of people that did not renew by the deadline that were getting pretty good seats in July. That no matter how much they preached it, it was actually better to not be in "good standing." I had two people tell me that would not be the case this year. We'll see.

But you bring up a good point. What about the tickets from the people that do not pay all of their installments? It is bound to happen.

...But you bring up a good point. What about the tickets from the people that do not pay all of their installments? It is bound to happen.

What happened to the popcorn eating emoticon?

I plan to get six months of entertainment out of this thread.:helmet:

:munchout: < --- it's right here. (mth edit)

I told him that in previous years, there have been plenty of people that did not renew by the deadline that were getting pretty good seats in July. That no matter how much they preached it, it was actually better to not be in "good standing." I had two people tell me that would not be the case this year. We'll see.

How about I be the Guinea pig? I have 6 seats, and WON'T renew until they give me better seats.......We'll see what, and if they offer me anything....

I got lucky and got a mega upgrade during last years ticket office chaos. I declined any further move this year.

After thinking about it a lot yesterday, I went ahead and renewed my season tickets last night. But if I am still sitting where I am now, this will be my last year.

See, the thing is, I am in the upper deck and don't want to stay in the same section. But according to the literature, they are only upgrading upper level ticket holders down in their same section.

I am in the last "sideline" section, and have been for seven years. I could move over about eight seats and be in the end zone seating and be paying a lot less. I would much rather move over than down in my same section. I have brought this up for the last few years, and it really has not gotten me anywhere.

I spoke to the ticket rep yesterday and he did not sound terribly sure about the process. I said "so I will only be upgraded within my own section?" And I was told "well, not necessarily."

But if they are done by section, it is likely going to be that way. It is just the luck of the draw of when your section is being reseated. Doing things that way just does not make sense to me. Essentially wherever your tickets were when you originally got them...that is where you are going to be for a while.

I don't know why it is so difficult to do upgrades by how long people have been STH's.

I'm in the same situation as you: One of the last sections of the "sideline". As I have reported in a seperate thread I had a lengthy discussion with the manager of ticket operations. At that time I was told that the upgrade program for the upper bowl only allowed same section upgrades. I spend a good 30 minutes explaining that an optimization routine that took into account your section as well as your row was preferable and more appropriate but it just didn't appear to register. One of the arguments that I kept getting back was that if people were moved closer to the 50 in the upper bowl how could they improve seats for those already at the 50 :doh:. I finally gave up. Although I was not going to renew my tix (specially given the expense of flying/driving in from Michigan each game) I broke down at the last instance.

At this point my only hope for improving my section appears to be a move to the lower bowl which is not very likely....

"Moved one section closer to the 50 yard line" is bunk. Last year I got move 2 sections. One of my sets was in 115 and now I'm in 117.

What happened to the popcorn eating emoticon?

I plan to get six months of entertainment out of this thread.:helmet:

:munchout: < --- it's right here. (mth edit)

Haha, this is the first thread I've ever subscribed to. Not having a horse in the race (anymore) is going to mean I can sit back and watch the fireworks from a safe distance.

"Moved one section closer to the 50 yard line" is bunk. Last year I got move 2 sections. One of my sets was in 115 and now I'm in 117.

I think you may have missed the point of this thread. These are new policies enacted this year presumably as a result of the hodge podge manner upgrades were handled in the last few years (including your 2 section move). We are merely tracking the FOs performance to their stated policies.

The deal with the installments is you have to surrender your cc number. So they have it and will charge the card 3x. But you're right, something could still happen to the card.

>> It sure can as it happened to me about 14 years ago. I had ordered some tickets for the 1996 Olympic Soccer game at RFK. The card I used was later compromised as some stuff from the home shopping network mysteriously showed up on our doorstep which had been purchased from another phone number a few miles away from us. I tried to contact the ticket people several times, but the people who answered the phone kept saying not to worry. I FINALLY got someone who said yes, that is a problem. I was able to reorder using another card.

I'm in the same situation as you: One of the last sections of the "sideline". As I have reported in a seperate thread I had a lengthy discussion with the manager of ticket operations. At that time I was told that the upgrade program for the upper bowl only allowed same section upgrades. I spend a good 30 minutes explaining that an optimization routine that took into account your section as well as your row was preferable and more appropriate but it just didn't appear to register. One of the arguments that I kept getting back was that if people were moved closer to the 50 in the upper bowl how could they improve seats for those already at the 50 :doh:. I finally gave up. Although I was not going to renew my tix (specially given the expense of flying/driving in from Michigan each game) I broke down at the last instance.

At this point my only hope for improving my section appears to be a move to the lower bowl which is not very likely....

Based on conversations I've had with two ticket office employees, this is correct. I am in Row 2 upstairs behind the end zone, and have been told I will almost definitely be moved down to the lower level. The problem is, I really don't like lower level end zone seats. There is something to be said for being that close to the game, but after a while it's gets tiring not being able to see half the field, as well as the fact that ticket prices will certainly go up significantly once the Skins put together a playoff team.

I would love to work my way into the upper level sidelines, within the first 5 rows. But with the current upgrade process, this apparently is not possible.

I know the logistics would be extremely difficult to control, but the Skins really should do a select-a-seat event at FedEx Field (or even online), in which planholders can pick among the available seating. The Caps do this, although Verizon Center's capacity is only 25% that of FedEx Field, so obviously it's easier to manage.

Let's say a fan wants mid field upstairs. Or even sidelines upstairs. How does a fan get season tickets between the 40s or on the sidelines in the upper deck with this system? It's impossible - unless he just happened to start there from the very beginning.

IMO, that alone is proof this "auto upgrade" system as it is currently set up is doomed to fail.

Seat location is like ice cream. The team wants to "upgrade" people from vanilla to some unknown flavor and they think we'll all consider it an improvement because the ticket office seems to think everybody would accept anything over vanilla and be happy. But some people want chocolate. And others don't want chocolate - they have to have Strawberry. And we're not going to sit in vanilla seats forever waiting for the strawberry ice cream that is obviously available but is never offered to us. Eventually we'll get disgusted and give up and leave. The Redskins needs to understand this. We're not cows.

Eventually we'll get disgusted and give up and leave.

Or give in to the temtation of premium seating where any desired seating location can be had.

I'm interested to see how the new policy works or doesn't work. Putting a bunch of numbers in a computer is bound to fail. You can't say that one seat is better than another seat for everyone.They can't use the argument that FedEx is too big. I'm quite happy with the upgrade process at Bristol Motor Speedway that has 160,000 seats. The policy should be an opt-in policy and then you should be able to select your own criteria for what an upgrade is. This new system is doomed to fail when you make assumptions for people about what is an upgrade and what is not. Can't wait for May/June to listen to everyone's experiences.

Great idea for a thread to track this. I have my doubts about how the system will work. If the system really is as advertised, the software should be able to take care of everything one price level at a time, with some sales calls in between each price level to get the requisite upgrades.

I hit the relocation lottery my first 3 years with my 3 tix (from 449 row 15 to 450 row 10 to 132 row 19), but last year I was very frustrated with the TO (email saying I would be moved between goal line to 10 yl, immediate email 'ok' from me, and after about 10 calls over 2.5 months later, I ended up in the same seats). I agree with the prior poster that the process will likely start shortly after the 5/1 withdrawals of the final installment payment.

Should be interesting . . .

I called the ticket office one more time armed with all the arguments from this and other threads in an attempt to educate the TO of the dangers of the new program. Unfortunately, I was given the standard line "We will take your input into consideration for future changes / improvements".... I asked to talk to someone at a higher level but was stonewalled. Does anyone know if there is a organization chart of the Front Office somewhere???? Just trying to understand the organization better (and who is best positioned for the appropriate feedback).

It's impossible - unless he just happened to start there from the very beginning.

IMO, that alone is proof this "auto upgrade" system as it is currently set up is doomed to fail.

Exactly. I would say 80% of the people that I know that have gotten season tickets since I got mine seven years ago by pure luck or whatever started in better sections than I did and now have much better seats than I do, even those that got them just two or three years ago.

I know some people bash being a season ticket holder, saying it is better to not be - in some cases that is very true. But I like being a season ticket holder, and I think there are some benefits that I enjoy. But if I have essentially the same seats that I have this past year (and essentially every year I have been a STH), there is no way I am going to renew next year. It took me a long time to decide to renew this year, but things just reach a boiling point after a while.

The system is broken, and I am pretty sure this new "system" is not going to fix it. It really should not be this difficult.

I know some people bash being a season ticket holder, saying it is better to not be - in some cases that is very true. But I like being a season ticket holder, and I think there are some benefits that I enjoy. But if I have essentially the same seats that I have this past year (and essentially every year I have been a STH), there is no way I am going to renew next year. It took me a long time to decide to renew this year, but things just reach a boiling point after a while.

The system is broken, and I am pretty sure this new "system" is not going to fix it. It really should not be this difficult.

In the short term you can argue pretty convincingly that having season tickets doesn't make a lot of sense because you can almost always get tickets on the secondary market for less. But long term, when the Skins finally do put together a team that consistently makes the playoffs, demand will go up and having Redskins tickets may again be the novelty it was 10 years ago. Some on here have argued against that (primarily citing the over-capacity of FedEx Field), but I think it's true. Even a few years ago during Gibbs II, I could always sell my tickets for a profit. It wasn't until the last couple years that I really saw demand take a nosedive, and that can change fast if the Skins build a good team. Just a couple years back I couldn't give my Caps tickets away. Now it is the hottest ticket in town, and even nosebleed seats at Verizon Center demand a hefty markup on the seconday market. There is even a waitlist for Caps tickets, which was once unthinkable.

Sometimes the best time to buy or hold onto something is when everyone else is dumping it. As hard as it might be right now, I think if I use these lousy years as a way to improve my seat location at FedEx Field while others are jumping ship, I'll be happy in a few years if/when the Skins are really good.

I called the front office on Friday to check in and see if my tickets would be upgraded since I sent my first payment in on time. They told me they wouldn't know anything until April 1st. This leads me to believe that they didn't get nearly as many renewals as they did in the past and they are trying to give people that did not pay on time a little longer to think about renewing.

I think this is unfair. It would have helped me out quite a bit if I payed late, but I didn't so that I could get a upgrade.

You are making a pretty big assumption without having all of the facts. Just sayin' ..........

1) You didn't call the front office, you called the ticket office.

2) There is a thread on this topic already which you would have found with a search.

3) The same search would have revealed like threads from years past, and if you perused those, you'd see the earliest the team has done upgrades historically is mid-June.

4) You are connecting the idea of giving fans "a little longer to think about renewing" with them being eligible for an upgrade, which doesn't follow.