capcrunch98

Agreed. And while they're at it, I wouldn't mind if they restructured the UL pricing tiers. I am in 446, which is on the corner behind the end zone, yet somehow my section qualifies as "sideline" and I am paying accordingly.

Same here. This page still works for me, so give it a try: http://tickets.redskins.com/stadium/#

Congrats. I was also in Section 413 Row 2, so I was curious as to what kind of an upgrade you would get. I stayed in the UL and moved to 446 Row 1.

LL sidelines are the one area in the stadium where you can legitimately say that demand far exceeds supply. As a business, the Skins would be nuts to upgrade fans to the sideline seats when they could attach additional strings to the deal (like the aforementioned 1-year Club contracts). My STH account rep for the Capitals conceded off the record that the Caps do the same thing when good seats open up at Verizon Center. With the mass upgrades from UL to LL end zone, I am sure the Skins feel they are doing right by the fans, and in no way do they feel compelled to move fans to the highly coveted LL sideline when they know they could squeeze additonal revenue from those seats.

In 10 years they moved you down one row??? You definitely fell through the cracks. If you don't get a nice upgrade this year, you should immediately call the TO and plead your case.

And wasn't that because the TO found out that he hadn't been moved for a very long time, and they wanted to make things right? Aside from a circumstance like that, I can't foresee anyone moving to the LL sidelines unless they have really paid their dues for several years in the LL end zone. The turnover on those seats is probably low, and the seats that do open up are likely held back to be sold to VIPs and sponsors, or as part of expensive packages. Sorry to piss on people's dreams, but LL sideline seats always have a high demand (even in a down economy with a lousy team) and I just can't imagine the Skins giving them away through upgrades when they could squeeze more out of them. Hope I'm wrong.

I did, but my case is different because I called the TO and asked to be moved to specific seats that I knew were open. Went from 413 Row 2 to 446 Row 1. My card has been charged the difference, but my online invoice is still blank.

Those are good seats. Congrats. When I read "201" I knew immediately it wasn't true. Those seats will never open up to Joe Fan on the upgrade list unless they are tied to a Touchdown Club -type package, or maybe in the future a PSL. That's one of the reasons I am content to stay in the UL, as I don't believe a move to the LL sidelines (between the 10 yard lines) is possible without many many years of waiting.

I agree that most people would not want to give up LL sideline seats, but I also think (based on just my personal hunch) that when good sideline seats do open up they are often held for VIPs or for resale in bloated packages such as the Touchdown Club. I would be shocked if a regular fan on this board were to report being upgraded to LL between the 30s, unless the fan was a longtime planholder or other outstanding circumstances.

On a similar note, I gave up my old seats in Section 413 Row 2. Decent seats, and for $64 each (plus taxes) I think they were a good buy.

Nicely done. I stayed up in the 400s because I prefer my row 1 seats to being placed in the middle of the LL endzone. But if I were able to get the front of the 200s, I would've jumped on it. Congrats.

I bought season tickets for a couple years from a fan in Section 132 Row 8. I was there in 2005 and 2006. Can't remember the seat numbers, but I was in the middle of the row. Yes, the goal post sometimes gets in your way, but it's not too bad. I just accepted it as part of being so close. I really liked the seats my first season. Row 8 is very close and it's pretty cool. By the second year, I was getting a little tired of not being able to see the other end of the field. The new HD screens should help with that. Overall they are good seats to have for a couple years while you are hopefully making your way closer to the sidelines.

These seem like some pretty weak upgrades so far, considering what has to be a record low renewal rate this offseason. If the LL sidelines are indeed still full in this market (NFL labor uncertainty, lousy team, bad economy) I have no doubt the price of sideline seats will increase the next time the Skins make the playoffs.

Sorry to sound mean, but some of those attendants probably don't even know their middle name half the time. While some are professional and helpful, I have had numerous experiences with others who clearly don't know what is going on and might not be "all there". 2 seasons ago I had an Orange pass and was directed to the Green lot because Orange was full. The attendant reeked of booze and practically stuck his head in my car to tell me that my car would be towed if I parked in Green with an Orange pass, but if I gave him $20 he would make sure it didn't happen. When I said no, he proceeded to ask a couple more times. Classy guy.

When you consider the relative importance of the games, I actually think NFL tickets are an okay value compared to NBA, NHL, concerts, theatre, and maybe even the prime seats for MLB. My biggest gripe with the cost of attending Skins games has little to do with the price of my ticket, but rather the cost of parking, the cost of concessions (although to be fair it isn't any better at other pro sports venues), and the "cost" of spending my entire day and early evening going to a 3 hour event. I am all for the NFL trying to stabilize ticket prices. I think you can definitely argue that the Skins have reached the peak price point for most sections in FedEx Field. But I believe they could raise price of LL sideline seats upwards on $30/ticket, and there would still be a strong demand.

I completely agree. There will always be a strong demand for LL sideline season tickets. The Skins have been able to capitalize on this demand by selling bloated subscriptions to the Tailgate and Touchdown Clubs and Club Level contracts. I think it's just a matter of time (probably our next wild card berth) before the team raises the prices for LL sideline seats.

I successfully facilitated my own upgrade. I was formerly in Section 413 Row 2, and I think I might be the only guy on this board who preferred to stay in the UL as opposed to moving downstairs. My goal was to be in the first row on the sidelines, which would allow me to see the entire field with nobody in front of me (no leaners, nobody standing up in the middle of a play). Mark The Homer was gracious enough to provide me with his vacated seat numbers in Section 446 Row 1, and the TO was nice enough to accommodate me. The rep said they normally don't do it, but since I was already in Row 2 and I had the specific seat info they authorized it. The rep conceded that I likely would not have been moved otherwise, because historically most people in the first couple rows of the UL do renew. So I moved 4 section closer to midfield on the Skins side and one row up. The seats in my new section cost more (about $87 versus $70) but to me it is worth it. I do think it's odd that lowers cost only $20 more per seat than upper level sidelines, but I think that over time (hopefully a long time) prices will increase again and there were be a bigger gap between the cost of uppers and lowers (another reason I prefer to stay in the UL). In particular, I am certain that eventually lower level sidelines will be in a separate pricing tier from lower level end zone. Anyways, I am happy with how it worked out even though I am the one who did all of the legwork on this. Thanks again to Mark.

I'm betting they offered you Acela Club seats or restaurant ledge seats, which is the Caps equivalent of the FedEx Field Club and Loge sections (quite expensive but the best way to jump the STH waitlist). General admission Caps seats are sold out and with a reported renewal rate of 98%, my bet is it'll take a couple years to get your number called. Or one really bad season and maybe an Ovechkin injury to force all the newbie fans to jump off the bandwagon.

If you can afford them and enjoy the gameday experience, this is a great time to buy or hold on to Redskins tickets. Once the Skins become contenders again, and the economy rebounds, I think FedEx will truly be sold out and the secondary ticket market will resemble what it did 10 years ago. Tales of second and third year STHs being moved to the lower deck (which is happening now) will be the stuff of legend. It sounds hilarious, but we saw the same thing happen just a couple years ago with the Caps, a team that couldn't sell out a high school gymnasium and is now the hottest ticket in town with a real ticket waitlist.

I am with you. Regardless of what the Skins PR dept. says, the fact is season ticket renewals are at an all-time low. Most fans whose accounts are in good standing, especially those in the upper deck (such as myself), should get decent upgrades. If I am in the same seats next year, I will be ready to walk in 2012. Love the team and love the gameday experience, and I do believe that tickets will one day be harder to come by once the Skins get good (and considering they are reducing supply by removing seating), so I hope it doesn't come to that.

Nothing against you personally, but I just don't believe this. I can certainly see the TO dangling parking passes, free concert tickets, and maybe decent upgrades on the level of 15 rows down in section or maybe LL end zone. As someone who paid in full in February and for the past couple years has simply been asking to be moved from UL end zone to UL sideline, I am a little irked by these offers to holdouts. Still, I understand they are trying to fill seats. But for a holdout to be rewarded with a move from UL end zone to LL sideline??? Outrageous. There's no way.

That's completely baffling that they would make it a point to call you and offer you perks (like Green parking) to get you to re-up, and then turn around a day later and let you walk because they can't answer these simple questions. Seems like there are still communications breakdowns that need to be fixed.

A couple drunks parked themselves in front of me in the first row of 413 last year during the TB game. They were there for half a quarter being annoying before a guy and his young son came back to claim the seats. The dad had the tickets in his hands and said "excuse me sir, I think you're in our seats" to which one of the drunks told him to "blow it out your ***". Real classy. Me and someone else at the end of the row immediately signaled for the usher, who got the guys to leave without incident. I don't know if the drunks were from the standing room. I just figured they were sitting higher up in the 400s and didn't feel like taking the stairs.