Horatio Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=36098 Where some businessmen see service lapses, Dan Snyder sees dollar signs. Take, for example, the long lines in front of FedExField on game days. Complaints about ridiculous waits and missed kickoffs at the biggest stadium in the NFL have been mounting for years. Another owner would just add entrances and hire folks to staff them so customers could get in by game time. Not Snyder. Over the weekend, he started selling something called “Fast Lanes” at the Official Redskins Store at Tysons Corner. Those who pay the $100-per-season fee (on top of regular season ticket costs) get a special ID card that allows them to walk past the hoi polloi huddled at the regular turnstiles to be patted down by stadium security. Beginning with the 2008 home opener against New Orleans, Fast Lane cardholders will enter through doors now reserved for premium ticketholders. “It’s a red-carpet service,” says Luke Thomas, executive vice president of FLO Corp., a Chantilly, Va.-based security firm that partnered with Snyder on the Fast Lanes venture. “Not a security service.” To this end, FLO’s main product has been offering similar no-wait opportunities to air travelers. And, at the Fast Lanes rollout event at Tysons, FLO’s sales staff told potential buyers that Redskins card holders will also be able to bypass regular security measures at 14 U.S. airports, including Dulles. Click link for rest of article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APBT Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Keep ringing the rag Danny boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurent Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Honestly who cares? Everybody has a chance to vote with their money. If you're no longer willing to pay for it then don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Looks like the WCP's web traffic is down again. McKenna's gone to his standby... I wonder how long this will work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuppajones Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 I have been to almost every game at Fed Ex field and never once missed the opening kickoff. Sure there is a little bit of a wait to get into the game, but what the hell do you expect there are 90,000 people going to the game! As long as you go up 1/2 hour before the game starts it is no big deal, at most you wait 10 minutes to get in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Brown #43 Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 The Redskins were the first non-airport to sign on and will be the only NFL team selling the Fast Lanes option this season. (The Ravens and Raiders are lined up for next year, says Thomas.) I'm sure the Ravens' and Raiders' motivations for selling the Fast Lane option are completely honorable, whereas the Skins' motivations are inherently sinister. The Fast Lane pass is only the latest in a long line of line-jumping offerings from Snyder. Take the Redskins’ waiting list, for example. The team put out a press release this offseason in which Chief Operating Officer Mitch Gershman claimed that the Redskins have “more than 200,000 names” on a waiting list for season tickets. Gershman’s number surely has little to do with reality, but however long this line really is, folks willing to pay big money have always been able to jump to the head of it under Snyder. The stadium’s premium seats, which cost several hundred dollars per game and go by names such as Dream Seats, Club Seats, and suite seats, haven’t been sold out for years. Anybody who signs a check can have those. Can someone please explain to me how this situation is any different from any other stadium in the league that has a waiting list? Actually, I'll save you the trouble--it's not any different. But because Snyder owns the Redskins, there is a sinister motivation at play here, to be sure. What a pathetic fool this McKenna is. Here's his recipe for a column: Take a situation that is standard practice around the league, make it sound to gullible readers as though the Redskins are the only franchise to take part in the practice, then wrap it up by saying, "That Snyder, what an a-hole!" Works every time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gart Monk Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Just gotta get there early. You snooze, you lose! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuppajones Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 if someone is dumb enough to pay for this service, danny should be charging them. I know I would if I was him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Brown #43 Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Just gotta get there early. You snooze, you lose! Exactly. Plan ahead and get there early. Enjoy the pregame festivities. If you leave your house in Virginia 30 minutes before kickoff, then yeah, you're going to run into problems. Duh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark The Homer Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Interesting. I read this before, but it didn't occur to me until just now why I wasn't allowed to use the Suite entrance with my club ticket for the Jags game. For eleven years, I was able to use the suite entrance with a club ticket. But starting this, year for the first time, I was directed to the normal Gate A turnstiles. They did have a dedicated Club entrance at one or two of the turnstiles, and the line was short. But I didn't understand why they were shooing us club ticket holders away from the suite entrances until now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrFan Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Unfortunately he doesn't handle the team as his number one priority: $$$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttr77 Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Interesting. I read this before, but it didn't occur to me until just now why I wasn't allowed to use the Suite entrance with my club ticket for the Jags game. For eleven years, I was able to use the suite entrance with a club ticket. But starting this, year for the first time, I was directed to the normal Gate A turnstiles. They did have a dedicated Club entrance at one or two of the turnstiles, and the line was short. But I didn't understand why they were shooing us club ticket holders away from the suite entrances until now. I normally say something along the lines of 'as long as people are willing to pay, he can charge', but if he is alienating his club ticket holders to build a new income stream, he may be overstepping the line a bit. Especially since those club ticket holders are under contract. And this is after raising the cash parking rates the same year that they can no longer offer metro shuttle service? My, they sure are raking it in, huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief skin Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 PAY TOILETS ARE COMING, U HEARD IT HERE FIRST:doh::doh: Richie Rich is going to get the beer coming and going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metskins Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 I've never had a problem getting in, but if you start really noticing that it takes forever to get into the stadium, then I would question if FEDEX is "encouraging" people to buy this service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianm23 Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Just gotta get there early. You snooze, you lose! That's one of my favorite quotes, and it's so true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horatio Posted September 9, 2008 Author Share Posted September 9, 2008 PAY TOILETS ARE COMING, U HEARD IT HERE FIRST:doh::doh: Richie Rich is going to get the beer coming and going. And after the pay toilets, Snyder will introduce a Fast Toilet Pass for just $675 per season, allowing you to cut to the head of the line to pee.:doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbnva Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 I would pay $100 a season for a toilet if they had a person cleaning it after each use. Dan is a smart man, people will gladly pay for that and when ther lines start forming he will create a 2nd tier with more money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Oh boo hoo. Evil Danny Snyder makes more money then me. Boo hoo. Bottom line is, if you're willing to give him your money, I'm pretty damn sure he'd be willing to take it. But is he twisting anyone's arm for it by offering new services? No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 I've never had a problem getting in, but if you start really noticing that it takes forever to get into the stadium, then I would question if FEDEX is "encouraging" people to buy this service. I've found the wait times to enter FedEx through the general admission turnstiles be about 10 minutes on average, when entering a half hour b/f kickoff. Every other NFL venue I've been to has about a 2-3 minute wait a half hour b/f kickoff. I don't remember long wait times to enter FedEx before Danny began removing entrances for GA season ticket holders. Say what you will about post 9/11 security measures etc. It's not like this in other NFL venues.:doh: Regardless, I'm still gonna go to every home game at FedEx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Surprised he hasn't figured out that the lines to enter are a capitivated audience for advertisement. Additional revenue could be generated by installing video screens above the turnstiles. Loud audio would force people to watch the ads during their 10 minute wait to enter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 My comment on this is new service is this: Now, what is the incentive for FedEx staff to move the non-Fast Lane ticketholders through the turnstiles efficiently? None. What is the incentive for creating logjams into the stadium by having fewer staff on hand, fewer entrances, "more thorough" searches? Driving more fans to purchase the Fast Lane ticket at $100 per season. Not saying it will happen, but as those lines get frustratingly long, it will definitely cross peoples' minds that once again, they're getting raked over the coals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Surprised he hasn't figured out that the lines to enter are a capitivated audience for advertisement. Additional revenue could be generated by installing video screens above the turnstiles. Loud audio would force people to watch the ads during their 10 minute wait to enter. Oh, he's figured that out already. Have you been to Six Flags lately? I was there last season, and they've installed video consoles in the ride waiting line areas blasting advertising to the captive audience queueing for rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the burgundy and gold Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 i seriously doubt many people are buying this new "fast lane pass." The lines have never been too bad for me when i've gone, although i try to get inside the stadium 2 hours before the game for autographs. Either way, like people have said, you vote with your money, if you don't like what he's doing, don't buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbnva Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 i seriously doubt many people are buying this new "fast lane pass." The lines have never been too bad for me when i've gone, although i try to get inside the stadium 2 hours before the game for autographs. Either way, like people have said, you vote with your money, if you don't like what he's doing, don't buy it. For the tailgaiters they will pay it because they can tailgate an extra 20 minutes longer, that is like 4 more beers atleast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 For the tailgaiters they will pay it because they can tailgate an extra 20 minutes longer, that is like 4 more beers atleast. Eh. I take 4 beers with me from the tailgate & finish them off on the way to get in. :2drunks: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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