skinsfan03 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 I will be calling the ticket office to complain about this today. I will also bring this up at the Fan Forum. So I just called the ticket office. Spoke to a Rep named Jared, very Rude. Completely denied the offers. Even after pressing about it. Does anyone have it in writing that I can bring with me to the fan forum. That's a great idea. Maybe once this is raised at the fan forum they will finally realize that current (and longtime) season ticket holders would like to be treated as the priority for special offers like free parking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rskin72 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Well, I have been a ST holder since the advent of the Zorn era. Some of the worst seasons in Redskins history. I was in upper level, but since '11 or so have been down in the 200 level. I decided not to renew tickets this season and have missed the April 1st cutoff. I have not received any incentives like those described above....but certainly if parking was thrown in for free that may make a difference......at least make me rethink. Along with a free signed jersey. I mean, some of those perks that the team has announced this season sound good, and only wish it would have been that way from the time I signed onboard for ST's. I agree, though, that to offer "incentives" to lure back former ST holders without somehow compensating your regular ST base is neither fair....nor smart. The Skins should be trying to ensure that whatever ST holders they have, they retain....by offering better packages that may include incentives based on ticket amount.....and maybe that is what this new program recently introduced is trying to do. But I did not notice anything like free parking, or ability to relocate seats, as part of that program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cool as Crud Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Thought it was interesting that he mentioned free parking I had not heard of them offering that before. I was considering a jump to club level this offseason. Even after two consecutive miserable seasons and giving away free club "relocation passes" last year, the cost was still inflated. One of the things I asked for was free Orange parking - that might have made the difference. The ticket rep said the team "was not allowed" to give away free parking because most of that revenue went straight to the county, for whatever reason. Guess that was another lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HouseBowlrz Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Although I missed the 1 April deadline as well, I did call earlier this week concerned about the issues to be discussed in tonight's fan forum. They allowed me until Friday (the 10th) to make a final commitment on this year's tickets.With all this new information, I may follow HOF44's lead from a few years ago and not renew. I can't help but feel like a second class fan in that my 11 years as a season ticket holder (which pales in comparison to others) rates lower than those who gave it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonnyandSam Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 The Redskins find new and creative ways to screw-over their most loyal die hard fans. I just sent off an email complaining. Won't matter of course. I have no problems with providing rewards to entice old STHs back to the fold. Signed jerseys, footballs, etc are fine. But when you start giving free parking and move people ahead of others for good seats, I have serious problem with that. You screw over those of us who have stayed as STH to entice others back. Just flat out is insulting and unfair to those of us still crazy enough to shell out thousands of dollars for a crappy team year after year. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 The Redskins find new and creative ways to screw-over their most loyal die hard fans. I just sent off an email complaining. Won't matter of course. I have no problems with providing rewards to entice old STHs back to the fold. Signed jerseys, footballs, etc are fine. But when you start giving free parking and move people ahead of others for good seats, I have serious problem with that. You screw over those of us who have stayed as STH to entice others back. Just flat out is insulting and unfair to those of us still crazy enough to shell out thousands of dollars for a crappy team year after year. Agreed. That's ****ed up. Very ****ed up. The ticket office is a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Just sat down at the fan forum... should be interesting. Also, apparently people use the stadium roads to get around traffic. I kept trying to figure out why there were so many maniacs driving around the circle, finally figured it out. Lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hail2skins Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Just sat down at the fan forum... should be interesting. Tshile, please give us a rundown of the discussion after the forum ends......thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 They have a videography crew here. I imagine they'll post it to the site. I forgot my notepad, I'll try to take notes on my phone. They have us in the locker room. So far we've been given pop corn and soda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearfeather Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I renewed after missing last year. Was not offered free parking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Larry Michael seems like a jerk. Some of the staff rolled theirs at him cause of the way he talked to them. He played a vital role of moving the conversation (some of these people talk a lot about nonsense) so I don't want to rip on him too hard. Allen was a politician. Was interesting to see. He seemed to genuinely care. We'll see what he does. It was impossible for me to get everything on a phone. This is more of a list of what was discussed. I'm sorry about that. If you ask questions about the subjects I'll try to recall how the conversation went... Anyways here you go: They had someone doing sign language for a deft couple. Was nice to seem them accommodated. Allen: first time we've reached out to fans this way. We decided we had to find a new way to do business We are trying to figure out how to reward you all. Redskins are a top 5 team in the league in tailgate experience (NFL survey) Larry Michael introduces the executive staff on hand. Says they may put parts of this online "... depending how this goes" This is not the last time we will do this. They asked who used to go to RFK, damn near everyone raised their hands Improve parking for seniors Complaints: Parking lots are closed at timed intervals Get rid of obstructed seats Pedestrians walking across exits to lots Handicap folks not allowed to park in handicap spaces Handicap spots taken by "non handicap people" (interesting conversation about how you tell who is and isn't handicaped..) Cops and lot attendants not doing their jobs (lots of complaints about the cops just standing there) About 45 minutes was spent on parking and traffic issues Allen: high scores in responding to issues, but low scores in people knowing how to report issues (NFL surveys) Tailgating: 70 percent of ticket holders say they tailgate (redskins survey) Lots of complaints about tailgaters Redesigning the lots to make tailgating safer, easier, less of a hassle for late arrivers New horn system that will sound to warn people to start heading inside so we have more people in the seats for kickoff Finally someone stuck up for us tailgaters. Allen seems certain they can fix this without punishing tailgaters. "Our vetern tailgaters will not be forced to find a new location" More gates open to get people in faster Prices and resellability of tickets was an issue. Someone suggested the redskins set up a fan-to-fan exchange system to help with opposing fans. Band moving back to the lower level Lots of discussion about how to handle when the band plays vs the sing along Full service restaurant got very little support Remove the dream seats Access to water needs to be improved Communication between team and stadium goers was a huge recurring issue. How to travel to and from, where to park, cash parking, the way staff enforce rules vs policies, etc etc etc. Taking out standing room only Someone finally called them out on the ticket list. How can we have one and have so few redskins fans in the seats Standing in lower bowl because of dream seats was brought up twice Complaints about what you cannot bring into the stadium Multiple conversations about how to make it a family atmosphere, and how to get kids (and young adults) in the stadium to make the atmosphere more family friendly. Multiple people complained about preseason tickets and being forced to buy them. Preseason schedule comes out tomorrow. Allen basically said there are league rules that force them to make us all buy them at full price. Complaints about roof over 200 level leaking Loyalty program is being worked on. The longer your account has been opened the more you get. Lots of comparisons to the Nats and caps. Then the conversation went to garbage football questions, I guess they wanted to do that to wind it down. This took up the last 10 minutes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 (edited) Doesn't sound like much of interest except saying that longtime tailgaters will not have to move their spots. This parking stuff has been discussed over and over. At one fan captain event I went to I was told the police do not want traffic all pouring out at once onto 495 which is why they let the lights run on exit and don't just clear people out. Edited April 8, 2015 by HOF44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hail2skins Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Thanks for the rundown Tshile. Happy to hear the complaints about the dream seats.......I would think their presence has diminished the game experience for a lot of lower bowl fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Doesn't sound like much of interest except saying that longtime tailgaters will not have to move their spots. This parking stuff has been discussed over and over. At one fan captain event I went to I was told the police do not want traffic all pouring out at once onto 495 which is why they let the lights run on exit and don't just clear people out. Yeah, for most ES people the conversation was what we've been having for years. What was different was the personal stories, or items you don't hear about a lot because so few people experience. For example - some of the inexcusable things disabled/handicapped people have experienced. I had no idea they were getting such a raw deal sometimes. For what it's worth, it wasn't just an "Ok, next?" response. There were genuine conversations between Allen and some people about some issues. The fans were pretty mature in how they discussed things, but some of their requests were unreasonable and/or just flat out got away from what the game day experience should be about (in my opinion) - the game. At one point I wanted to stand up and say... I'm here for the game, get me in and out quickly, and keep us safe, that's all I want. For some of the items I was curious who the hell was going to pay for them... The other thing was how disconnected Allen seemed to be from some items. Like the plywood bridge from the grey lot to the stadium. I've never parked in the grey lot and I'm aware of that situation. So you guys may get a bridge in your future... We'll see what they actually do. It was refreshing to feel like someone cared, but that could be just for show. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Taylor Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Very nice report, Tshile. Thanks for making such an effort to share with the board. The biggest question I have from what you reported is how do they know who veteran tailgaters are and how do they know where they tailgate? I've met Bruce Allen twice during tailgating and he is VERY personable but putting out a blanket statement that veteran tailgaters will not be forced to move sounds a politician-like promise. We're everywhere, in every lot (except Platinum). I don't see how they'll address issues with tailgaters without making some of us move. I like the complaints about the Dream Seats and the Obstructed View seats. Get rid of both of them and make most of the Lower Bowl like an NFL stadium instead of the Plebe section of an Army-Navy game. Did anyone ask about the reported sideline Lower Bowl seat offerings with free Green parking to ex-season ticketholders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 (edited) Very nice report, Tshile. Thanks for making such an effort to share with the board. The biggest question I have from what you reported is how do they know who veteran tailgaters are and how do they know where they tailgate? I've met Bruce Allen twice during tailgating and he is VERY personable but putting out a blanket statement that veteran tailgaters will not be forced to move sounds a politician-like promise. We're everywhere, in every lot (except Platinum). I don't see how they'll address issues with tailgaters without making some of us move. What I got from the response was that they weren't going to corral the tailgaters into sections, thereby breaking up where groups traditionally tailgated. Essentially that they were going to try to resolve the tailgater/non-tailgater issue without assigning certain areas/lots to it. That was just his way of saying all that in a short sentence. He emphasized, over and over, that they're redesigning the lots and they are convinced they have a plan that will resolve the problems. IE: more space for all of us so we don't have to take up multiple spaces, or be in driving areas, therefore we're out of nontailgaters way. He also said that part of the plan will add 100 additional spots to some lots. I have no idea how you make the spaces larger and add more to the same area, (my) geometry seems to be at odds with that idea but he said it multiple times. I like the complaints about the Dream Seats and the Obstructed View seats. Get rid of both of them and make most of the Lower Bowl like an NFL stadium instead of the Plebe section of an Army-Navy game. Did anyone ask about the reported sideline Lower Bowl seat offerings with free Green parking to ex-season ticketholders? I recall someone bringing up the free parking offers, and from what i gathered their response was: We're going to put a stop to rumors, and then they segued into the loyalty program and how ticket holders want to be rewarded. I'm sure that falls under the category of drastic measures to fill the seats that they don't want to talk about Edited April 9, 2015 by tshile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just654 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Was in the front row. Tshile, great report. Not much to add. I am the one who brought up the Nats program. Agree Larry seemed like an jerk. But we would still be there if he didn't move it along. I recall someone bringing up the free parking offers, and from what i gathered their response was: We're going to put a stop to rumors, and then they segued into the loyalty program and how ticket holders want to be rewarded. I'm sure that falls under the category of drastic measures to fill the seats that they don't want to talk about That was me, I said I would bring it up. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Was in the front row. Tshile, great report. Not much to add. I am the one who brought up the Nats program. Agree Larry seemed like an jerk. But we would still be there if he didn't move it along. Yeah. He probably drew the short straw when they were assigning roles Someone had to do it. I was the one that brought up the dream seats the first time, the text number being an important tool, and getting people in their seats for kickoff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just654 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Yeah. He probably drew the short straw when they were assigning roles Someone had to do it. I was the one that brought up the dream seats the first time, the text number being an important tool, and getting people in their seats for kickoff Yeah, I am sure, but I have heard he is like that. in fact he didn't want us to do Hail to the Redskins at the end. yes, I agree getting people in is a big deal. I would like to see how this horn works. They are going to blow a horn 30 mins before kickoff, to tell people to get in. The Fire Fighter be hide me called them out on the waitlist. It was funny seeing the execs they sort of nodded in agreement. I am glad they did this but I would have like to have heard a plan. My wife even said it seems they have something place for the tailgaters but never really gave the full info. It would have been nice to hear it. And don't be surprised if the last preseason game which is against Jacksonville, Bruce let that slip, is Thursday during the day with a 1pm or 3pm start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hail2skins Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 And don't be surprised if the last preseason game which is against Jacksonville, Bruce let that slip, is Thursday during the day with a 1pm or 3pm start Weird. How is that going to play? Bad enough that folks have to pay for these garbage games, but then they'll have to take a big chunk of the day off work to go......... But I do remember back in '99 going to a Ravens-Giants preseason game on a Friday at noon in Baltimore, and then driving down to FedEx to see the Skins play a preseason game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 The idea was to make it more of a matinee, or think baseball afternoon game during the summer that you can take your kids too. Avoid traffic, make it during the day, make that 4th (otherwise meaningless) preseason game more of an event at the stadium for groups of people that are not well represented on game day. It's an interesting idea. Not sure how well it'll go. Yeah, I am sure, but I have heard he is like that. in fact he didn't want us to do Hail to the Redskins at the end. yes, I agree getting people in is a big deal. I would like to see how this horn works. They are going to blow a horn 30 mins before kickoff, to tell people to get in. That would have been weird and awkward to sing that. lol I think they've had the horn for a while... they must be planning on moving it, or adding more horns, or something. I could barely ever hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HouseBowlrz Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Tailgating:70 percent of ticket holders say they tailgate (redskins survey) Lots of complaints about tailgaters Redesigning the lots to make tailgating safer, easier, less of a hassle for late arrivers New horn system that will sound to warn people to start heading inside so we have more people in the seats for kickoff Finally someone stuck up for us tailgaters. Allen seems certain they can fix this without punishing tailgaters. "Our vetern tailgaters will not be forced to find a new location" More gates open to get people in faster That was probably me, sitting third row on the aisle (behind Tailgate Ted). Bruce did visit our tailgate on the home finale in 2013 and I mentioned our specific area at the start. It was memorable because, just as we were finishing up the side panels, the skies opened up and we were in a downpour. The next we know it, an entourage of suits runs underneath that includes Bruce. What we got out of it was working on enforcing the rules that were put in place six years ago; the changes to the parking lot configuration should help that. I also had the chance to chat with Josh Epstein at the end of the night who has been our point of contact these last couple of seasons with regards to these logistics. I feel confident that the well established tailgates, especially those in "dead zones" (as Ted put it), will remain intact. Doesn't sound like much of interest except saying that longtime tailgaters will not have to move their spots. This parking stuff has been discussed over and over. At one fan captain event I went to I was told the police do not want traffic all pouring out at once onto 495 which is why they let the lights run on exit and don't just clear people out. Good point, Dave. There are three points at which to enter the Beltway; yet, sadly, there are only three points with no additional ramps/flyovers to help funnel traffic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Good point, Dave. There are three points at which to enter the Beltway; yet, sadly, there are only three points with no additional ramps/flyovers to help funnel traffic. Who"s Dave?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 (edited) Having paid my $50 per ticket holding fee about 20 years ago and getting a Redskins ticket account, I suspect I could call tomorrow and get lower level tickets. I struggle with this prospect, having been to RFK when season ticket holders were part of the season ticket elite. Still ticket holders feel elite because "I have had tickets since griffith stadium". Like everyone else I want to claim to be "elite". My struggle is knowing that I can buy tickets, even get them FREE during the season. For at least 15 years I was told that being a season ticket holder would pay off. Now plans for a new stadium are under way and without a doubt they will have expensive PSL's and rule the common man out. I really don't get why anyone buys the season ticket anymore. As a fan, and someone with friends who have tickets, businesses who have tickets, the internet, the Redskins management releasing "opposing teams tickets", etc. Committing to a forced payment on a certain date is almost dumbfounding. Edited April 9, 2015 by chipwhich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Was in the front row. Tshile, great report. Not much to add. I am the one who brought up the Nats program. Agree Larry seemed like an jerk. But we would still be there if he didn't move it along. That was me, I said I would bring it up. Hah I actually hadn't read the thread in a while until tonight. So I just saw that. Very good 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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