Season Ticket Renewals

[chess]

I tried to log in the other day to see if I had been upgraded (sine they said you would know in April) but I guess they arent saying anything about it...

[SonnyandSam]

It's a bit early to hear about any upgrades. I did check my account and no change yet. Last year, I got a call on April 29 asking if I wanted to move from the upper level to the lower level; the TO wanted to know if I would pay the higher ticket price. I didn't know my actual section and seat until late May I believe.

The TO has to move the lower level seats first; but they probably do not make any significant announcements because every seat costs the same. I seem to recall last year a few people sitting in the lower level called the TO and found out they were moved but then the TO stopped saying anything because they got inundated with phone calls.

All the upper level upgrades were not shown on people's accounts until mid to late June.

[Mark The Homer]

It seems to me that it's possible upgrades won't be done this year. Reason: There are too many people who have not paid their invoices, but will after it's become clear there will be a 2011 season. The team can't afford to displace potential but veteran season ticket holders.

This is just my personal theory based on nothing but speculation.

---------- Post added April-11th-2011 at 06:41 AM ----------

It seems to me that it's possible upgrades won't be done this year. Reason: There are too many people who have not paid their invoices, but will after it's become clear there will be a 2011 season. The team can't afford to displace potential but veteran season ticket holders.

This is just my personal theory based on nothing but speculation.

[Mark The Homer]

It seems to me that it's possible upgrades won't be done this year. Reason: There are too many people who have not paid their invoices, but will after it's become clear there will be a 2011 season. The team can't afford to displace potential but veteran season ticket holders.

This is just my personal theory based on nothing but speculation.

[SonnyandSam]

I have an email from a couple weeks ago from a very high level source in the Redskins organization telling me they are committed to the auto upgrade process. Season ticket holders who pay on time are going to get preferential treatment. He was quite adamant about it. He misunderstood something I suggested and made it quite clear that the Redskins intended to move forward with the auto upgrade process. He said it would be grossly unfair to STHs who pay on time to be shortchanged by those who did not pay on time.

[LightningBuggs]

I have an email from a couple weeks ago from a very high level source in the Redskins organization telling me they are committed to the auto upgrade process. Season ticket holders who pay on time are going to get preferential treatment. He was quite adamant about it. He misunderstood something I suggested and made it quite clear that the Redskins intended to move forward with the auto upgrade process. He said it would be grossly unfair to STHs who pay on time to be shortchanged by those who did not pay on time.

Thanks for posting that SonnyandSam. Was just gonna comment on Mark's post by saying it would be unfair to STHs who did pay on time to not upgrade them as promised in the literature that was sent out with the season ticket invoices.

Everyone has a choice on whether or not to renew by the final date given. Those who don't have to expect there may be consequences to not doing so regardless of the NFL labor situation.

[RedskinsFan44]

I have wondered about the upgrade process. It seems to me that seats people are moved up into may have been vacated a year previously. You hear of people being offered their seats well after the deadline, perhaps even into the upgrade process time. Maybe seats which don't get renwed go to brokers for a year and then become upgrade offers the following year? It just seems that, anecdotealy, the Redskins don't yank peoples tickets very fast. Maybe it is different in the lower level.

[SonnyandSam]

The whole process changed last year with the auto upgrade and a reasonably logical ticket office. Yes, some people got seats last year after the deadline AND after those of us who paid on time got upgraded first. Paying late does not necessarily mean you cannot be upgraded; it just puts you at the end of the upgrade line. And if your seats were already assigned to someone else via an upgrade, you are just **** out of luck. You may get offered comparable or even better seats depending on the situation. And this is just for general admission seating and does not apply to premium seats like the club seats. Works the same way upper or lower level. Reports back from season ticket holders in last year's message thread were pretty consistent.

[j23]

Anyone hear anything yet on seat upgrades?

[Byner21]

Just wanted to relay my experience here.

I renewed last Friday 4/15. The ticket office rep was pretty inflexible overall. I asked about getting the two free tickets to FedEx field event of my choice, but they wouldn't budge on that as that was only given to people who renewed pretty early (late February I think). I also asked about the automatic upgrade program. They said that I pretty much needed to renew by this week in order to hold my seats for next season, that I would at least be at risk of losing them if I waited much longer. In terms of improving my seats, it sounded pretty unlikely as I will basically be at the back of the line since I renewed late.

All in all, pretty disappointing personally that I couldn't get more out of the deal somehow. But trying to be objective, ticket office came off as pretty credible.

I have a partner in these tickets who was definitely on board to renew, or else I probably would have waited quite a bit longer just to see what the "best offer" was from the ticket office. Maybe I would have lost my seats, maybe I would have been given the opportunity to come back with better seats. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who waited a long time, but ultimately renewed last year.

[tshile]

they're not going to do anything until the lockout is resolved, or they decide to go ahead with replacements.

i haven't renewed. based on the last 10 years of what i've read here, i'm not concerned. i doubt many renewed on time this year.

[SonnyandSam]

Just wanted to relay my experience here.

I renewed last Friday 4/15. The ticket office rep was pretty inflexible overall. I asked about getting the two free tickets to FedEx field event of my choice, but they wouldn't budge on that as that was only given to people who renewed pretty early (late February I think). I also asked about the automatic upgrade program. They said that I pretty much needed to renew by this week in order to hold my seats for next season, that I would at least be at risk of losing them if I waited much longer. In terms of improving my seats, it sounded pretty unlikely as I will basically be at the back of the line since I renewed late.

All in all, pretty disappointing personally that I couldn't get more out of the deal somehow. But trying to be objective, ticket office came off as pretty credible.

I have a partner in these tickets who was definitely on board to renew, or else I probably would have waited quite a bit longer just to see what the "best offer" was from the ticket office. Maybe I would have lost my seats, maybe I would have been given the opportunity to come back with better seats. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who waited a long time, but ultimately renewed last year.

Why are you disappointed? Most of us have been begging for a credible and consistent ticket office for a decade. Before, any Tom, Dick or Harry could call in and get a deal IF they talked to the right agent. No consistency. And folks who followed the rules or had seniority got screwed in the process. The only way for the TO to regain the respect of the STHs is if they treat ALL FANS the same and according to the rules.

The concert/ game tickets were intended as an inducement for STHs to sign up early. Why should they give them to you now, over a month later? I understand your being disappointed you could not work out a deal but I am ecstatic to hear another late payer find out there are consequences to not following the rules set up by the TO.

And tshile.....you just may find your seats gone and you may find yourself higher and farther from the field. But then you'll probably complain the TO treated you unfairly.....

But I hope you are right that a lot did not renew on time....because I'll be sitting on the 50 yard line lower level if that is the case.....because I paid on time.

Edited April 20, 2011 by SonnyandSam

[Jeffro]

Last year was the first year I've "officially" had season tickets. I had 1x club seat and 4x standing room only with orange parking. Previous years I had just purchased the tickets I wanted when I wanted instead of officially being on the hook.

Long story short, my experience with the ticket office was absolutely horrendous. When I first called to inquire about tickets I was told I couldn't purchase SRO 4 packs without having at least two club seats then a week later they called me back and said I could buy one club seat + SRO 4 pack. I didn't think much of it other than figuring that they had spares near the beginning of the season and went ahead and bought them. I don't remember exactly what I paid but it was like 4K.

After buying the tickets I had several questions about various things through the season, never heard from my account rep at all, no responses so I called back and was told he was no longer employed and they would assign me another rep. Never heard from the new rep. Got multiple conflicting information about AAA Fan Zone tickets via the phone and via the window. I had questions about getting seats in Loge bar seating (2 seats and was willing to sign for 10 years) after a fellow ES member sold me tickets there and said they had a 2-1 special, he gave me his account rep, called her 3 times, never heard back. Called the ticket office and the guy said no they wouldn't do that. (very rudely)

Long story short, they lost my future business. I drove from Va Beach to FedEx every game last year, used 5 work vacation days in the process and spent crazy money on gas, supplies, tailgating and stadium drinks/food and would have done it again had I been treated professionally. You would think they would value their season ticket holders by at least having professional account reps who are courteous to deal with. I don't know who runs their ticket office but whoever it is sure could improve things. It's like everytime I called they couldn't keep their lies and truths straight and never wanted to answer a question with a straight answer. I felt like a police officer doing an interrogation on a suspect, it was a very shady experience.

I'll still go to 2-3 games a year but I'll get tickets on the aftermarket or through ES sellers.

[BLEED-B&G]

Wylie made it pretty clear in the interview he gave regarding the Redskins' decision to require STH to make payments on their accounts when other clubs (Giants) had not until the labor issue was resolved. Paraphrasing here but the reason he gave for requiring people to pay on time was to run the the autoupgrade process.

[neilclarke]

Why are you disappointed? Most of us have been begging for a credible and consistent ticket office for a decade. Before, any Tom, Dick or Harry could call in and get a deal IF they talked to the right agent. No consistency. And folks who followed the rules or had seniority got screwed in the process. The only way for the TO to regain the respect of the STHs is if they treat ALL FANS the same and according to the rules.

The concert/ game tickets were intended as an inducement for STHs to sign up early. Why should they give them to you now, over a month later? I understand your being disappointed you could not work out a deal but I am ecstatic to hear another late payer find out there are consequences to not following the rules set up by the TO.

And tshile.....you just may find your seats gone and you may find yourself higher and farther from the field. But then you'll probably complain the TO treated you unfairly.....

But I hope you are right that a lot did not renew on time....because I'll be sitting on the 50 yard line lower level if that is the case.....because I paid on time.

I completely agree Sonny and Sam- We have all been wanting for years for a consistent ticket office..... I too am glad that the STH's that are holding out/haven't renewed are being shunned by the TO.... They basically are "bluffing" that they will either keep their same tickets or be offered an upgrade to stay a STH well after the deadline... And now it sounds as if the TO is calling their bluff... I renewed in full on time and expect to get a nice bump this season.... I'm currently in LL 115 (corner) and would love to jump to LL sideline... And based off this e-mail I received today from the ticket office, that sounds like it's not out of the question....

"We are still canceling seats and expect to begin the upgrading process within the next couple of weeks. You should receive notification around the end of May/beginning of June letting you know whether or not we were able to upgrade your seats. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact the Ticket Office.

Thank you, and Hail to the Redskins"

Edited April 20, 2011 by neilclarke

[SonnyandSam]

I don't have that email yet. But another step in the right direction for the TO send out an email update just to keep folks informed of the progress. Good for them. I figured they were not going to start any upgrades until after the final third payment was due on May 1.

And howdy neighbor! I was right next door to you in section 114 last season. I also hope to be on the sidelines this season. But I guess we'll see....

[Ashburn Dave]

Just wanted to relay my experience here.

I renewed last Friday 4/15. The ticket office rep was pretty inflexible overall. I asked about getting the two free tickets to FedEx field event of my choice, but they wouldn't budge on that as that was only given to people who renewed pretty early (late February I think). I also asked about the automatic upgrade program. They said that I pretty much needed to renew by this week in order to hold my seats for next season, that I would at least be at risk of losing them if I waited much longer. In terms of improving my seats, it sounded pretty unlikely as I will basically be at the back of the line since I renewed late.

All in all, pretty disappointing personally that I couldn't get more out of the deal somehow. But trying to be objective, ticket office came off as pretty credible.

I have a partner in these tickets who was definitely on board to renew, or else I probably would have waited quite a bit longer just to see what the "best offer" was from the ticket office. Maybe I would have lost my seats, maybe I would have been given the opportunity to come back with better seats. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who waited a long time, but ultimately renewed last year.

Glad to hear the TO didn't accommodate your tardiness by putting you on the upgrade list. Would be unfair to people like me who paid on time.

[neilclarke]

I don't have that email yet. But another step in the right direction for the TO send out an email update just to keep folks informed of the progress. Good for them. I figured they were not going to start any upgrades until after the final third payment was due on May 1.

And howdy neighbor! I was right next door to you in section 114 last season. I also hope to be on the sidelines this season. But I guess we'll see....

Actually, that was the response I got back from them after I sent an e-mail asking about the upgrade process this year..... Wasn't just a random e-mail they sent out to STH's....

[SonnyandSam]

Actually, that was the response I got back from them after I sent an e-mail asking about the upgrade process this year..... Wasn't just a random e-mail they sent out to STH's....

Oh well....I guess I gave the TO too much credit. But they have improved immensely from two years ago. I hope they keep improving.

---------- Post added April-20th-2011 at 11:26 PM ----------

Actually, that was the response I got back from them after I sent an e-mail asking about the upgrade process this year..... Wasn't just a random e-mail they sent out to STH's....

Oh well....I guess I gave the TO too much credit. But they have improved immensely from two years ago. I hope they keep improving.

[tds]

I'm a first year season ticket holder and I was told that my seats would be selected in April. Now they're telling me June. Right now I'm in the Upper Level End Zone row 15-27 price point. When I put my deposit down I was told that I would probably be closer to row 15 than row 27 since I was one of the first to put my deposit down for the 2011 season. Now they're telling me that my seats will probably be between 23-27. I tried to upgrade to the next price point in the Upper Level end zone (row 1-15) and now they're telling me that price point is sold out.

Are they telling anyone else that the Upper Level End Zone Row 1-15 is sold out?

Now I'm thinking about bucking up and going for the upper level side line (row 1-15) price point... only because I don't want to be stuck in row 25.

Edited April 21, 2011 by tds

[tshile]

And tshile.....you just may find your seats gone and you may find yourself higher and farther from the field. But then you'll probably complain the TO treated you unfairly.....

But I hope you are right that a lot did not renew on time....because I'll be sitting on the 50 yard line lower level if that is the case.....because I paid on time.

hah, you obviously have not read very many of my posts in the STH threads.

i would love for there to be consistency, but i haven't seen it in all the years i've been a season ticket holder. it has gotten worse as the # of people willing to be STH's has gotten smaller. why would I expect this year to be any different, when even less people are renewing?

i wont complain. it'd be nice for there to be rules that are actually enforced. but i know damn well they already have enough trouble filling the stadium. they can't afford to not try to deal with people. i have to imagine this was the lowest # of renewals in recent history due to the lock out.

and if they drop my tickets, who cares? they are readily available on the after-market, often times better seats for cheaper than face value of my seats. hell, you can buy tickets at the gate on game day now... i can sign up on the waitinglist today and get back into the stadium probably this year, if not then in the next 2. i have two coworkers who get offers every single year, despite one of them saying no every time, and the other having already given up his season tickets.

the state of season tickets for the redskins isn't what it was 15-30 years ago. plain as simple. the only reason they still have sell outs is because they give thousands of seats to ticket vendors every year.

by the way... i'm in the upper 3rd of the top level. i could move to the lower level at any time if i was wililng to pay the price to do so. you should have no problem getting into the lower level if you're willing to do it, regardless of how many people renew. they have a hard time filling those seats.

---------- Post added April-21st-2011 at 10:01 AM ----------

FYI i still haven't paid, but my invoice still has my seat row and number from last year when i log into the online account system.

Edited April 21, 2011 by tshile

[Byner21]

Why are you disappointed? Most of us have been begging for a credible and consistent ticket office for a decade. Before, any Tom, Dick or Harry could call in and get a deal IF they talked to the right agent. No consistency. And folks who followed the rules or had seniority got screwed in the process. The only way for the TO to regain the respect of the STHs is if they treat ALL FANS the same and according to the rules.

The concert/ game tickets were intended as an inducement for STHs to sign up early. Why should they give them to you now, over a month later? I understand your being disappointed you could not work out a deal but I am ecstatic to hear another late payer find out there are consequences to not following the rules set up by the TO.

I agree, it seems like the TO is following the rules they set up, and that is fair. We'll see how things proceed with people who try to renew at the last minute.

(Note: last season I renewed on time and didn't get any seat upgrade.)

I will say, however, that this season is uncommon with the CBA situation. So if the ticket office was ever going to be lenient with STH on late renewals, this is the season to do it.

I definitely hope I didn't just pay for a handful of scab games!

[SonnyandSam]

hah, you obviously have not read very many of my posts in the STH threads.

i would love for there to be consistency, but i haven't seen it in all the years i've been a season ticket holder. it has gotten worse as the # of people willing to be STH's has gotten smaller. why would I expect this year to be any different, when even less people are renewing?

i wont complain. it'd be nice for there to be rules that are actually enforced. but i know damn well they already have enough trouble filling the stadium. they can't afford to not try to deal with people. i have to imagine this was the lowest # of renewals in recent history due to the lock out.

and if they drop my tickets, who cares? they are readily available on the after-market, often times better seats for cheaper than face value of my seats. hell, you can buy tickets at the gate on game day now... i can sign up on the waitinglist today and get back into the stadium probably this year, if not then in the next 2. i have two coworkers who get offers every single year, despite one of them saying no every time, and the other having already given up his season tickets.

the state of season tickets for the redskins isn't what it was 15-30 years ago. plain as simple. the only reason they still have sell outs is because they give thousands of seats to ticket vendors every year.

by the way... i'm in the upper 3rd of the top level. i could move to the lower level at any time if i was wililng to pay the price to do so. you should have no problem getting into the lower level if you're willing to do it, regardless of how many people renew. they have a hard time filling those seats.

---------- Post added April-21st-2011 at 10:01 AM ----------

FYI i still haven't paid, but my invoice still has my seat row and number from last year when i log into the online account system.

HAH! Apparently YOU have not been reading the STH threads from last year. Things changed last year and the few reports we have so far this year is that the TO IS applying a consistent policy on GA tickets this year. You are relying on two year old and older information.

As many on this board found out last year, I was part of the large group of STHs who were upgraded from the upper deck to the lower level for the first time in memory without being forced to buy premium tickets, or the Touchdown Club or the Tailgate tickets. It happened to a lot of us last year; so yes, the TO did change last year. Lots of people got upgraded and it was done in a reasonable and rational manner.

You are living in the past. If you want to stay at the top of the stadium, fine. And you are right; You can buy tickets at or below face on the aftermarket. If you are happy with that, great. IF the Skins ever return to the playoffs consistently (and maybe they won't), those aftermarket tickets will become more scarce and be more costly. As the cost of attending NFL or any other professional sport game rises, buying aftermarket tickets, even if more costly for that particular game, is more cost effective than buying season tickets. Just look at what is happening to MLB the past two seasons. But as a fan, if you want season tickets, and the ability to get better seats each year, you have to play by the rules. I am just happy the Skins TO is finally playing by a consistent set of rules again.

Will people (including former STHs) be able to buy tickets again in the future months? Probably; between the lockout and the economy, a lot of people are not willing to risk their $. And I don't care as long as they are put to the back of the line and have to settle for the least attractive seats in FedEx because they refused to pay on time. That is simply the way it should be.

If the Skins start down the slippery slope of making deals with those of you who do not follow the rules, then those of us who followed the rules will become disenchanted again and stop buying tickets. It puts the Skins in the vicious circle they created 5-8 years ago and stopped last year..

[bryantlc]

For anyone else who has also paid in full:

When you log in do you still see where your seats are? Ever since I paid in full I can no longer see invoice or seat location.

[j23]

I can see mine...after you log in, click account settings on your left side of page, then view/pay invoices. It should be there.