Lavarleap56 Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44394-2004Mar9.html Long article that talks about the tailgate club at FED ex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeletor The Invincible Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 I just want to point out that awesome sig pic. THAT. IS. SWEET. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44394-2004Mar9.html TailGate Club Draws Criticism Some Feel That Redskins' Ticket Plan Costs a Lot, but Delivers Little By Thomas Heath Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, March 10, 2004; Page D01 A Washington Redskins ticket program that allows season ticket holders to move to better seating in the lower level at FedEx Field if they pay an additional $1,465 per seat to join the Redskins TailGate Club is being criticized by some fans as merely a money-making enterprise for team owner Daniel Snyder that did not live up to its billing. Some of these fans are angry because the Redskins have told them they must renew their membership in the TailGate Club if they want to keep their lower-level seats next season. The Redskins' decision to offer fans better seats for a fee also appears inconsistent with the team's long-standing tradition under which season ticket holders holding general admission seats and fans on the waiting list for season tickets were given priority when seats became available. Under the TailGate Club plan, which the Redskins launched last year, ticket holders -- or any fans who wanted to buy the seats -- could pay an initial fee of $995 per seat and then a per game fee of $47 per seat for club membership, according to the Redskins' Web site. In addition to the lower-level seats, which are scattered throughout the lower bowl, TailGate Club members have access to a cordoned-off pavilion area just outside the stadium, where food is provided and they can listen to music and watch wide-screen television before and after games. There is an extra charge for alcoholic beverages. About 2,000 fans are members of the club, and the membership is sold out, according to the Redskins . Only a few hundred of FedEx Field's 86,484 seats are available after each season, and most of those are scooped up by some of the more than 75,000 fans on the waiting list. Fans also can buy one of the few hundred club seats and the handful of field-level seats the Redskins call "dream seats" that open up after each season, at prices starting at $2,200 per seat, per season. Redskins spokesman Karl Swanson said the TailGate Club and corporate hospitality seats, though located among the general admission seats, have never been part of the general admission pool. He said they have been set aside for businesses and considered part of the stadium's premium seats, which include club, loge and luxury suite seats, since before Snyder bought the team, stadium and training facility for $800 million in 1999 from the estate of Jack Kent Cooke. Swanson said season ticket holders who have general admission seats still move into better general admission seats on a first-come, first-served basis, and that people on the waiting list for general admission seats have the chance to buy those seats that are left. The TailGate Club, however, offers some fans the opportunity to move ahead if they are willing to pay more. "We have not created anything. They have always existed," Swanson said of the corporate hospitality and TailGate Club seats. "They are part of the stadium, just like the club seats, just like the loge seats." The club and loge seats are premium seats that are on different levels from the upper and lower levels that contain the stadium's 62,299 general seats. Sports marketers said the TailGate Club represents part of a trend by sports team owners who want to charge more for existing seats by adding value to the ticket. "The Redskins have found a means by way of marketing to create another kind of premium seat," said Marc S. Ganis, a sports marketing consultant. "It sounds like they have creatively generated club seat revenues out of non-club seat locations. The way the sports world is going, to get the more desirable seats you typically have to pay more money. It's not unfair. That's just the way it is." Some fans said they were uneasy with the fact that the TailGate Club allows people to get priority seating, but said it was a fact of life in sports. "I am troubled by the fact that money allows you to buy your way ahead of the list," said Steven Levine, whose family has been season ticket holders for 40 years. "But I understand that sports today requires owners and teams to create new ways of securing revenue so that you can improve the team, as the Redskins have done recently." Snyder is respected in NFL and sports marketing circles for maximizing profit from the Redskins franchise, transforming the team into one of the most lucrative sports entities in the world. Swanson said the Redskins got the idea for the TailGate Club from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs. The Kansas City Chiefs' Wolfpack Club allows its new members to buy season tickets to some of the best seats in the stadium at $730, $680, $630 and $590 per seat for eight season and two preseason games. Wolfpack members pay a $500 initiation fee and $150 in annual dues; food and beverage cost extra. For TailGate Club member Lance Boyd, "it's just a way to cream a lot of money out of people." Boyd, whose family has held six seats since 1963, paid a non-refundable initiation fee of $415 per ticket to join the club last year, and then paid an additional $45 per game for each of his $79 seats. The TailGate club initiation fee has since risen to $995, according to the Redskins' Web site. "It's a lousy product and I hate going," said Boyd, 41, a sales executive from Haymarket, Va. Boyd wants out of the club, but he wants to keep his nice seats. The Redskins said if Boyd refuses to pay the $47 per ticket fee to maintain his club membership he will lose his seat location -- though he will still get seats somewhere in the stadium. "It's in the contract that the seats are part of the whole TailGate Club," said Swanson, adding that members had to sign the one-year contract before they are bound by it. "It was a package and it was presented as a package. If you choose not to be in the club anymore, we don't throw you out of the stadium. We will find you another section of the stadium." Season ticket holder Robert Hurst of Fort Myers, Fla., who shares tickets with family members, said he was told that if he was unhappy with the TailGate Club, "we could quit after the first year and still keep our seats. I figured it would be worth it for the first year because I didn't like sitting upstairs. It was too high." "The TailGate Club was a total sham," Hurst said. "I'm paying $300 a game [for six tickets to the club] for me and my five friends to eat burgers and hot dogs. The value was just not there." The basic TailGate Club menu also includes barbecued chicken, barbecued ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans, potato salad, brownies, chips, cookies and soft drinks, according to the Redskins' Web site. Boyd said he already has sent his check for next season for both his game seats and the TailGate Club, although he doesn't plan on visiting the club in person. "I thought I could get out of the club after a year," Boyd said, adding that he feels misled. "Shame on me for not reading the fine print." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavarleap56 Posted March 10, 2004 Author Share Posted March 10, 2004 no one is interested i guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
National Defense Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 as a season ticket holder, i was kind of pissed that the tailgate club was created to allow folks to jump the line in getting seat upgrades/getting tickets. it kind of undercuts the whole idea of the loyalty factor of the waiting list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cskin Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Did I read that right? Can I buy a field level "dream seat" for $2,200.00 per season? What's people's feelings about the Tailgate Club? Anyone a member? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 http://www.extremeskins.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=53462 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Snyder is running a business. I can't believe ANY fan of this team would begrudge him a money making scheme when he puts so much money back into the team. I was of the mind that I'd NEVER do the Tailgate club because I don't see the additional value and live out of town so I don't mind waiting a while for seats. But, I fully believe Snyder should continue this program, and, if he can, expand it. The more seats he can carve out at premium prices that go directly to the team benefits this team through Snyder's checkbook power. The Tailgate club makes Snyder $2,742,000 additional dollars he doesn't have to share with other owners every year if the stats from the article are correct. Snyder should add 500 seats a year and see if he can continue to fill this up to make more money still. I could appreciate fans being upset by an owner trying to make money and pocket it. But Snyder does put it back into the stadium and the team at incredible rates. Now, if I could get Tailgate seating for a year and then quit and be guaranteed seats elsewhere in the stadium, I may join the Tailgate club soon. That moves me to the top of the list and this is America. Money should buy happiness . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky21 Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Art, As one of the moderators of this board I think it's safe to assume you are a HUGE Redskins fan. I am too. My problem with Snyder comes almost exclusively from his management of game day at Fed Ex. He has tried to wring every nickel he can out of the fans. It is disgusting. I'm glad he's spending money on the off season additions I think we need to win. But as a season ticket holder I definitely feel like I'm footing the bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Rocky, You ARE footing the bill. That's the point. Do you think this should all come together for free? That a man with lots of money should just lose millions to bring a smile to your face? I can't believe you think that way. I think you appreciate that Snyder owns the Redskins and the Redskins are a business. Snyder has a product we want to see and pay for. He finds ways to get more money from us. However, unlike most owners in many fields, he doesn't skimp when it comes to giving back. He's not wringing money from us and then going to Bermuda. He's giving it right back. But, yeah, WE are footing the bill. That's how it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gridironmike Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 In an 86,000 seat stadium, surely there are seats that can be had for the low-budget fan. According to that article, these seats come from a pool of business seats not generally counted in the general seating. I guess that is OK. I earned two free passes to the Tailgate Club and plan to check it out this year. I find it very hard to believe that the value of the club will match the price, but I'll give it a one-time try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky21 Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Hey man. No problem. Everyone's entitled to their opinion. Just when you get your season tickets have a tight grip on your wallet when you enter the stadium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonJeremy Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Originally posted by jbooma http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44394-2004Mar9.html TailGate Club Draws Criticism Some Feel That Redskins' Ticket Plan Costs a Lot, but Delivers Little By Thomas Heath Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, March 10, 2004; Page D01 TailGate Club members have access to a cordoned-off pavilion area just outside the stadium, where food is provided and they can listen to music and watch wide-screen television before and after games. There is an extra charge for alcoholic beverages. extra charge for alcoholic beverages!!Thats what killed the deal for me....$6 beers in the stadium is bad enough...but the beauty of tailgating 4 hours prior to every game is the large quantity of cheap beer you can consume before you head into the game. :rotflmao: seriously, I have season tickets and someone from the Redskins called me about this and I thought it didn't sound like a good deal...this article confirms it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 So Art it is okay to screw over regular season ticket holders seats for people that can afford to shell out thousands more for these tailgate tickets?? You consider that a good business practice? You are right we foot the bill, however does that give him the right to squeeze everything from us so he can make a profit?? I mean we had to go court to just get the right to walk down the streets. I guess you consider telling everyone their number is up and hold on their money for 6 months to then tell them it wasn't an ethical business practice. Didn't the Jets get in trouble for the same thing a while back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Originally posted by Rocky21 Hey man. No problem. Everyone's entitled to their opinion. Just when you get your season tickets have a tight grip on your wallet when you enter the stadium. That is my motto, we pay for the tickets and thats all Drink and eat before. I love paying for $3 dollar waters :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark327 Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 you all do not have to take my word for it ,but tailgating in the parking lot is much more fun! bring to eat what you want and drink . it might be good for the dan ,so that he can put back into the team which is great , but affordablity is what it came down to me . i'll take my 4 seats in the upper deck on the 50. they offered me the tailgate tickets and i tried it ,but money wise it's not worth it . :40oz: :dallasuck :eaglesuck :gaintsuck :ravensuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Xtrmskn04 Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Art When I read the article, i came away with the same question you did. Can you join the club for a year and then quit and then be guaranteed seats somewhere else. If you can, this would mean that you could jump ahead of everyone on the waiting list by paying a little extra money. Now my number came up this year so I guess it won't affect me now, but I could see people getting a little pissed if this is the case. Although i guess everyone has the same opportunity to cheat th system. Do you or anyone know if this is really true???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hail2skins Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Interesting article, and I'd like to find out if you have to be an existing season ticket holder or on the waiting list to get into the Tailgate Club, or can anyone just call the Redskins and ask for seats via the Tailgate Club (which the third paragraph in the story seems to suggest)? Considering that to purchase the cheapest club level seat these days is $220/game (cited in the story), I figure your per game cost via the Tailgate Club would be roughly $140 ($80 for lower seats, $47 for the tent area, and about $10 if you spread the initial $995 initiation fee over 100 games in 10 years, which is what the longest premium-seat lease is). And you get food and drink (albeit no alcohol) included in that price......granted, you can't put an exact value on food, but I would say that the average person spends about $15 just on food and soda. So, if you REALLY wanted to get in to see the Skins now, would it be worth it to pay the extra $60 per seat per game, instead of paying the exhorbitant prices in the club level (yes, which I am a member of, but thankfully only at $140/game)? Food for thought............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70Chip Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 According to the article, tailgate is sold out. They're pretty brazen to say that these seats have always been there and don't take away from the wait list, because I really don't remember Jack Kent Cooke making similar offers, even when the wait list actually was more than a few years long. Of course they take away from the wait list -- they could be released to the list if the team isn't using them for business. They should have just been 100% straightforward instead of 90% straightforward -- these are team seats, and we chose to sell them at a premium price. That's fair enough, and in that narrow cone I agree 100% with Art. I do *not* believe, however, that it is OK to ask fans to pay out the nose just to pay out the nose, even if it supports the team. I just paid for my seats -- $2800 bucks for four of the second cheapest seats in the place and parking. I make a pretty good salary, and that amount *still* made me choke. Edited to add: In fact, this just showed up on my credit card bill. Do I feel Redskin pride? Maybe a little, but mainly I just see a huge-*ss bill right now. I hope Portis is enjoying my money. 03/08/2004 03/08/2004 Sale WASH REDSKINS FEDEX F (Dining and Entertainment) $2,870.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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