A sampling of NFL franchise news and notes as teams
begin training camp:
READY, SET ...: The Chargers held "Select-A-Seat" day
on Saturday, according to Kevin Kernan of the S.D. UNION-
TRIBUNE. Eighty Gold Club season seats were purchased,
along with 201 season ticket plans and 6,800 individual game
tickets. Qualcomm Stadium's capacity has been increased by
11,000 seats to 71,600 this season and Chargers President
Dean Spanos said the team's new Gold Club luxury seating
"has been a success. Overall, we're about where we expected
to be. We figured it's going to take us into the first part
of the season to get where we want to be." Spanos added the
team has sold 90% of their luxury suites even with a 40%
price increase (UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/13).
NEW ENGLAND THANKFUL FOR PATS: The Patriots have sold
out every home game this season, according to Will McDonough
of the BOSTON GLOBE. McDonough: "This marks the fourth
straight year the Patriots have banged out at home, a
testament to their growing popularity" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/12).
RAVENS: The Ravens are "selling fewer tickets to more
fans this year," according to Vito Stellino of the Baltimore
SUN. Last year, the team sold 54,000 tickets to 18,000
accounts. This year, they've sold 48,000 season tickets to
21,000 accounts. The team has sold 17,000 group sales
tickets, the equivalent of 1,700 season tickets (SUN, 7/13).
J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS: The Jets are beginning a
"monthlong football carnival" called Jets Fest '97. The
football-themed attraction, modeled on the NFL Experience,
will include more than 15 interactive games involving
throwing, kicking and catching. Jets Fest will start Friday
and be staged adjacent to the team's practices on the campus
of Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY (N.Y. TIMES, 7/13).
BIRDS IN THE DESERT: In Phoenix, Lee Shappell wrote the
Cardinals "suddenly are making a serious attempt to connect
with their community. It's as if, in one fell swoop,
they're trying to right all their wrongs, and they're doing
a pretty fair job. They didn't, for example, raise ticket
prices. Instead, they're running buyer-friendly commercials
on radio and television and buying space in the newspaper
touting creative ticket packages" (AZ REPUBLIC, 7/12).
FAMILY TRADITION: Lions Vice Chair Bill Ford Jr. was
profiled by Kupelian & O'Hara in the DETROIT NEWS. Ford was
recently named Chair of Ford Motor Co.'s (FMC) new committee
that reviews environmental and public policy matters, and
Kupelian & O'Hara wrote that despite his new position, Ford
Jr.'s "influence is apparent in daily operations at the
Lions. That won't change" (DETROIT NEWS, 7/13).
