The Redskins will charge admission when they move their
training camp this summer from MD to Redskin Park in
Ashburn, VA, becoming the only NFL team to "require" its
fans to pay to watch practice, according to Jody Foldesy of
the WASHINGTON TIMES, who writes that the move marks the
return of training camp to the DC metro area after a 54
absence. The team will charge $10 for those 13 and over, and
an additional $10 per car for parking. Foldesy reports that
a "few" NFL teams charge for training camp parking and
"several" charge for scrimmages against other teams.
Redskins President Steve Baldacci, on the fees: "We're
probably one of the less expensive. ... There's a lot of
other NFL tams that do this. It would be unfair to make a
comparison with our colleagues." But when questioned about
the fee later, Foldesy writes that Baldacci "refused to
comment" about other teams' policies. The team's move to
Redskin Park will be "on a one-year trial," but Foldesy
writes that the team faces a "variety of potential problems,
from the metro area's stifling traffic and oppressive summer
weather to the distractions for the players living close to
home." But team execs "believe they are making a long-term
relocation" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 5/24). In Richmond, Paul
Woody writes that under a temporary permit, the Redskins
"are limited to" 7,500 fans on weekdays and 15,000 on
weekends. The Redskins "plan to construct temporary
bleachers on one side" of their main practice field to seat
about 8,000 (TIMES-DISPATCH, 5/24). The team says that the
admission "fees are necessary" to "help defray the costs of
hosting the thousands of fans that are expected to converge
for the twice-daily workouts" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/24).
