Leonsis' Letdown: Attendance, WSE, Performance Peeve Owner
 | | Leonsis Angered With Lack Of Fans | Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis Sunday "expressed strong displeasure with fan turnout for the third and final playoff game at MCI Center this season and said he would be reconsidering his financial commitment to the team," according to Fay & Elfin of the WASHINGTON TIMES, who noted Sunday's announced attendance was 15,269, "a figure that appeared to be high by at least 2,500." Leonsis: "I think the market has spoken and I have some real re-evaluating to do on the kind of investments we're going to make in the team because the city didn't respond. You cannot have a playoff game with 14,000 people with the kind of marketing and consumer focus we've had." Leonsis added that he "was unhappy with the treatment his team has received" from Washington Sports & Entertainment (WSE). Leonsis: "I don't like playing back-to-back games on Passover or an afternoon game on Easter. I'll make sure that doesn't happen again. The party's kind of over (with WSE), I'm just turning the other cheek. We need to be treated with respect. Even if we had won our division and had home-ice advantage, (we still) would have been playing back-to-back and that's unacceptable" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 4/21). In DC, La Canfora & Heath cite team officials as saying that the Capitals "believe arena officials violated their lease by not informing them of plans to book events during the playoffs." The team is also "unhappy with the use of (its) locker room by unauthorized personnel, the lack of cleanliness of the facility — exacerbated by the presence of a dead rat under the bench during a game — and the way some tickets are released for sale." One source said, "(Leonsis) gets zero cooperation with (WSE), and when they do work with (the Capitals) on something they are excessively rude about it. They show a total lack of respect to the team. I think Ted has finally had it with them." But Leonsis, who sources said had his feelings hurt when he was not included — or even mentioned — during last week's postgame retirement ceremony for Michael Jordan, "softened his stance and hinted at a resolution" yesterday, saying in an e-mail: "I don't have a rift with [WSE Chair Abe Pollin] — it is with MCI arena scheduling, just a small issue on scheduling around playoffs — that we have worked out" (WASHINGTON POST, 4/22). In DC, Dan Daly wrote of Leonsis, "Translation: The party — if it can be called that — is over. The Capitals are going back on a strict budget, and there'll be plenty of new faces next season. ... Seems to me, after so many playoff disappointments, the Capitals have to win back their fans' enthusiasm" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 4/21). Also in DC, Tony Kornheiser writes, "Maybe the fact that the Capitals have gone 2-10 in their last 12 home playoff games kept the crowd down. Maybe people don't come because they expect the Caps will lose. (Curiously, the Wizards played on Easter Sunday the last two years, and last year they sold out)" (WASHINGTON POST, 4/22). Capitals Senior VP/Business Operations Declan Bolger, of the post-season attendance trouble: "I don't know what we should have done differently about that. I say that in all candor. We had all of our marketing initiatives in place, such as plan-holders not being charged (for tickets) until after each playoff round" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 4/22).
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