A change in Capitals season-ticket rates has "moved per-game prices for at least some season ticket holders from $95 to $235," according to Dan Steinberg of the WASHINGTON POST. Steinberg wrote under the header, "Some Caps Fans Furious Over 150 Percent Increase In Season-Ticket Prices." Between 300 and 400 seats -- about 2% of Verizon Center's capacity -- are affected by the changes, as the Capitals for next season "converted rows C and D of the lower bowl to 'VIP' seats." The seats will "now include complimentary food and beverages, complimentary parking, personalized seat-back covers, VIP lanyards, a private VIP season ticket member party, a VIP premium gift, and access to a renovated and expanded VIP club area." But Steinberg reports phone and e-mail correspondence with a half-dozen impacted ticket holders "revealed indifference to the new benefits and anger about how the process was handled." The two front rows -- rows A and B -- "were already VIP seats." The Caps said that 41.5% of the arena's seats "will remain the same or decrease, and that the average ticket price will increase by just 3 percent if you exclude the VIP seating." Monumental Sports & Entertainment Chief Revenue Officer Jim Van Stone said that the team "will work with affected fans on an individual basis to alleviate their concerns," and that team reps "began calling unhappy customers Thursday and will continue Friday and next week." Affected ticket holders said that they "did not receive any advanced warning or personalized notice that their bills were about to skyrocket." They also said that they "were not presented with any formal plan to relocate them to seats approximating their current price point, or any assurance that they would be given priority for choosing new seats" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 2/20).
