redskins
The Redskins are "advertising single-game general admission tickets for sale instead of continuing their long-running claim of a season ticket waiting list and a resulting lack of inventory," according to Scott Allen of the WASHINGTON POST. The subject of an email the Redskins sent to their subscriber list read: "Single Game Tickets Available Now!" The email "includes links to purchase tickets" to all eight regular season home games at FedExField. In June, the team "admitted that the mythical waiting list" to buy season tickets, which the team "once claimed included as many as 200,000 names, was no more." For the first time, Redskins season-ticket holders will "receive discounts" ranging from 20-50% on all food items at the stadium by "scanning their mobile or paper tickets after ordering at any concession stand." The bleachers under the west end zone scoreboard have also been "removed to make way for a fan pavilion, which will provide a clear view of the field and is open to anyone with a ticket for any seat in the stadium" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/6).
NOT EXACTLY A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE: In DC, Barry Svrluga writes for the first time in generations, the Redskins are "faced with the task" of trying to sell themselves. The team is "selling itself not just to potential new fans," but to the "fans it lost." The team has made "something of a desperate effort." Last month, the Redskins "sent emails to former season ticket holders offering a pair of free tickets" to the Beyonce and Jay-Z concert at FedExField in late July. The team also "sent packages to former fans containing a '2018 Redskins Season Ticket Member Commemorative Pin,' a zip drive with season-ticket info, and a Redskins portable charger with a cord." But this fan base is "more damaged than that, hurt by all the past transgressions" of the team. Svrluga: "Plus, there is this issue: What does this team have to sell? What has it had to sell for a generation?" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/7).
