We have had several games this season where there have been thousands of fans supporting the visiting team at Verizon Center. The two that come to mind most are when we played Pittsburgh and Buffalo this year. Also in years past, when we play Detroit or Philadelphia, we have a similar ambiance in the arena. This phenomenon is no different from when the Yankees play the Orioles or the Nationals locally--or frankly--when the Redskins play the Eagles. The visiting fans are loud and are most recognized when their teams are beating us in our own building. Most of the fans actually live locally and come out to the game specifically to support the team that perhaps they grew up supporting as kids.
After the game I will receive emails from fans, most who watch the game on TV, complaining to me about the atmosphere. My usual response is, "Well, if their fans can travel or come out to the arena to support their team, you can too. We need the help so please come and buy a ticket and come to the game." Usually, we end up selling a group sale of about 2,000 or 3,000 tickets to these out of town fans. The seats are usually in the upper deck. We sell them because they are available and by law we cannot NOT sell them. Last night, there were about 2,500 fans from Buffalo who traveled by bus on Easter weekend to come to the game.
What is it that is unique about our locale that drives so many fans to come watch a visiting team play here? I know this phenomenon is also happening in other arenas, the Florida Panthers arena is one that comes to mind.
Right in front of the owners box, there is a season ticket holder who loves the Caps yet whenever we play Philadelphia or Detroit, there are four fans--sitting right in front of us--with visiting team jerseys. Last night, his seats were filled with two fans wearing Sabres t-shirts. As I was leaving the arena, there was a minivan next to me that had a Reston Raiders badge, a Caps logo and a Red Wings sticker on the window. Truly a fan that loves hockey with multiple fan alliances.
I know the simple answer is winning but is it? I remember the Stanley Cup finals and how many Detroit fans were in the building. I remember the playoff games against Pittsburgh where we even tried to lock out Pittsburgh fans via a software program we created to not accept credit card orders from certain zip codes. As an aside, after that playoff, a Pens fan who lives in DC and works for the Justice department threatened us with a lawsuit for discrimination so we can never use that system again. That was an inappropriate response by us.
So--we will continue to do our best to sell season tickets and partial plans--and group sales to our best fans. We will continue to try to make the team a consistent winner. We will upgrade the arena to be best in class. We will market to build fan loyalty from a young age locally. We will keep working it--but please--stop the emails after a game when the building is filled and there a lot of visiting fans. Come out to the game and lend your voice to support us instead.
CapitalsTed's Blog
Loading