The Washington Commanders plan to raise the price of season tickets in 2024, reflecting increased demand under a new ownership group.
A team official with knowledge of the situation said the average increase will be 8.9%, and that the Commanders’ average ticket price will remain ranked No. 30 across all 32 NFL teams.
The decision comes after a season where, so far, every game has sold out at FedEx Field. By the books, it’s the first season of all sellouts since 2018, when the team acknowledged publicly for the first time that there was no longer a waiting list to buy new season tickets. In reality, empty seats had been a fixture at games going back several years before that.
A new ownership group, led by managing partner Josh Harris, has brought back many fans who vowed never to return as long as Dan Snyder owned the team.
The new ownership group has promised a multi-million dollar, long-term commitment to refreshing FedEx Field while waiting for clarity on a new stadium, which may not arrive until the end of the decade.
In an interview last March, team President Jason Wright said the club has cut prices for years in an attempt to retain fans, but that the Commanders can’t cut their way to success.
“We need to think about how to get people to buy into what’s already a very low price point,” he said at the time.
According to the team, it is the second price increase since 2013, and a team source said 10,000 seats will not see an increase.
One fan who received a ticket renewal form and shared it with The Washington Times said the team touted the excitement that is expected to surround the 2024 season. The team is expected to have a new coach and general manager, and will select near the top of the upcoming draft. The Commanders also have more than $87 million in salary cap space to spend on free agents.
The team plans to provide more amenities for ticket holders, including free food and sodas for fans on the club level.
The Commanders are also working from a reduced stadium capacity after years of removing seats to keep up with the decrease in demand under Snyder.
Sunday’s attendance against the Miami Dolphins was listed at 63,459, a sharp decrease from its capacity of 91,000 in 2010, the last year of peak attendance.
The team has incentivized ticket renewals with gifts like a “W” logo fan chain and a gift card for the team store.
While the new stadium is still years away, fans holding on to their tickets may also have an eye on priority at the new stadium, as well as increased value in the coming years if the team can turn around the on-field product.
This year’s team is currently 4-9 entering the bye week and ranks dead last in the league in points allowed.
Washington has not posted a winning record in four seasons under coach Ron Rivera. This season took a turn for the worse over the last two weeks, as the Commanders lost by a combined score of 90-25 to the Cowboys and Dolphins in consecutive games.
Before the trading deadline, Washington shipped out defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat, former first-round draft picks, for future draft selections, as the team begins to look toward the future.
One fan tweeted that his pair of tickets at the 50-yard line went from $3,058 to $3,924, on the higher end of the increase for some of the most premium seats.
According to the team, the average ticket holder will pay an extra $12.50 a month next season when paying on an annual plan.
The cost of parking will remain the same, though the lot names will be changed from the current colors (green and orange) to burgundy and gold, to reflect the team’s colors.
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