The Washington Redskins’ FedEx Field does not have a storied reputation for a good fan experience. It is a stadium and experience that is relatively unchanged over the years, and plays to some of the NFL’s most undesirable fan personalities.
Redskins’ president Bruce Allen recently announced plans to change this perception with an e-mail to Redskins fans. In it, Allen said that Redskins games will be staffed with more people, will have better Wi-Fi, higher quality of concessions and a new parking system.
One aspect of all these announcements is a first for the NFL—Allen declared that season ticket holders will be the first to receive Redskins news, i.e. injury reports, signings, trades and draft picks. All of this will be available through the Redskin’s mobile app. This means that season ticket holders will receive word before the NFL and the media.
It is still unclear how the NFL will take this news, seeing as they typically like to be notified of occurrences before the media can get their hands on it.
But, as for making their season ticket holders feel important—the Redskins have done an excellent job. Even a little bit of controversy with the league will be for the good of the fans.
Most teams will most likely look to the league’s response to this, but otherwise it is easy to implement and put the fans first.
This move will most likely be toughest for the media. So, NFL media outlets, find yourselves a good friend or two with season tickets to Redskins’ games.