Maybe Bruce Allen hasn’t watched a football game – or other sporting event – from a “party deck.”
Because if the general manager of the Washington Redskins had, he’d probably realize it’s not the most kid-friendly area in a stadium. We’re not talking about a party with cute hats, noise makers and cupcakes. No, we’re talking about beer sales and men who have been consuming beer and some women.
But apparently Allen has a different vision for the party decks that at some point are expected to be installed at FedEx Field, and it was a hot topic last Friday on the John Thompson Show on ESPN 980 in Washington, with Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post providing all the details, as usual.
“We stole a good idea from the Dallas Cowboys for the standing room party decks that we think is a way to get more young people involved, more families involved during our Redskin games,” Allen said. “And we had a great response from last year’s party decks, and we’re gonna increase the size of those over time in order to really get our stadium to have that rocking feeling of RFK.”
That rocking feeling and a family atmosphere aren’t experiences that go hand-in-hand in our opinion. Not that there is anything wrong with either one. The issue here is Allen and the Redskins have clumsily explained why they have removed thousands of upper deck seats. The team claims its season-ticket waiting list remains huge, but Steinberg questions whether any of the removed seats were actually offered to those on the list.
Hopefully, the lockout is resolved very soon and hardcore football becomes our focus.
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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune
