Special Event Requests

Posted on January 31, 2011

The NHL All-Star game is a great event for our fans and our sponsors and for our players. The weekend in Raleigh certainly looked like it was a lot of fun for all involved. I did not attend this year's All-Star game but I did watch the events on Saturday night on Versus and the game yesterday afternoon as well. Well done all around. Many fans have requested that we work on trying to bring an NHL All-Star game to Verizon Center. At some point we will get to work on this request but only after communicating with our fans the logistics involved and how difficult it will be to service all of our season ticket holders as the game is a league event NOT our local Capitals-produced event. I also think these events are wonderful revenue generating opportunities for our city. It is funny. Just the other day at a Wizards game a long term fan came up to me and asked if we would bid on having an NBA All-Star game here in DC and then he said to me, "I am still mad at the organization from last time. I have 4 season tickets in the lower bowl and all I was given was 2 tickets upstairs to the game. Shame on you." Let no good deed go unpunished! An All-Star game is a major undertaking. We have to think through how and when we would want to work on this opportunity. We also have a Winter Classic to schedule here in DC at some point in the future. That will be fun. Participating in this year's Winter Classic and HBO's 24/7 series was a lot of fun but also a lot of work. Some fans would like to see us schedule a NHL Draft here in DC, too. Some have asked us to play pre-season games in Baltimore or elsewhere in Virginia. We are being considered to play games overseas as well in the future. Many of our fans are encouraging us to go for it. We will consider all of these requests. And discuss all of your emails and demands. There is a lot of time, effort and resources involved here but if it is important to you - it is important to us. We must balance the requests with my concern that we focus on the here and now though. Thirty more games this season - a stretch run. Then playoffs as we need to qualify less anyone forgets that it isn't a given. We hear you though. Thank you for all of your emails and input on these myriad of subjects. It is a great time to be a Caps fan. It is a great time to love the NHL and the great game of hockey.