THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605050205
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ASHBURN, VA. LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
Take note, Washington Redskins fans on the waiting list for season tickets: the wait is about over.
The club announced Saturday that on June 7, fans on the waiting list will be offered the opportunity to purchase two season tickets, or buy club seats, or lease executive suites, if available, to games played at the 78,600-seat new stadium being built in Prince George's County, Md. The new stadium is 4.9 miles east of RFK stadium, the team's present home.
Current season-ticket holders have first crack at reserving the same number of tickets, in the same location, as they now possess, or of buying club seats or leasing an excecutive suite. But that process ends June 6, after which there could be as many as 30,000 seats available for those on the waiting list.
The deadline for waiting-list fans to buy season tickets is July 8, after which all remaining seats will be offered to the general public.
The breakdown for the stadium, which is scheduled to open in conjunction with the 1997 season, is:
15,044 club seats
280 executive suites
60,124 general stadium seats
2 giant video screens
23,000 parking spaces
Redskins hall of fame
Redskins souvenir store
The stadium will be divided into ``levels,'' named for some of the biggest names in Redskins and NFL history - Pete Rozelle, George Allen, Vince Lombardi, Joe Gibbs, Sammy Baugh and George Preston Marshall.
LACHEY HURTING: The Redskins have penciled offensive tackle Jim Lachey's name into their starting lineup for the 1996 season. After Friday, a pencil appears to be the correct writing utensil to use.
Lachey, 32, a mainstay at left tackle throughout Gibbs' tenure as coach, flunked his physical Friday. There are serious doubts whether he will recover enough from last season's shoulder surgery to be start training camp in July.
``I would have hoped that I'd pass it,'' Lachey said. ``But the one before training camp (in July) is the important one.''
The Redskins had excused Lachey from minicamp work, so there wasn't tremendous shock at his medical report. But there's also little doubt that Lachey hasn't progressed as well as he or the team would have hoped.
``It's not any surprise (that he didn't pass) because when he saw his doctor six weeks ago, the doctor said it would take two or three months, and in that time he'd know if he could play,'' trainer Bubba Tyer said. ``He's gotten much better and he continues to improve.
``Jim makes progress, then levels off for a couple of days and then makes more progress. It doesn't mean it's a setback. It just means he isn't ready yet.''
During Saturday's workouts at Redskin Park, Joe Patton manned left tackle with the first team. Top draft pick Andre Johnson of Penn State ran with the second unit.
``It's funny, you draft a guy and people automatically put him into the starting lineup, even though he's never spent a day on an NFL field,'' coach Norv Turner said. ``If Jim weren't able to go, I'd think that Joe would have a tremendous advantage over Andre because he's played left tackle in the NFL and done a pretty good job.''
The impact of Lachey's availability is simple. The Redskins have asked him to accept a sizeable cut from the $2.6 million he's scheduled to earn this season, perhaps as much as $2 million. Some of that money will be deflected to sign running back Terry Allen, last year's 1,300-yard rusher.
If it becomes apparent that Lachey is iffy for the start of camp, the Redskins may simply waive him. In addition to signing Allen, they still want to sign a veteran defensive end at close to minimum wage. Lachey's money could come in handy in that venture, as well.
Meanwhile, according to published reports, center/guard John Gesek has accepted close to a 50-percent pay cut to remain with the Redskins, from a base of $1 million to about $500,000, though an undetermined portion of that may be in the form of incentive clauses.
BUTTONHOOKS: In addition to Allen, defensive end Tony Woods, kicker Eddie Murray and safety Keith Taylor never made it to Redskin Park. ... Running back Reggie Brooks has been among the more impressive players through the first two days of workouts. ... Larry Jones, who flopped as a running back last season because of fumble-itis, is getting lots of work at fullback. At 244, the second-year pro from Miami is big enough to handle the blocking chores in Turner's offense. ... Quarterback Heath Shuler, who on Friday claimed to almost be ``betrayed'' by Turner's decision for him and Gus Frerotte to open training camp as equals, issued a second salvo about his status Saturday. ``If I don't start, I'll have to find myself a new location,'' said Shuler, whose contract is up for renegotiation next winter. ... The morning session was spiced up by two fist fights between defensive end Sterling Palmer and rookie offensive tackle Shar Pourdanesh, a 6-6, 300-pound free agent from Nevada-Reno. Such activity is traditional for Palmer. Pourdanesh claimed to be unprepared for the first bout, but ready for the rematch. by CNB