Redskins say removed seats weren't selling

WASHINGTON, July 15 (UPI) -- The Washington Redskins admitted the thousands of seats they took out of FedEx Field this summer had no buyers.

Lon Rosenberg, vice president of operations, said in an interview Wednesday with ESPN 980, a radio station owned by Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, the roughly 10,000 upper-deck seats removed had been offered to fans on the season ticket waiting list but were not wanted.

Rosenberg told The Washington Post Thursday they were "the least desirable seats in the stadium," but the decision to remove them "has nothing to do with ticket sales."

"It's about making a more fan-friendly experience on game days," Rosenberg said. "There will be less traffic, shorter lines."

He estimated the current capacity of FedEx Field in Landover, Md., at 82,000, down almost 10,000 from before.

When the Redskins began removing seats in the 400 levels of both end zones this spring, they said they would be replaced by standing-room decks by the start of the 2012 season.

But Rosenberg said the team hasn't decided what, if anything, will replace the seats.

The Redskins have said for years their season ticket waiting list numbers in the hundreds of thousands.