That is crazy. I have never observed police cracking down on scalping. Scalping is the only way I ever find myself in the lower level seats. $25 for a "dugout" seat is pretty sweet.
I hear ya - I always see cops at the exit from Metro just watching as the scalpers do their thing. But Chief Lanier said last week on WTOP that they are adding cops for these games:
10:11 a.m., speaking about police officers deployed for Nationals playoffs games:
Usually, we have nine to 10 directly at the stadium, another nine to 10 patrolling neighborhoods around the stadium. We've added an additional 40-45 officers to that deployment.
There are going to be a lot of people watching and celebrating the games in other areas, like sports pubs. We're planning extra staffing in all patrol districts.
We do this around six or seven times a year. We do it very well. Requiring officers to work will not affect staffing levels later in the year.
10:05 a.m., speaking about traffic patterns around Nats Park:
We'll publicize it well in advance, but we don't have a set plan yet.
We encourage fans to take public transportation.
We're implementing, with DDOT, an expedited flow for those coming out of the games. It will be in effect before the end of the game. We'll have traffic control officers from MPD and DDOT to help getting out from beyond the first several blocks.
On towing, if it's anything like what I've experienced in the past, people in nearby neighborhoods begin to call in to agencies like Department of Public Works to tow.
We'll have all the closures and new traffic patterns no less than two days before.
10:04 a.m., speaking about ticket scalping:
You are not allowed to resell the tickets, even if you're selling for face value.
Those people can be arrested.
We will be enforcing this around the ballpark. We already do it around the Verizon Center, particularly during busy games.
"It's an arrestable offense."
