Convention a Hot Ticket

If you need any proof on the Capitals' surge in popularity (and noticing the much higher profile this week's development camp is getting from the local press), there's this piece from the Washington Times on the planned Capitals Convention.

According to the Caps, they have already sold half of the 5,000 tickets the team has allotted to sell to the event at the Gaylord Convention Center in Maryland, and expect to sell out - even with the tickets being almost as much as some of the regular-season tickets the Caps will sell next year.

"It's one thing to sell out the event, but it's another to make sure everyone has an awesome experience," said Tim McDermott, Caps senior vice president and chief marketing officer. "We just decided to make sure we put on a first-class event. We'll probably have more demand for tickets than we'll have tickets, but we want to make sure everyone has a great, great time, and maybe next year we'll consider doing it over several days."

The team certainly has come a long way in a short period of time with their popularity, as it wasn't too long ago that they'd have trouble having that many fans in the seats for a preseason or early regular-season weeknight contest. But now, with the attention of the region squarely on the Capitals, it's clear the team is certainly more popular than it's ever been in its 35-year-existence in the nation's capital.