ARLINGTON, Texas — Jerry Jones may have tried a little too hard to break the Super Bowl attendance record.
About 1,250 fans were displaced Sunday because their temporary seats were deemed unsafe — 400 who were not allowed inside, and 850 who were relocated elsewhere in the stadium.
The move angered fans.
“Jerry sold tickets he didn’t own,†said Glen Long, a Steelers fan from Baltimore. “They call that fraud anywhere in the world.â€
The NFL said the people relocated were put in “similar or better seats.†Those turned away will be given a refund of triple the face value, which ranged from $600 to $1,200, but that might not be enough for folks who paid much more to scalpers, not to mention travel and hotel costs.
“We don’t want (a refund),†said Odett Karam, a Packers fan from California. “We just want to get into the game. We just want to see the game.â€
Gerry Grillo, from New Jersey, said he paid $3,000 for a ticket with a face value of $600, so he’s among those who lost money.
“Now they’re saying it’s (in an) invalid section … saying give us three times the face value and go pound salt,†Grillo said.
While most fans were allowed into the stadium, fans in the affected areas were put into a fenced off area, where they became increasingly unruly. There were chants of “Jerry Sucks!†and “NFL Sucks!â€
One man shouted: “They’re treating us like prisoners.†Another said, “We came a long way for this.â€
Seating woes are the latest frustration for the first Super Bowl at Jerry Jones’ $1.2 billion showplace.
A rare, severe winter storm moved into the area Tuesday, ripping holes in tents on the property and hampering travel and celebrations across the region. On Friday, six people at the stadium were injured by melting snow falling from the roof.
Organizers were hoping flawless game-day logistics would wipe out some of the complaints, but this seating problem could be an issue in the area’s plans to bid for the 50th Super Bowl in 2016.
The affected areas were four entryways and two portions of the upper deck on the west end. All were above empty spaces, so the stability of those structures apparently was the issue.
In the upper deck, there were off-limits seats in the same rows as seats that were deemed safe. Yellow police tape was used as a dividing line, with uniformed personnel also keeping folks away.
“The safety of fans attending the Super Bowl was paramount in making the decision and the NFL, Dallas Cowboys and City of Arlington officials are in agreement with the resolution,†the NFL said in a statement. “We regret the situation and inconvenience that it may have caused. We will conduct a full review of this matter.â€
About 15,000 temporary seats were added to the stadium in a bid to set the record for the largest crowd in Super Bowl history. Jones was aiming for more than 105,000, including stadium workers and media, and fans who bought standing room tickets for plazas outside the stadium.
The temporary seats filled open platforms that are usually standing-room only “party pass†areas for Cowboys games. The entryways were on the third level, while the upper deck is on the fifth level.
No seats at the Super Bowl
Re: No seats at the Super Bowl
FOXSportsSouthwest.com
Feb. 9, 2011
A bad week for Jerry Jones just got a lot worse.
As another ice storm cripples the city of Dallas, a class-action lawsuit has been filed against the Dallas Cowboys owner, the team and the NFL in the wake of the seat fiasco that took place during the Super Bowl, according to The Associated Press.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of displaced fans in a Dallas federal court on Tuesday and alleges breach of contract, fraud and deceptive sales practices.
Temporary seats were not fully installed where 1,250 tickets had been sold in the expanded Cowboys Stadium during an unsuccessful attempt to break the all-time Super Bowl attendance record.
About 800 fans were relocated to other seats in the stadium Sunday, but the rest had to watch the Green Bay Packers' 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on television.
One of the plaintiffs is a Cowboys season ticket-holder who said some of Jones' biggest-spending fans were promised access to Super Bowl tickets and ended up with obstructed views on metal folding chairs.
"Unfortunately, not all of the ticket-holders to Super Bowl XLV got what they bargained for or what was promised to them," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit, filed by the California law firm of Eagan Avenatti, LLP, seeks damages of more than $5 million.
The lawsuit alleges that Cowboys fans who paid $100,000 per seat just for the right to buy season tickets were never told that their Super Bowl seats would be temporary with obstructed views. The lawsuit says the team has offered no compensation for "illegitimate seats."
The NFL has said that the roughly 400 fans who did not have a seat for the game have two options. The first is a ticket to next year's Super Bowl and a cash payment of $2,400, three times the face value of the ticket. The second is a ticket to any future Super Bowl, along with round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations.
"It’s the worst customer experience that I’ve ever witnessed," said one of the displaced fans, Steelers fan Matthew Rush. "Somebody asked me to rank this one out of 45 Super Bowls, and I said this one is 47. You’ve got to deduct two because this was such a horrible experience.
"It was just a total failure of organization."
Neither the NFL nor the Cowboys provided comment about the lawsuit when contacted by The Associated Press.
“You don’t have to own the Cowboys or run the NFL to know that you cannot lawfully treat people like this,†lead attorney Michael Avenatti said in a press release. “At an absolute minimum, Jones, the Cowboys and the NFL need to accept full responsibility and reimburse fans 100 percent for their expenses and damages. Anything short of that is a slap in the face to the fans of the NFL and the Cowboys.â€
Rush, a 40-year-old from Philadelphia, traveled to the Dallas area to attend the game with his wife. His father is a Steelers season ticket-holder who won a lottery for the right to purchase two $800 Super Bowl tickets.
Despite his anger about losing the two seats, Rush commended the police officers, security and stadium workers who tried to help.
"It's really quite obvious where the responsibility of this lies," Rush said, "and that's with the NFL, that's with Mr. Jones."
Feb. 9, 2011
A bad week for Jerry Jones just got a lot worse.
As another ice storm cripples the city of Dallas, a class-action lawsuit has been filed against the Dallas Cowboys owner, the team and the NFL in the wake of the seat fiasco that took place during the Super Bowl, according to The Associated Press.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of displaced fans in a Dallas federal court on Tuesday and alleges breach of contract, fraud and deceptive sales practices.
Temporary seats were not fully installed where 1,250 tickets had been sold in the expanded Cowboys Stadium during an unsuccessful attempt to break the all-time Super Bowl attendance record.
About 800 fans were relocated to other seats in the stadium Sunday, but the rest had to watch the Green Bay Packers' 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on television.
One of the plaintiffs is a Cowboys season ticket-holder who said some of Jones' biggest-spending fans were promised access to Super Bowl tickets and ended up with obstructed views on metal folding chairs.
"Unfortunately, not all of the ticket-holders to Super Bowl XLV got what they bargained for or what was promised to them," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit, filed by the California law firm of Eagan Avenatti, LLP, seeks damages of more than $5 million.
The lawsuit alleges that Cowboys fans who paid $100,000 per seat just for the right to buy season tickets were never told that their Super Bowl seats would be temporary with obstructed views. The lawsuit says the team has offered no compensation for "illegitimate seats."
The NFL has said that the roughly 400 fans who did not have a seat for the game have two options. The first is a ticket to next year's Super Bowl and a cash payment of $2,400, three times the face value of the ticket. The second is a ticket to any future Super Bowl, along with round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations.
"It’s the worst customer experience that I’ve ever witnessed," said one of the displaced fans, Steelers fan Matthew Rush. "Somebody asked me to rank this one out of 45 Super Bowls, and I said this one is 47. You’ve got to deduct two because this was such a horrible experience.
"It was just a total failure of organization."
Neither the NFL nor the Cowboys provided comment about the lawsuit when contacted by The Associated Press.
“You don’t have to own the Cowboys or run the NFL to know that you cannot lawfully treat people like this,†lead attorney Michael Avenatti said in a press release. “At an absolute minimum, Jones, the Cowboys and the NFL need to accept full responsibility and reimburse fans 100 percent for their expenses and damages. Anything short of that is a slap in the face to the fans of the NFL and the Cowboys.â€
Rush, a 40-year-old from Philadelphia, traveled to the Dallas area to attend the game with his wife. His father is a Steelers season ticket-holder who won a lottery for the right to purchase two $800 Super Bowl tickets.
Despite his anger about losing the two seats, Rush commended the police officers, security and stadium workers who tried to help.
"It's really quite obvious where the responsibility of this lies," Rush said, "and that's with the NFL, that's with Mr. Jones."