Arizona State Sports & Entertainment Law Journal

Fan arrive to find no seating

Remember that scene in Vacation where the Griswold family concludes their cross country road trip by running through the empty parking lot only to find that Walley World is closed? Could you imagine? The horror.

Shortly into the festivities at Super Bowl XLV, approximately 400 people could tell you exactly how the Griswolds felt. Exactly.

Just like the Griswolds, some fans traveled all the way across the country to the House the Jerry Jones built to not an empty Walley World (I mean stadium); rather, a Walley World fraught with action, music, and fans in seats. Fans were there to see their favorite player, team, coach, husband, son, sibling, cousin, nephew, or other partake in one of the biggest competitions on earth. They packed a bag, boarded a plane, or piled in a car and, most important, didn’t forget the ticket. Don’t forget the ticket! However, when some of these good, honest people arrived in Arlington, they learned that a crucial part of their ticket was missing, the seat.

This was, of course, after fans were originally denied at the gates, escorted by security around the stadium, shuffled through corridors, and herded by the hundreds into a holding area where some waited for almost two hours. When security finally allowed them into the stadium, their obstructed view temporary seating structure, which had been worked on that day, was deemed unsafe by city officials. Fans were so close, yet forced to turn around.

As it turns out, about 1,250 seats at the stadium couldn’t be completed in time for the big game. Around 850 of those ticket holders were located to other seats inside the stadium, but about 400 couldn’t. They were allowed to stay in the stadium, but many could only see the game from video monitors.

Forget the QB sneak. At that point, I may have considered the Salahi sneak.

So what is the NFL doing to compensate these poor, unfortunate individuals? Well it has reached out to some fans with ‘options.’ Specifically, the NFL originally offered $2,400 in compensation or tickets to next year’s Super Bowl. (Anyone opting for next year’s SB tickets, come talk to me about some beautiful Arizona beach front property.) The $2,400 figure had some fans upset because tickets were averaging well over that price just 5 days before game time. And what about air fare? Then, the NFL upped the ante to tickets to any Super Bowl plus air fare and hotel costs. That’s more like it. This past Tuesday, the NFL went even further by offering $5,000 or “actual documented” Super Bowl expenses, whichever figure is higher.

Bottom line is the NFL better start moving quickly because hundreds of fans are being represented by Michael Avenatti out of Los Angeles in a class action lawsuit. The complaint against Jerry Jones, the Cowboys, and the NFL is asking for $5 million to compensate air fare, actual ticket prices, etc. Furthermore, fans are furious with the NFL and even players.

Maybe Jerry Jones is just that big a fan of Vacation. Or maybe his greed in trying to break the Super Bowl attendance record forced him to lose sight of what’s really important here: the game and the fans.

Clark W. Griswold was a fan, and how did he react when he got to Cowboys Stadium (I mean Walley World)? “We watch his program. We buy his toys, we go to his movies, he owes us! Doesn’t he owe us? He owes the Griswolds right? F[@#*]ing-A right he owes us!”

How would you feel if you were one of the 400? My sentiments exactly. Exactly.