BaumerJet Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 By Dan Graziano Senior NFL Writer | Follow on Twitter: @DanGrazianoAOL ARLINGTON, Texas -- North Texas has had as rough a week as any Super Bowl host city in recent memory, from constant malfunctions at its overwhelmed headquarters hotel to its incompetent handling of the snowy, icy weather. But the latest mess has struck inside the stadium, where the NFL has apparently sold people seats that don't actually exist. About two hours before kickoff, the NFL issued a statement saying that some of the temporary seating sections being installed for the game weren't yet finished. "We are working to resolve the matter and expect that by game time most of the fans affected will have been accommodated in their seats or relocated to similar or better seats," the statement read. "Those fans that are affected by this will be directed to the Party Plaza area while the matter is resolved. Fans who are not accommodated with seats inside the stadium will each receive a refund of triple the cost of the face value of their ticket. We regret the situation." The seats at issue are apparently in new sections that were being set up just for this game. But in spite of the Cowboys not having played a home game in 50 days and this game having been scheduled four years ago, somehow not all of the seats have actually been set up. Several sections of temporary seating remained covered in black tarps with less than two hours left before the game's scheduled kickoff. NFL spokesperson Michael Signora said the seats in question cost $900 apiece -- the NFL said that while a total of 1,250 seats were initially affected, 850 people were relocated to similar or better seats and 400 fans were told they would not be accommodated. The league said those 400 would each receive $2,700, which is three times the face value of their ticket. "It easily cost us $10,000 dollars, between plane tickets, staying here, taking time off. And they want to give us three times the ticket value?" asked Matthew Rush (pictured above), a longtime Steelers season-ticket holder who was expecting to attend his third Steelers Super Bowl in the last five years. "They talk about the 'NFL Experience,' but our NFL experience, quite frankly, sucked." Rush said they were herded like Texas cattle from Cowboys Stadium to the neighboring Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and back before they were finally allowed inside the gate. "We had people with us that are handicapped, who are elderly. We have literally been here since 2:30 and we still have no clue of what's going on,'' Steeler fan Michael Moore said about a half hour before kickoff. Once there, they received a single form letter (above), with no letterhead, informing them they would not have a seat that they had already paid for. "Please be advised," the letter read, "that due to unforeseen conditions, the installation of temporary seating for Super Bowl XLV was not fully completed and your assigned seat is unavailable for today's game. The NFL and Cowboys Stadium sincerely regret this inconvenience." "That's it, no explanation, nothing, Rush said. Rush said that a website, SuperBowlsuit.com, has already been started and class action suit would soon follow. "It wasn't about the money," Rush said. "It was about being here to support our team. But we are going to make it about the money." The NFL said the 400 fans in sections 425A and 430A that were not able to be accommodated with seats were taken inside the stadium to watch the game on monitors in the North Field Club behind the Pittsburgh bench. They also had the option of viewing the game from standing room platforms in each corner of the stadium. "I could have stayed home and watched the game and saved a lot of money," Rush said. The league said it routinely holds back tickets for games in the event problems should arise. The Cowboys and the NFL itself also returned tickets Earlier in the day, fans arriving at the game were dealing with major traffic and other logistical issues getting to the stadium because four entrances remained closed due to the possibility of snow and ice sliding off the stadium roof. Workers were injured last week when snow and ice slid off the roof and crashed to the ground while the stadium was being prepared for the game. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who spent $1.2 billion to build this stadium, had been hoping to set a Super Bowl attendance record and show off the building in front of a worldwide audience. Instead, the entire week has been a complete embarrassment to Jones, the NFL and communities involved. The Super Bowl will surely return here someday, but it'll be because of corporate money and the quality of the stadium -- not because anybody did anything right here in 2011. -- FanHouse's Matt Romanoski and Dave Goldberg contributed to this report. http://nfl.fanhouse....t-enough-seats/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dude Love Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Well that just sticks in my craw! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bergen Jet Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 That is completely wrong and in no possible way justifiable. Horrible situation for the people who went to Dallas with tickets and were ultimately turned away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 I know this is true but I just can't believe it. Just unreal. Imagine if that was one of us and it was the Jets? OMG!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gun Of Bavaria Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 They would be taking me away in handcuffs for assault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dude Love Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 There was a guy at ganggreen years ago who's avatar was jerry jones with drool coming out of his mouth. I wish I could get a hold of that picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaumerJet Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 There was a guy at ganggreen years ago who's avatar was jerry jones with drool coming out of his mouth. I wish I could get a hold of that picture. What do you expect from a guy who created 10,000 STANDING ROOM ONLY seats early last year to accommodate the loss he was taking in PSL sales - JUST SO HE WOULD NEVER BE BLACKED OUT!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirlancemehlot Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Watching all the poor, stupid bastards standing in the parking lot next to space heaters for $250 a pop, I realized: The NFL is all business and only business all the time. I don't hate the Pats. I don't hate the Steelers. Don't care about the Dolphins. Only like the Jets due to operant conditioning. We, the sheep, create the Jerry Jones' of the world. And WE have no right to complain. If you don't like a product, you're an idiot if you keep paying for it. I think it's back to Pop Warner for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Watching all the poor, stupid bastards standing in the parking lot next to space heaters for $250 a pop, I realized: The NFL is all business and only business all the time. I don't hate the Pats. I don't hate the Steelers. Don't care about the Dolphins. Only like the Jets due to operant conditioning. We, the sheep, create the Jerry Jones' of the world. And WE have no right to complain. If you don't like a product, you're an idiot if you keep paying for it. I think it's back to Pop Warner for me. Good luck making weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visajets Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Watching all the poor, stupid bastards standing in the parking lot next to space heaters for $250 a pop, I realized: The NFL is all business and only business all the time. I don't hate the Pats. I don't hate the Steelers. Don't care about the Dolphins. Only like the Jets due to operant conditioning. We, the sheep, create the Jerry Jones' of the world. And WE have no right to complain. If you don't like a product, you're an idiot if you keep paying for it. I think it's back to Pop Warner for me. Who the hell would pay that to sit outside of any stadium? Dam fools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackout Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Who the hell would pay that to sit outside of any stadium? Dam fools. I'm sure a paralized person would LOVE to stand outside of a stadium quit being so ingorant to others Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visajets Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 I'm sure a paralized person would LOVE to stand outside of a stadium quit being so ingorant to others Are you serious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirlancemehlot Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Good luck making weight. Oh, I will dominate. Wait till the Totowa Tigers get a full dose of my swim move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 To all then planning that goes into the Super Bowl and events leading up to it-good news we have three years to plan how the New Meadowlands will screw up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsfan80 Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 To all then planning that goes into the Super Bowl and events leading up to it-good news we have three years to plan how the New Meadowlands will screw up. It won't matter if its the best organized event in history, you can't do much about a sh*tty stadium, and you can't prevent bad weather from affecting a stadium that isn't domed. It's going to be a disaster regardless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flgreen Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 To all then planning that goes into the Super Bowl and events leading up to it-good news we have three years to plan how the New Meadowlands will screw up. Biggest blizzard in 100 years, followed by an -50 degree ice storm. Bank on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowonejetfan Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 I guess the old saying there is an a$$ for every seat is no longer true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowonejetfan Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Imagine if Dallas was in Play-offs. Bad SB planning even with weather considering Dallas Cowboys had nothing else to concentrate on for last few weeks. If Jets play Giants in superbowl in 2014 where all 2k Jets Coaches Club and all 2k Giants Coaches club were promised Superbowl tickets that will make this seem like a walk in the park Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visajets Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 The Meadowlands and the NFL will fail miserably. They will market NYC. The facility and surroundings arent set up for this type of venue. I mean really East Rutherford isnt your family type atmosphere. Where will all these people stay? Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSJets Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Maybe if they designed the stadium the right way, this wouldn't have happened. Seriously, how this was not completed is something that will probably never happen again. Jerry Jones' greed and stupidity gets in the way again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visajets Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Jerry Jones was more worried about money than accomodating the people who were there. I mean really sitting outside with patio heaters or sitting in stairways. I guess the fire codes and maximum occupancy codes were all thrown out the door for this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visajets Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Displaced Super Bowl fans will be invited next year 'as guests of the NFL' Published: Monday, February 07, 2011, 12:45 PM Updated: Monday, February 07, 2011, 1:13 PM By Jenny Vrentas/The Star-Ledger Follow Share0 0 Share close Google Buzz Digg Stumble Upon Fark Share Email Print Mark J. Rebilas/US PresswireNFL commissioner Roger Goodell called Sunday's ticket mix-up a "failure on our behalf." DALLAS -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said today that the 400 ticketholders not accommodated with seats at Sunday night's Super Bowl XLV will be invited to next year's championship game in Indianapolis as "guests of the NFL." Sunday night, the NFL announced it would refund these fans three times the price of the $800 face value of their tickets, and provided them with free merchandise and food and access to the field post-game. The league is trying to make amends for the seating fiasco at Cowboys Stadium, in which 1,250 fans arrived at the game to find out that the seats they purchased were "unusable." Of those affected, 850 fans were moved to seats the NFL said were similar or better, but the remaining 400 could not be accommodated in the bowl of the stadium They instead had to watch the game on monitors in club seating behind the Pittsburgh bench or from standing-room platforms in the corners of the stadium. The NFL said that the police and fire departments determined the seats in those areas were unsafe. The reason? Not the vertical structural integrity, which the NFL said had been completed earlier in the week, but rather smaller fix-ups including the installation of railings and the tightening of risers and steps. Goodell took full responsibility, calling what happened a "failure on our behalf" and emphasizing that the Super Bowl is an event the NFL stages. But Eric Grubman, the league's executive vice president of business ventures, had a slightly different take, saying when several parties collaborate, each has a responsibility, and that in the next few weeks they would determine who bears responsibility for each part of the breakdown. The NFL worked with the police department, fire marshal and Cowboys organization, including owner Jerry Jones and his family. Grubman admitted that they realized there might be a problem with some of the seating in the "middle of the week" -- but didn't notify fans because it wasn't until gameday when it became clear there was a "distinct possibility" they wouldn't be able to accommodate fans. "We made a judgment that we had a very good shot to be able to complete it," he said. "We made a judgment that it was the right course of action to bring the fans in, rather than to discourage them or to create a sense that they wouldn’t have the information necessary." The affected fans waited in the Party Plaza area as organizers figured out what to do. Goodell said they weren't certain exactly which seats and which fans were going to be affected, which is why they handled it this way. He also said he spoke with some of the fans but would reach out to the remainder in the coming days. The NFL characterized the main issue as "running out of time." That's a tough one to explain, because it had control of the stadium for several weeks and knew the work that had to be completed. Grubman said the affected seats were not last-minute adds, and that the problem was installation and not design. In the future, though, he said the league will look at a better design for any NFL-run events that might be held at Cowboys Stadium. Grubman said they were not compromised, though, by an effort to break the attendance record. Another snag was entrance to the stadium, as four of the 10 entry points were closed due to ice. Fans were not made aware of this beforehand, and a logjam was created so that many fans had to wait in lines for a few hours and some did not make it to their seats by kickoff. Grubman said they were hopeful until the morning of the game that the ice could be removed, but when it wasn't, they roped off those entrances for safety reasons. After a very difficult week in North Texas, starting with a slow response to the wintry weather and ending with the ticket mishap, the next question is when or if the Super Bowl will ever return here. Jones and the host committee have their eye on bidding for the 2016 game, but how will this experience affect their chances? Goodell has defended the host committee all week and did not rule out a return to the area. He said he has not spoken with Jones today, but saw a few owners Sunday night, whom he said told him this had been a "great week." "It’s a membership vote, but I think they did an outstanding job," Goodell said. "It’s a great event, and I'm sure that they’ll be seeking another Super Bowl, and I'm sure the ownership will take that very seriously." * * * Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE ILK Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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