It took "a little more than 48 hours after Super Bowl XLV ended for the first of two lawsuits to be filed" over the seating fiasco at Cowboys Stadium, and "two more websites working together are collecting names of aggrieved fans," according to Jeff Mosier of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. In the first lawsuit, filed in federal court Tuesday, plaintiffs Mike Dolabi and Steve Simms are seeking $5M. They claim that Cowboys season-ticket holders "with the priciest seats received inadequate tickets for the Super Bowl." The second lawsuit was filed yesterday in Dallas County. The lawsuits claim that the NFL and the Cowboys "had known for as long as a week that there was a danger that some temporary seats wouldn't be finished before kickoff." L.A.-based attorney Michael Avenatti, who filed the federal lawsuit, said, "When you have information that is important for people to have when deciding whether to attend the Super Bowl and you don't disclose it, that's fraud." NFL Exec VP/Business Operations Eric Grubman "discussed the controversy on radio stations in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee and on a SiriusXM satellite radio show." He said that the radio appearances were "in part an attempt to reach some inconvenienced fans and let them know the NFL is trying to compensate them." Mosier notes "about 2,000 fans who were delayed getting into the stadium because their seats were still being completed were offered ticket refunds," but "no decision has been made about the 865 fans who the NFL said were given comparable or better seats." Grubman: "We'll address that shortly." Grubman added that the league "will check with those fans after contacting the other 2,400 who were more greatly affected" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/10). Avenatti estimated that the lawsuit covers 1,000 fans, 600 of whom are "in Cowboys Stadium's 'Founders' group and were placed in obstructed-view seats Sunday." Each Founder "paid $100,000 for a personal seat license and the right to buy season tickets" (USA TODAY, 2/10).
MONEY FOR EXPENSES? In addition to the $5M in damages, Avenatti said, "We are asking that the NFL and the Cowboys and Jerry Jones compensate every single ticketholder for the entire cost they paid for their tickets, plus out of pocket expenses." NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy said, "We are reaching out to every single fan that was affected who did not receive a seat in the stadium. They are being contacted by senior level officials." McCarthy said that the NFL has also tried to relay its offer of tickets to next year's Super Bowl or a Super Bowl of their choice to every fan who did not get a seat, but it was too early to say how many of those fans would take the NFL's offer (Liz Mullen, SportsBusiness Journal).
POINTING FINGERS: YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote, "All the initial blame here goes to the NFL and possibly Jones, depending on his role in game operation. ... The league -- and no doubt Jones -- was interested in setting the Super Bowl attendance record, which has stood since 1980 when 103,985 people jammed into the Rose Bowl." But Cowboys Stadium "doesn't have the capacity of Pasadena," and the NFL "tried to make up for that by erecting thousands of temporary seats." Wetzel: "The NFL screwed up. When it came to damage control though, it did pretty well. ... Really, what does anyone want the NFL to do at this point?" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/9). YAHOO SPORTS' Chris Chase wrote the NFL "can't get into a legal battle with fans because it would be a public relations disaster." Chase: "The NFL would be wise to refund any and all money the fans spent to get to Dallas and into the game, hook them up with tickets and VIP access to see their favorite team play a game next season, and maybe throw in some spending money for their trouble. The quicker this gets out of the media the better" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/9).
