A work stoppage in 2011 will not mean that fans have to eat the price of worthless tickets.
USA Today’s Michael McCarthy reports that the league plans to announce later Tuesday that full refunds will be given to general admission seats for all preseason and regular season games canceled by a work stoppage in 2011.
The league-wide guarantee on refunds will not extend to Personal Seat Licenses or club and luxury seats. (And you thought PSLs couldn’t possibly be a bigger waste of money.) Teams can decide on an individual basis how to handle the PSLs and more expensive seats.
“We are working hard to secure an agreement with the union that is fair and forward-thinking to ensure our game is sound and strong well into the future,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement. “We know we will reach an agreement at some point. We all want football without interruption, but our fans are entitled to know now that they would receive refunds if any games are canceled.”
There are complicated issues at stake here, but my first reaction to this news was: Of course there will be refunds. Any other policy would be insanely shortsighted and unfair.
The article does not mention what would happen in the event that “replacement players” were used.