A group of furious fans are lining up outside Cowboys Stadium and trying to figure out where they’re supposed to go after the NFL announced that some temporary seating has not been completed, and some Super Bowl ticket holders may not get into the game.
At the moment, fans are being directed to the Party Plaza area outside Cowboys Stadium. I left my press row seat to go down there, and I saw enraged fans getting what didn’t seem to be satisfactory customer service from the ushers assigned to the thankless task of helping them.
“I just found out when I got here two minutes ago,” said Michael Noble, a Steelers season ticket holder from Erie, Pennsylvania, who planned a special trip to Dallas when his team won the AFC Championship Game.
Noble, who was holding a ticket with a $900 face value, wanted to be inside the stadium watching the Steelers warm up, but he’s currently stuck outside, with no guarantee that he’ll get in.
“They’re going to make me stand in a long line for nothing,” he said.
One Cowboys Stadium usher told me he had been dealing with irate fans, but he knew nothing about the situation other than that he had been told to direct affected fans to stand in the line at a ticket window.
The NFL has said it will refund tickets at three times face value, but that won’t come close to compensating fans who spent thousands of dollars on airfare and a hotel room in Dallas.
Noble said he doesn’t want his money back, or triple his money back. He wants the seat he paid for.
“I just want to see the game,” Noble said. “I’ve never been to a Super Bowl.”