The Falcons won’t have any fans in Mercedes-Benz Stadium through at least September because of COVID-19. But even when things return to normal, some of those seats could be empty by choice.
According to Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Falcons fans defaulted on $10.9 million in personal seat license payments in the 12-month period which ended in June.
Most of those came in January or February, before the point when a pandemic began to change the entire landscape of the sports industry. The Falcons allowed PSL owners on installment plans the ability to defer their payments either this year or next.
Since 2016, fans have defaulted on $42.9 million worth of payments to the team, choosing to give up money already paid , since they were apparently unable to sell the PSL. The team is able to re-sell the tickets associated with the PSL at that point.
Of the fans who cited a reason for defaulting, 77 percent cited financial, health, or relocation. The fact the team has been rather uninspiring of late couldn’t have helped, and the fact that fans might not want to attend large gatherings in the future will be another complication in the coming months.