NFL Increases Ticket Reimbursement Offer
DALLAS, Texas (KDKA/AP) - The NFL is upping the ante again for the 400 fans displaced by problems with temporary seats at Super Bowl XLV.
League spokesman Brian McCarthy said the new offer is for $5,000 or the reimbursement of "actual documented" Super Bowl expenses, whichever figure is higher.
Originally, the NFL had offered $2,400 and tickets to next year's Super Bowl. Then, they increased the offer to any Super Bowl, plus travel and accommodation costs.
The third increase came after Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke with fans last week, McCarthy said.
Following the Super Bowl, those fans affected by the seating issue filed a lawsuit against the NFL, Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones.
The lead attorney for the lawsuit was not impressed with the league's latest offer. Attorney Michael Avenatti said the NFL still isn't offering reimbursement for all Super Bowl expenses or addressing fans who were delayed or relocated to "substandard" seats.
About 1,250 seats were declared unsafe hours before the game, and the NFL scrambled to find new seats for about 850 fans. The remaining 400 were forced to watch from standing-room only areas or on television from places with no view of the field.
Documents released after the game showed that the Cowboys were slow to respond to requests for building permits needed to install the seats, and indicated that a contractor walked out on the job in the days before the game.
