Oregon Backer Almost Pays $16K For Championship Game Tickets
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ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - U.S. college football's first-ever playoff national championship game almost didn't happen for one Oregon Ducks' fan… until the university called an audible and helped out.
"Thought we bought tickets for a great deal and then Stub Hub started charging us ten times the price," 1990 Oregon alum Patrick Leonard told CBS 11 News.
Leonard is a big Oregon backer who now lives in Arlington, Virginia. When the ducks hit the title game he bought four tickets on his phone for what he says were advertised at $1,600. "And after we did the transaction it said $1,600 and then the next day I got an e-mail congratulating me on my $16,000 dollar purchase."
That's right. Ten times more than he agreed to pay. A bitter pill to swallow for both Leonard and his 12-year-old son Jack. "So I told all my friends and they said, 'Really, you're so lucky.' And I knew there was going to be something up with it and there was a catch."
The catch: Stub Hub would not honor the original purchase price. Patrick Leonard said the company was sympathetic at first, but that the last person to whom he spoke was unapologetic. "I understand there's a technology glitch, but that's their only role in life is to present an accurate number for when people execute that transaction for that number to be valid," he told CBS 11 News.
But word got around on traditional and social media -- especially in Oregon -- where the school took up the cause and got Patrick four end zone seats. He was notified Wednesday. "And then the university itself reached out to us and offered us tickets at face value, so in the end it worked out great because the University came through. And actually another company contacted us and gave us hotel rooms for the two days, too."
"I was pretty jacked! Yeah, I was excited," added Jack Leonard. Even as a sixth grader he understands he will witness a part of sports history. "I'm excited to be part of it and have amazing tickets and be able to be close to the experience because the first time it happens is definitely going to be a good memory to have."
Across the street from AT&T Stadium early Monday afternoon Stub Hub still had end zone tickets available... for $678 apiece. And most users didn't have any issues.
"Hasn't been hard at all. Real easy," said Ducks fan Graham Baker, who came from Redlands, California. But did he pay face value for them? "We did not. A little bit over, for sure. For sure." Just not ten times over.
Patrick Leonard told us Stub Hub is offering to credit him for the $1,600 purchase price. He is donating that to a homeless charity.
CBS 11 News both called and emailed Stub Hub about this story, but did not hear back.
(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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