NFL Makes Nice Over Seat Mess

The NFL has upped its offer to 400 fans that were displaced by problems with temporary seats during Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium.

The league recently announced plans to offer fans $5,000 or reimbursement for their “actual documented” expenses for the game, compared to original offers of $2,400 or a ticket, plus airfare and hotel costs, to a future Super Bowl.

“As you may know, we have been reaching out directly to those fans who regrettably and inexcusably were unable to watch Super Bowl XLV from a seat in Cowboys Stadium,” the league wrote in an e-mail to fans. “In listening to your feedback, we have decided to offer a third option.”

The seating issues apparently began when contractor Seating Solutions failed to install temporary seats in the Arlington, Texas, stadium on schedule, leaving insufficient time for an inspection by the fire marshal.

Although the seats were deemed unsafe, some fans were reportedly allowed to wait in line outside the stadium for hours and climb to the rafters to get to their seats before they were told those seats didn’t actually exist.

And while the NFL said many of those fans were put into “similar or better” seats, many others were put into standing-room only sections or were only able to watch the game on TVs, leaving them just slightly less ticked off.

Disgruntled fans have filed two lawsuits against the league and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.