Dallas Cowboys from WFAA Sports
'Miscommunication' over Party Pass creates unhappy fans
10:25 AM CDT on Monday, September 21, 2009
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ARLINGTON — The first game Sunday night at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington was three years of construction and a billion dollars in the making.
A record crowd converged on Jerry Jones' billion dollar football palace to watch the Giants beat the Cowboys 33-31.
But it wasn't just the Cowboys' loss that made some fans unhappy Sunday. Dozens of people with Party Passes didn't get inside the stadium. The problem came down to what the Cowboys called a "miscommunication."
The plaza was only supposed to be for pre-game festivities, but it ended up being the spot where some ticketholders were forced to watch the game.
Fans paid $29 for standing room-only Party Passes inside the stadium.
"They never should have oversold it," said Suzy Collins, who was among those who purchased a pass. "It's money-grubbing and annoying."
Collins and Nicole Miesfeld arrived at the stadium four hours early for a tailgate party. They said the thought that they might not get inside never crossed their minds.
"I'm not from Texas; "I'm from Arizona," Miesfeld said. "But I came ... out here to tailgate. Now, we're going to drive back to Uptown and go watch it at a sports bar."
Even though the Party Passes were relatively inexpensive, the wasted trip still hit the pocketbooks hard.
"We paid $40 to park, $30 to tailgate and another $35 to stand in the parking lot," Miesfeld said.
Some Party Pass holders who did get in left early on their own. Many complained of pushing, shoving and some overly-intoxicated fans.
"There's no way to see the field," said Cowboys fan Tiffany McMahan.
The Cowboys said they didn't oversell the Party Passes. The team said there was a long delay when the fire department wouldn't allow outside fans in because they were trying to manage the large crowd inside. It was a failed effort, according to the Brackeens.
"We thought we were going to be able to get up to some other levels, but we weren't able to," said J.D. Brackeen, a Cowboys fan. "They wouldn't let us go up in there. So, we just got misled by the way our tickets were sold to us."
E-mail dmiles@wfaa.com
