I was completely shocked upon hearing that the Minnesota Vikings are going with a first-come, first-serve scenario when it comes to Monday’s game against the Chicago Bears.
In a week full of headaches, the Vikings have created another one. This time, Mother Nature can’t get all of the blame.
Obviously, with the 64,000-seat Metrodome out of commission, some fans are going to get left out with the game moving to 51,000-seat TCF Bank Stadium. But this wasn’t the way to figure that out.
Do a ticket lottery. Just tell the fans with the worst seats at the Metrodome that they can’t go because there isn’t room at TCF. Make a decision. But don’t do this.
I’m looking at it from the perspective of out-of-town fans in places like Fargo-Moorhead or even Chicago. What are they supposed to do? Make the cross-state or cross-region drive to the Twin Cities and hope that they can get in?
The problem with the scenarios I gave above is that if some of those people given approval to go to the game opted for refunds instead, the Vikings wouldn’t have a packed house. In a week where they will spend at least $700,000 clearing out a stadium, plus losing out on money made from the sale of beer and having to refund 13,000 ticket holders, somehow the fans are the ones that come out as losers.
The way this has been handled is unfortunate. I know there isn’t a page in the franchise ownership manual for handling a crisis like this, but I would have liked to see the Vikings improvise a little better than this.
So to you F-M fans out there with tickets to Monday’s game, good luck. I hope you’re not left out in the cold.
i agree. This is moronic. What time are people going to start showing up to make sure they get in? I wonder how many lawsuits the vikings are planning on being involved in when people that have been freezing to death standing outside for 2 hours before the gates open end up getting trampled by the mass of humanity rushing for the best seats? Hello, L.A.
I think you are wildly underestimating the ease of executing an alternative ticket-dispersal scheme that involves assigned seating. Ticketholder bias in action!
I don’t know why they didn’t hold it at Lambeau Field in Green Bay: It seats 73,000, it’s NFL ready, it already has beer taps, it’s close enough that most Vikings fans would be happy to go there, those who didn’t could sell their tickets for at least twice their face value, and, with the NFC North lead on the line, even Packers fans who got in would be cheering for the Vikings to beat the Bears. What could be better?
Really, in the grand scheme of things, this is one of the biggest “who cares” ever. If season tickets are cancelled over this then you were not much of a fan to begin with. If you drive from Fargo Moorhead and don’t get in, oh well. Life is going to kick you in the gut much harder than this could ever do. It’s a freaking game. Get over it.