Displaced fans can pick their tickets

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NEW YORK -- The NFL has added a second option for the roughly 400 fans who had to give up their seats at the Super Bowl: They can choose to attend any future Super Bowl instead of being limited to the 2012 game.

The league initially said Sunday it would give $2,400, three times the face value of the ticket, to the fans who were forced to watch the game on monitors or use standing-room platforms after some temporary seating sections were not completed in time.

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On Monday, Commissioner Roger Goodell said those fans also would receive tickets to next year's Super Bowl.

Then on Tuesday, the NFL announced the fans could choose instead to receive a ticket to any future Super Bowl, including next year's, along with round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations. If fans choose that option, they will not get the $2,400. They can wait until after the conference championship games each season to see whether their favorite team reaches the Super Bowl.

"We had more time to think about how to create a broader range of options that would better recognize the deep emotional bond that fans have for their team," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an e-mail Tuesday.

The Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 on Sunday at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. When the temporary sections were not completed before the start of the game, about 850 fans were moved to other seats. But there was nowhere to put the remaining 400.

Some of the affected fans complained Sunday that the $2,400 didn't cover the price they paid for the seats, travel and hotels.

If fans choose the first option of next year's game plus the $2,400, the ticket is transferable, which means it can be sold on the secondary ticket market. It won't be transferable in the other option.

The league said a senior NFL staff member would call each of the displaced fans to provide information about the options and answer questions.

"The commissioner thought it was the right thing to do to give those fans more options," Aiello said.

The NFL is working with the Packers, Steelers and Cowboys to track down all the affected fans. Contact information can be e-mailed to SBXLV@nfl.com.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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