Football games + Seats + large people

[Katie]

Okay..not to start a debate..but Sunday we were in a pickle( to say the least)

We had purchased 3 tickets (at 65.00 a piece) for the Bears game in Champaign, Il. MY DH, DS(age 7) and myself. If you are unfamiliar with the stadium ..all the seats are bleacher format..meaning you have about 18 inches of seat room(if you are lucky).

anyway, we got to our seats(seats 30,29,28)....there was a very very large guy( NICE GUY...but large)..sitting in seat 32,31,30( MY DH SEAT..and) and part of 29!! I don't know what seat number he actually had..but everybody to the left of him was pushed in there like sardines...and we had 1.5 seats for 3 people( luckily..I am very small..and my DS sat on my husband's lap).

At first..I was like..HELLO..move over...but I just moved down a row(because the people had NOT came yet..) but they showed up later..and I was forced to sit up where I belonged.

BUT....my question is......I am NOT going to do that again...but I don't know how to handle it in the future.

We did speak to this guy during the course of the game..he was a nice guy...but..I don't think it was fair he took up 3.5 seats..and had only 1 ticket.

We paid our money also....and had to squeeze in 1.5 seat room!

What would U have done????? The people next to me were not bugdging at all..to let us have any more room..they had their stadium chairs there..and would not move them(but hey..they paid their money too....so...)

Just wondering??

 

[lilboo]

Judging from the rest of your post-when you say bleacher format-I'm assuming they weren't just long benches but molded, individual plastic seats without the benefit of armrests to act as dividers?

I know it's been similarly hashed and rehashed - I don't know what more there is to add...

are you paying for space or experience?

Is it discrimination or does obesity reflect choice?

Are any other compromises feasible?

 

[Katie]

no..just long benches with numbers painted on them...and small stickers to "mark" the area.

I pay for both...I pay for a seat...and which I am entitled too!

The experience is also part of the ticket price....but I can't enjoy the experience if I am sitting on my son...and i am sure he can't enjoy it either!

 

[WebmasterAlex]

I would get an usher and ask them to deal with it.
In most stadiums they have folding seats so that people can sit with their handicapped relatives, maybe he could be moved there.

 

[Michelle]

Maybe you could get stadium chairs too, to stake out your spots?

I don't blame you for being upset, I would be too, it's not right that he is taking up your seat space.

 

[raidermatt]

are you paying for space or experience?

Since in most cases, you are required to sit in your assigned seats, its safe to assume you are paying for that seat.

I don't think there is an easy way to handle the situation. If you both have season tickets (your group and the big guy), then you could call the team and explain the situation. Hopefully, they would offer to at least re-assign your seats. (I know, then it becomes somebody else's problem, but its really the team's place to deal with it...)

If its a one time deal, and you find yourself in that situation, about the only thing you can do is find and usher, or go to customer accomodations, and explain the situation. Again, hopefully they will move you. That's tough when its a sellout, but the team can usually do something if they really want to.