NEW YORK -- The NFL has added a second option for the roughly 400 fans who had to give up their seats at Super Bowl XLV: They can choose to attend any future Super Bowl instead of being limited to the 2012 game.
The league initially said Sunday that 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 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, weren't completed in time.
On Monday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said those fans also would receive tickets to next year's Super Bowl.
Then on Tuesday, the league announced the fans instead could choose 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 receive the $2,400. They can wait until after the conference championship games each season to see whether or not 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, Sunday at Cowboys Stadium. When the temporary sections weren't 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.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
