Nightly News   |  February 06, 2011

Super mad: Some ticket holders denied entry to big game

According to an NFL statement, fans who “are not accommodated with seats inside the stadium” – due to the failure to complete temporary seating – will “receive a refund of triple the cost of the face value of the ticket.” NBC’s Janet Shamlian reports.

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This content comes from a Full-Text Transcript of the program.

LESTER HOLT, anchor (Amman, Jordan): And on this Super Bowl Sunday , disappointment for hundreds of fans who thought they had seats for the Steelers / Packers showdown. NBC 's Janet Shamlian is outside Cowboys Stadium in Arlington , Texas . Those couldn't have been pleasant moments today, Janet.

JANET SHAMLIAN reporting: Lester , imagine having a hard-to-get ticket to the game of the year , you walk up to Cowboys Stadium tonight and you're handed this piece of paper that says, 'Your seat is not available for tonight's game.' That's exactly what happened to fans here tonight. In a week that had been plagued by problems for the Super Bowl , there would be one more. The snow and ice was gone and the skies sunny, but for some football fans , a shock beyond belief at the entrance to Cowboys Stadium .

Unidentified Man #1: The tickets are no good. The fire marshal apparently didn't approve them and we're stuck with them.

SHAMLIAN: Ticket holders, some who had come from across the country and finally won the battle with the weather, were told their tickets were no good.

Unidentified Man #2: This is crazy.

SHAMLIAN: Just hours before kickoff, as many as 1250 fans were told their seats, which were temporary ones added for the big game , were deemed unsafe by the fire marshal because the work had not been finished on them.

Unidentified Man #3: It's really not right. It's unfair. We spend a lot of money to come here and now they're telling us our tickets are no good because they didn't put the seats together? This is ludicrous.

SHAMLIAN: Most fans had paid $900 for them, but some, buying on the second-hand market, shelled out thousands.

Unidentified Woman: I was dumbfounded. How can they, game day , realize the seats aren't safe?

SHAMLIAN: Tonight the NFL says only 400 fans will not be accommodated. They will receive $2700 for each ticket; 850 fans got similar or better seats. The 400 fans who were paid off for their tickets are getting to watch the Super Bowl tonight, but they're in a hospitality tent, but they are getting to see the game. It is just another glitch in a week that's been full of them here. Lester , back to you.

HOLT: Janet Shamlian in Arlington , Texas ,