Soccer fans denied entry to this summer’s Copa America final due to an ugly security failure at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium have filed a class-action lawsuit this week.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks damages for ticket sales plus interest, travel accommodations, and “missing the experience of viewing this Copa America Final Match in person.” The class is not seeking damages for personal injuries.
Soccer star Lionel Messi suffered an ankle injury, while Argentina won its second straight Copa America title in a 1-0 win against Columbia on July 14.
Plaintiffs Das Nobel, Eduardo Martinez, Daniel Grande, William Pou and David Ziemek lead the class members denied entry. They are represented by Varnell & Warwick, a law firm based in Tampa, Florida, which declined comment when reached by USA TODAY.
The operators of Hard Rock Stadium, soccer federations Conmebol and Concacaf, and the operators of three parking lots outside the stadium are defendants in the case. Representatives for Hard Rock Stadium, Conmebol and Concacaf have not yet responded to inquiries by USA TODAY seeking comment.
Ticketmaster, the company used to distribute tickets, was not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Fans crowded closed security gates before the match as stadium officials and local law enforcement hoped to stop unruly fans entering without tickets. Fans jumped stadium fences, and even entered through a vent under the stadium during the chaos.
Stadium officials, in conjunction with CONMEBOL, Concacaf and law enforcement hoped to diffuse the emergency situation by letting everyone into the stadium shortly before the delayed start time. But after the mass entrance, the stadium gates remained closed to all, including ticket holders.
The lawsuit also says Hard Rock Stadium failed to implement an adequate safety and security plan, failed to establish a perimeter or ticketed checkpoints, permitted parking and watch parties for fans outside the stadium, and failed to predict the scope and scale of people without tickets on stadium grounds.
Hard Rock Stadium, CONMEBOL and Concacaf worked with Ticketmaster to offer refunds to fans who purchased tickets on the primary market. Fans who agreed to the refund process were asked by Ticketmaster to release and waive claims for damages against the parties. Fans who purchased tickets from secondary market companies were left to recoup their losses with those entities.
Noble, an Argentina fan from Dallas who attempted to attend the final with his wife and two children, was the first to file a lawsuit. He purchased four tickets from SeatGeek for $9,948.86. He paid $4,587.87 for hotel accommodations and $10,000 for flights. He left the stadium at 9:50 p.m. after his family was denied entry, according to the complaint.
Martinez purchased four tickets from Ticketmaster to the Copa America Final for $4,395.59. Grande paid $9,000 for two tickets in Hard Rock Stadium’s 72 club and $750 for parking on the day of the final. Both initially filed lawsuits with Varnell & Warwick.
Pou paid $1,900 for five tickets and $100 in parking and travel costs, but never used Ticketmaster to purchase his tickets.
Ziemek traveled from Colorado to attend the final with his brother and father, in hopes to watch Messi play after missing him in action due to injury two previous times. He paid $1,650 for a ticket, only to watch the final at a nearly bar. The lawsuit said he “has not achieved his lifelong dream of seeing Messi play in person, and he likely never will.”
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
