246 fans from Dallas seating snafu coming to Indianapolis - Ingles

Of the approximately 3,200 fans whose Super Bowl XLV experience was marred by a temporary seating fiasco last year in Dallas, 246 of them took the NFL up on their offer and are heading to Indianapolis for this year's big game, NFL Vice President of Communications Brian McCarthy said Friday.

A year ago a group of unlucky fans were told at the gate that their temporary seats at Cowboys Stadium hadn't met the mandatory safety requirements. Some were delayed in gaining pre-game access to their seats, some were relocated to a different seat (some in a standing-room-only bar area). Others weren't allowed in the game at all.

To remedy the situation, the NFL offered fans that were relocated at the stadium an offer of face value for their XLV ticket or one ticket to any future Super Bowl.

For those turned away at the gate, the NFL offered them three times the face value ($2,400) of their Super Bowl XLV ticket, plus a ticket to Super Bowl XLVI in Indy; one game ticket to any future Super Bowl plus airfare and four nights in a hotel; a check for $5,000 or a check for more than $5,000 if their expenses merited it.

Capacity for this year's big game – held Feb. 5 – will be approximately 68,000, according to McCarthy. Only 254 temporary seats were added to Lucas Oil Stadium, and all have been approved by necessary safety crews.

This article was written by Zak Keefer and appeared in USA Today.