Ticketed fans kept out of Copa America final want refunds

Chaos at the gates of the Copa America final prevented some ticketholders from entering Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

When fans rushed the entrance gates prior to kickoff, videos show many fans without tickets found their way inside.

“So, there was a point where they opened the gates and all the people rushed in. And all the people that rushed in, none of them scanned their tickets,” Dr. Manuel Fonseca said.

Fonseca spent $3,690 for a pair of tickets to the Copa America final. He said when he and his wife entered the gate, it was unsafe. 

“And I made my way inside. But when I started seeing all those people rushing in, my wife was pregnant. I said, ‘I’m definitely not going to risk this. Let’s get outside.’ Because my concern was that if a stampede gets developed there, what are we going to do?” he said. 

After escaping the wave of people entering, he said they were unable to get back inside. 

“They say, you need to go to the North Gate. They were sending you basically in circles all night long,” he said. 

Now he wants a refund, and he isn’t the only one. 

A quick scroll on X shows other frustrated fans who want their money back. One person wrote, “My family and I traveled to Miami to watch the game and spent thousands…we were locked out of the stadium while thousands of people without tickets got in. We should expect a refund.”

Another person wrote, “When will I receive a refund on tickets and parking after being refused entry.”

NBC6 Responds reached out to ticket vendors Ticketmaster and StubHub along with CONMEBOL, the organizers of the event. 

Ticketmaster’s policy states only event organizers can determine whether refunds will be allowed. In a statement from Hard Rock Stadium released on X Monday morning, they stated in part, “We understand there are disappointed ticket holders who were not able to enter the stadium after the perimeter was closed, and we will work in partnership with CONMEBOL to address those individual concerns.”   

According to Ticketmaster, if the event organizer approves refunds ticketholders will see a request refund button in their online accounts and the money will go back to the card used to purchase the tickets. 

We are still waiting to hear back from StubHub, CONMEBOL, and Hard Rock Stadium to ask if they will be giving refunds for this event.