4C ❚ FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020 ❚ USA TODAY SPORTS
WEATHER ONLINE
WEATHER USATODAY.COMPRECIPITATION FORECASTFRIDAY’S HIGH TEMPERATURESSATURDAY’S HIGH TEMPERATURESWEEKEND FORECASTBelow 10 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110+T-storms Rain Snow Ice/mixU.S. CITIESc Cloudy
h Haze
sf Snowflurriest Thunderstorms
i Ices Sunny
w Windy
f Fogpc Partly cloudy
r Rain sn Snowsh Showers
dr DrizzleWashington
69Cheyenne
38Casper
43Jackson
Hole
33Milwaukee
47
Madison
53Charleston
70Seattle
Olympia 49 49 Spokane
48Richmond
78Burlington(^49) Montpelier
48
Salt Lake City
46
St. George
55
Dallas/Ft. Worth
81
Brownsville
91
Lubbock
81
Midland-
Odessa
88
El Paso
74 Austin 87
San Antonio
88 Houston
90
Nashville
83
Memphis
79
Knoxville
82
Rapid City
(^44) Pierre
46
Sioux Falls
52
Charleston
85
Columbia
87
Harrisburg
66
Philadelphia
66
Pittsburgh
63
Burns
49
Bend
51
Portland
Salem 51
51
Oklahoma
City
83
Tulsa
85
Cincinnati
66
Cleveland
53
Columbus
61
Fargo
46
Bismarck
56
Raleigh
Charlotte^79
84
Buffalo
53 Albany
59
New York
63
Albuquerque
58
Santa Fe
54
Reno
53
Elko
Carson City^48
48
Las Vegas
62
Omaha
54
North Platte
52
Billings
49
Miles City
51
Helena
49
Kansas City
65
Jefferson City
71
St. Louis
70
Jackson
87
Mpls-St. Paul
53
Duluth
46
Detroit
54
Marquette
46
Lansing
55
Grand
Rapids
56
Boston
57
Annapolis
65
Bangor
47
Augusta
52
Baton Rouge
86
Shreveport
87
New
Orleans
87
Louisville
72
Topeka
68
Wichita
75
Dodge City
69
Des Moines
54
Indianapolis
63
Chicago
Springfield^50
63
Boise
51
Idaho Falls
44
Atlanta
86
Savannah
90
Tallahassee
88
Jacksonville
92
Tampa
89
Miami
87
Hartford
62
Denver
Aspen 39 49
San Francisco
59
Palm Springs
72
Los Angeles
66
Sacramento
63
Fresno
62
Eureka
53
San Diego
65
Little Rock
Phoenix 66 82
Flagstaff
33
Birmingham
86
Montgomery
89
Mobile
Honolulu^84
78
San Juan
83
Anchorage
28
Juneau
38
Fairbanks
15
Puerto Rico
Hawaii
Alaska
Washington
59
Cheyenne
44
Casper
48
Jackson
Hole
36
Milwaukee
52
Madison
53
Charleston
83
Seattle
Olympia 52 52 Spokane
52
Richmond
68
Burlington
(^55) Montpelier
53
Salt Lake City
51
St. George
60
Dallas/Ft. Worth
76
Brownsville
91
Lubbock
69
Midland-
Odessa
72
El Paso
66 Austin 79
San Antonio
81 Houston
82
Nashville
79
Memphis
78
Knoxville
79
Rapid City
(^52) Pierre
53
Sioux Falls
46
Charleston
88
Columbia
87
Harrisburg
51
Philadelphia
52
Pittsburgh
67
Burns
50
Bend
53
Portland
Salem 54
55
Oklahoma
City
69
Tulsa
71
Cincinnati
75
Cleveland
63
Columbus
70
Fargo
46
Bismarck
56
Raleigh
Charlotte^83
86
Buffalo
55 Albany
57
New York
52
Albuquerque
57
Santa Fe
53
Reno
49 Elko 52
Carson City
46
Las Vegas
66
Omaha
60
North Platte
49
Billings
54
Miles City
56
Helena
54
Kansas City
66
Jefferson City
72
St. Louis
73
Jackson
88
Mpls-St. Paul
48
Duluth
41
Detroit
54
Marquette
40
Lansing
55
Grand
Rapids
54
Boston
54
Annapolis
54
Bangor
53
Augusta
55
Baton Rouge
88
Shreveport
77
New
Orleans
90
Louisville
79
Topeka
67
Wichita
Dodge City 58 62
Des Moines
62
Indianapolis
71
Chicago
60
Springfield
72
Boise
55
Idaho Falls
48
Atlanta
85
Savannah
91
Tallahassee
89
Jacksonville
94
Tampa
88
Miami
85
Hartford
55
Denver
Aspen 37 51
San Francisco
58
Palm Springs
73
Los Angeles
65
Sacramento
56
Fresno
61
Eureka
55
San Diego
65
Little Rock
Phoenix 71 76
Flagstaff
45
Birmingham
85
Montgomery
90
Mobile
Honolulu^84
78
San Juan
84
Anchorage
30
Juneau
33
Fairbanks
15
Puerto Rico
Hawaii
Alaska
Albany, N.Y. 59/32pc 57/44pc
Albuquerque 58/32w 57/36s
Amarillo, Texas 76/40c 64/35s
Anchorage, Alaska 28/21sn 30/12sn
Atlantic City, N.J. 60/45pc 51/50r
Augusta, Ga. 91/61pc 91/65pc
Austin, Texas 87/67pc 79/50pc
Baton Rouge, La. 86/71c 88/67pc
Billings, Mont. 49/33pc 54/33pc
Birmingham, Ala. 86/64pc 85/63c
Bismarck, N.D. 56/31pc 56/31s
Boise, Idaho 51/34c 55/41pc
Buffalo, N.Y. 53/39pc 55/48r
Burlington, Vt. 49/29pc 55/39pc
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 53/45c 63/40t
Charleston, S.C. 85/64pc 88/66pc
Charleston, W.Va. 70/59c 83/63c
Cheyenne, Wyo. 38/25sn 44/27w
Cincinnati 66/59c 75/56t
Cleveland 53/45c 63/59r
Columbia, S.C. 87/62pc 87/66pc
Columbus, Ohio 61/53r 70/57t
Corpus Christi, Texas 90/74f 88/65c
Daytona Beach, Fla. 87/64s 88/63s
Des Moines, Iowa 54/47c 62/42r
Duluth, Minn. 46/33f 41/34sn
Durham, N.C. 78/61pc 81/66pc
El Paso, Texas 74/43w 66/44s
Fairbanks, Alaska 15/-5pc 15/-13s
Flagstaff, Ariz. 33/15sf 45/24pc
Fargo, N.D. 46/31f 46/31f
Fort Myers, Fla. 91/67s 90/65s
Fort Wayne, Ind. 55/46r 64/49r
Fresno, Calif. 62/44s 61/48c
Green Bay, Wis. 51/38c 47/42r
Harrisburg, Pa. 66/46r 51/50r
Hartford, Conn. 62/33pc 55/41pc
Indianapolis 63/57r 71/49t
Jackson, Miss. 87/68c 88/61c
Jacksonville, Fla. 92/65s 94/66pc
Jefferson City, Mo. 71/63t 72/47pc
Kansas City 65/57t 66/44w
Key West, Fla. 84/77s 84/77s
Knoxville, Tenn. 82/63pc 79/63c
Lincoln, Neb. 55/44c 60/40r
Little Rock, Ark. 82/66pc 76/49t
Louisville, Ky. 72/64t 79/57t
Manchester, N.H. 58/32pc 60/39pc
Memphis, Tenn. 79/67pc 78/54t
Milwaukee 47/42c 52/46r
Mobile, Ala. 84/69c 84/70pc
Montgomery, Ala. 89/67pc 90/69c
Myrtle Beach, S.C. 78/63s 79/65pc
Nags Head, N.C. 69/57pc 69/62pc
Nashville, Tenn. 83/66pc 79/59c
Newark, N.J. 66/44r 53/46r
Norfolk, Va. 75/57pc 70/60pc
Oakland, Calif. 60/50pc 59/50c
Oklahoma City 83/54c 69/41s
Omaha, Neb. 54/46c 60/40r
Palm Springs, Calif. 72/47s 73/53pc
Pittsburgh 63/50c 67/57t
Portland, Maine 55/31pc 55/37pc
Portland, Ore. 51/46r 54/47r
Providence, R.I. 61/36pc 56/43pc
Raleigh, N.C. 79/62pc 83/67pc
Rapid City, S.D. 44/28r 52/31pc
Reno, Nev. 53/28pc 49/35c
Richmond, Va. 78/56pc 68/58r
Rochester, N.Y. 49/32pc 51/46r
Sacramento, Calif. 63/44pc 56/46r
San Antonio 88/68pc 81/54pc
San Jose, Calif. 59/46pc 58/48c
Savannah, Ga. 90/65pc 91/67pc
Shreveport, La. 87/68pc 77/49t
Sioux Falls, S.D. 52/39c 46/37r
South Bend, Ind. 58/46r 63/48r
Spokane, Wash. 48/36sh 52/41c
Springfi eld, Mo. 78/63c 69/44pc
Springfi eld, Ill. 63/59r 72/46t
St. Louis 70/62t 73/48t
Syracuse, N.Y. 52/30pc 52/44pc
Tallahassee, Fla. 88/64pc 89/67pc
Tampa, Fla. 89/71pc 88/71s
Topeka, Kan. 68/55t 67/44w
Tucson, Ariz. 61/39pc 68/45s
Tulsa, Okla. 85/63c 71/47w
Wichita, Kan. 75/54c 62/43w
Wilmington, Del. 67/46pc 54/49r
Winston-Salem, N.C. 80/61pc 83/65pc
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
FRI SAT
EXTREMES
Note: For contiguous
48 states through
3 p.m. Thursday
HOTTEST:
99°
Falfurrias, Texas
COLDEST: 2°
Yellowstone
Lake, Wyo.
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather Inc. ©
Much of the weather over
the central and eastern part
of the nation will be dominated
by a large and slow-moving
storm through this weekend.
The storm will first spread
snow over the southern and
central Rockies into Friday
night.
At the same time, rounds
of severe thunderstorms,
including the risk of tornadoes,
will occur over the Mississippi
Valley into Saturday night.
Rounds of rain will extend
from the central Plains to the
mid- Atlantic coast on Saturday
and then expand to New
England on Sunday.
Record-challenging warmth
into Saturday will be squeezed
toward the southern Atlantic
and eastern Gulf coasts by
Sunday.
A new storm will push inland
over the Northwest into this
weekend with an expanding
area of rain showers and
locally heavy mountain snow.
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Tensions are starting to simmer be-
tween professional sports teams and
some of their best customers.
After postponing games indefinitely
because of the COVID-19 pandemic,
teams from the NBA, NHL and MLB are
effectively keeping the money of cus-
tomers who bought tickets to those
games. Instead of giving cash refunds,
these businesses have operated under
their normal ticket policies for post-
poned or rained-out games – holding
the money as credit to be used whenev-
er their games resume.
But these aren’t normal times and
these are not normal postponements.
With the nation’s economy continuing
to crater, ticket holders want their mon-
ey back in cash, even if those games
haven’t been officially canceled.
“It’s a disaster,” said Tony Knopp,
CEO of TicketManager, which helps
companies manage tickets for enter-
taining clients.
More than $1 billion in consumer cap-
ital is tied up in tickets to games stuck in
limbo because of the pandemic, accord-
ing to conservative estimates. It affects
ticket holders of all stripes and trickles
downstream to the secondary markets,
such as StubHub, which faces its finan-
cial reckoning if games are canceled.
Many fans have shared their com-
plaints on social media.
“Absolutely ridiculous tickets can’t
be refunded because there might be
‘make up’ games,’ ” a Twitter user iden-
tified as Mitchell Coleman wrote to the
NHL. “Come off it. Not everyone can just
jump on a plane and travel to the loca-
tion to see a make up game. Wake up
and refund me for my tickets purchased
for Vegas.”
Knopp, whose company works with
several large businesses, said even large
companies that bought tickets to enter-
tain clients are losing patience. “People
are losing their jobs and they’ve got
money tied up in these tickets, for
games we don’t know when they’re go-
ing to happen,” Knopp said.
Ticket holders also are banging on
the virtual doors of Ticketmaster and
StubHub, which has a policy of not re-
funding games that haven’t been offi-
cially canceled.
“If the event is postponed, ticket buy-
ers can choose to either attend the event
on the new date or resell the ticket,”
StubHub said in a statement. “If the
event is postponed to a future, undeter-
mined date, StubHub will email the
ticket holder as soon as the details are
announced.”
If an event has been canceled, Stub-
Hub will provide a full refund, the com-
pany said. Other ticket sellers also are
expected to offer refunds if events are
officially canceled. The problem for
ticket holders is these events have not
been canceled. They’re postponed in-
definitely as part of the national effort to
keep the coronavirus pandemic from
spreading and spiking beyond the ca-
pacity of the U.S. healthcare system.
Growing concerns over the economy
have changed consumers’ needs in the
meantime.
“People are out here unable to get ba-
sic necessities and @StubHub refuses
to issue refunds until @MLB ‘cancels’
games that tickets have been purchased
for,” a Twitter user identified as Adam
Erickson wrote last week. “I’m not get-
ting what I paid for and in times like
these, your companies need to do better.
Do the right thing!”
StubHub’s Twitter account respon-
ded to this complaint by saying it was
sorry for his frustration but noted that
tickets remain valid for a later date
when the games are rescheduled. This
reply didn’t go over well.
“People can’t get water, toilet paper,
daycare and your (sic) keeping millions
of consumers dollars over a technical-
ity,” Erickson responded back to Stub-
Hub.
The teams and ticket marketplaces
have their own financial obligations and
staffing issues and aren’t always eager
to give back cash until it’s necessary.
StubHub, for example, makes money
from transaction fees and could lose
that revenue if games are officially can-
celed and they have to give it back to
customers.
StubHub and other resellers are
“rooting for postponement” and re-
scheduled games because of this,
Knopp said.
The tension stems from teams and
ticket marketplaces engaging in a busi-
ness-as-usual postponement policy at a
time that is decidedly not business as
usual for consumers.
Refund policies can vary by team, but
many team websites and messages es-
sentially tell fans to “hold on to your
tickets” for possible future use.
“NBA (you’re) losing a lot of fans who
need their ticket refund money,” a Twit-
ter user identified as Jimmie Huddles-
ton wrote last week.
The Lakers have a slightly different
message, stating that tickets will be re-
funded at the point of purchase “if you
have travel or health concerns related to
any of the upcoming games.”
Other season ticket holders bristled
when their accounts were charged as
normal by teams that collect money
from them on payment plans, including
this month by the Indians.
“Our season-ticket holders who are
on a payment plan had their March pay-
ment processed because Major League
Baseball is currently still planning to
play a full season of games,” team
spokesman Bart Swain wrote in an
email. “We will not be charging any ad-
ditional payments unless MLB provides
guidance at that time that we plan to
play a full season of games. As soon as
we learn a game is canceled and not re-
scheduled by MLB, we will offer fan-
friendly value options to season-ticket
holders to either exchange canceled
games or receive a refund.”
Likewise, NFL teams have deferred
payment schedules on season tickets,
including the Giants and Dolphins.
“Games and concerts have always
been a break from daily life,” said Pat-
rick Ryan, co-founder of Eventellect, a
ticket sales strategy company. “ I think
people miss them badly. And therefore
with the uncertainty around live events
they are wanting new dates to get set or
the ability to get their money back.”
The indefinite wait is the big issue
until then. And even if games are can-
celed, many of these teams and ticket
sellers are still going to try to hang on to
the money through enticements, such
as offering credit for next season with
perks thrown in, Knopp said. StubHub
said “given the current environment, if
an event is canceled, customers can opt
to receive a StubHub coupon valued at
120% of the original purchase. This cou-
pon can be applied toward a future
event of their choosing.”
In previous years, teams addressed
mass cancellations of games by offering
refunds plus interest, including for the
NHL lockout of 2004-05. The NBA, NHL
and MLB didn’t respond to requests for
comment or referred questions on re-
fund policies to individual teams.
The White Sox, as one example, sent
a message to fans recently. Baseball’s
opening day had been scheduled for
March 26 but is on hold until at least
May.
“To date, no games have been can-
celed,” the letter said. “Please hold on to
your tickets until an official policy is an-
nounced.”
Ticket holders want money back
Brent Schrotenboer
USA TODAY
Tickets aren’t being sold during the pandemic but they’re not being refunded
either since games are technically postponed, not canceled. KIM KLEMENT/USA TODAY