Copa América Final Lawsuit Filed by Soccer Fans Locked Out of Hard Rock Stadium [UPDATE]

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A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of ticketholders who were denied entry to the Copa América final between Argentina and Colombia, claiming that inadequate security protocols at Hard Rock Stadium allowed thousands of unticketed fans to storm the gates and steal seats from paying customers.

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The 30-page lawsuit alleges negligence on the part of Hard Rock Stadium, continental soccer confederations CONMEBOL and Concacaf, and security service BEST Crowd Management is to blame for the “mass chaos” that broke out at the July 14 match in Miami Gardens, Florida.

According to the complaint, the defendants’ failure to properly set a perimeter outside the stadium using barricades, fences, metal detectors, ticket scanners and security checkpoints allowed tens of thousands of fans to gather, tailgate and create a “complete free-for-all block party” on stadium grounds prior to the match. Per the suit, unticketed fans attended in droves and were allowed to park on Hard Rock property.

As the evening progressed, paying and nonpaying fans alike flooded entrances to the stadium, the case relays. The plaintiff, a longtime Argentina supporter who spent nearly $10,000 on four tickets and over $14,500 on travel costs, says he witnessed “dozens of fans climbing onto a store front and breaking into the stadium, scaling fences, and throwing backpacks over” barriers when the game was delayed because of crowd issues.

The complaint claims the defendants, concerned about potential injuries and ostensibly to avoid a stampede, decided to open the stadium gates to the general public.

“The scene that unfolded was on television and social media was [sic] astonishing, bloodied fans, parents protecting children from criminal acts, fans assaulting each other, stadium staff and local police,” the filing says.

The defendants eventually closed all gates once the stadium reached capacity, leaving thousands of properly ticketed fans locked out, the case states. The plaintiff claims he and his family waited hours in extreme heat to enter before returning to their hotel to catch the final minutes of the game on TV.

The filing contends that defendants CONMEBOL, Concacaf, Hard Rock and BEST owed a duty to the plaintiff and other paying customers “to exercise reasonable care in obtaining, retaining, securing, safeguarding, and protecting access to the stadium and protecting their tickets and seating in [sic] from being compromised, lost, stolen, accessed, or misused by unauthorized persons.”

The suit looks to represent anyone who purchased a ticket to the Copa América final match and was prohibited from entering Hard Rock Stadium.

The Copa América final lawsuit seeks to have the defendants fully refund customers for their tickets, which allegedly went for a minimum of $1,995 and as high as $7,377. The class action does not seek damages related to any personal injuries.

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