Bulverde man sues S.A. Sports Hall of Fame, H-E-B, after botched NFL auction
A Bulverde man is suing H-E-B and the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame after he won an online NFL auction that he described turned into a “disaster,” according to the Express-News. The suit, filed on December 20, 2022 in state District Court in San Antonio, alleges violations of Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Eduardo Solis reportedly won tickets to the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, and Pro Football Hall of Fame games and induction ceremonies with a $12,000 bid in the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame Tribute auction put on by the nonprofit San Antonio Sports. The event, presented by H-E-B that year, initially scheduled for March 28, 2020, was turned virtual as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The auction is the organizations biggest fundraiser each year to support its free youth sports and community health initiatives.
“He was promised an engaging, exciting football game experience and received embarrassment, frustrating broken commitments, and shocking disregard for his feelings, or the expense (he and his wife) incurred … to travel to the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl,” Solis’ complaint said.
The “NFL Hall of Famer Dream Package” won by Solis included tickets to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week in August 2020, along with two tickets to both the 2021 Pro Bowl and Super Bowl LV. But, just as COVID-19 mired the tribute event, the pandemic resulted in the cancelation of the Hall of Fame game and Pro Bowl in Las Vegas.
As a result, the tickets were rolled over into 2022. Solis experienced the first major road bump with the 2022 Pro Bowl, where he reportedly did not receive the tickets until an hour before the game and did not get any of the promised amenities described in the package, including gourmet food, open bar, and meet and greets with players.
Despite the hiccup, Solis and his wife flew to California for Super Bowl LVI where they learned their tickets were not provided and they would not get any of the “promised extras,” the Express-News reports. Solis reportedly bit the bullet and bought tickets 15 minutes before the start of the game to the tune of $13,200. Solis’ lawyer Lawrence Shallcross said Solis never received an explanation for the situation.
The lawsuit says that Solis seeks $60,000 in damages to cover his out-of-pocket expenses like travel, in addition to mental suffering and other costs. He also reportedly seeks unspecified damages because he claims the acts were committed “intentionally.”
The Express-News notes confusion about why the lawsuit names San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame and not San Antonio Sports, a detail which Shallcross describes as “cloudy.”
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