Mark Olson has enjoyed his two club seats on the 42-yard line at Raymond James Stadium. But at a combined $700 per Bucs game, he thought it best to give them up and try to purchase general seating, even if it meant forfeiting the remainder of his $4,860 deposit. Olson said his decision was not influenced by the team's 12-20 record since winning Super Bowl XXXVII. But when the Dunedin businessman called the ticket office last week, he was stunned to hear the team might take him to court if he failed to renew the club seats he has owned for two years.
"Without prompting, they told me, "There's been so many people who've expressed that they might not renew their seats, we've been instructed to advise you that you may be sued by the team," he said.
"At that point, I almost dropped the phone. I said, "Can you repeat that again?' "
Like many club seat owners, Olson, 56, didn't read the fine print in his 10-year contract. Failure to pay any deposit or ticket charge under the agreement means the licensee is in default and the Bucs may declare the entire unpaid balance of the agreement immediately due, including money for future seasons.
The contract also states the Bucs will "exercise any other remedies available under the law."
Bucs public relations director Jeff Kamis said the team has not pursued legal action against a ticket-holder for defaulting on a club seat contract since RJS opened in 1998.
"First and foremost, we have never threatened any of our fans," he said. "Like any business, we have to enforce contracts. When someone calls wanting to cancel (club seats), we remind them of their rights and responsibilities under the agreement. And, of course, we would tell them that we would exercise any remedies available."
While club seat owners at RJS have avoided litigation, the Bucs have sued ticket-holders.
They filed $1-million defamation suits against three who complained publicly about the team and their seats after the move from Houlihan's Stadium to the smaller RJS.
In 2000, a settlement was reached in the class-action suit in which the Bucs agreed to make 120 seats available to season-ticket holders unhappy with their placement in the new stadium. The team also dropped its defamation suit.
