How the Panthers are working with PSL owners who may struggle to pay for tickets on time
The Panthers are hoping to work with PSL owners about when payments are due for their 2020 season tickets.
The team has not made any official changes to its season-ticket payment plans as a result of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. An email went out to PSL owners Monday evening saying that the team would not be delaying deadlines. However, it noted that the team will be flexible in working with each account holder on designing a payment plan that works for them.
The Panthers said in a statement to The Observer that “we are working with our PSL holders on a case-by-case basis. We remain in contact with them and understand that everyone has unique circumstances. We are prepared and willing to assist any of our account holders that need it.”
Many PSL owners are on a season-ticket payment plan that runs from March through August with payments due on the first of each month, but traditionally the team does not reach out unless there is no payment at all by May 1. According to a source with direct knowledge, Carolina will not be changing the official due date, but the ticket office will work with account holders on payment options and action won’t be taken against PSL owners if payments aren’t in by May 1.
Fewer than 50 PSL owners have deferred payment as of Tuesday morning, the source said. That number is expected to increase with the April 1 payment designation.
While the team’s ticketing office is closed due to the stay-at-home ordinance in North Carolina, the team is recommending PSL owners email them (PSLOwners@Panthers.NFL.com) or leave a voicemail at (704) 593-4141, which they said they will return within one business day.
PSL owners have expressed concerns about being able to afford their season tickets as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue to damage the national and local economy with surging unemployment rates. PSL owner Susan Harris also took issue with the tone of the email sent Monday, highlighting what the team is doing in the community to fight COVID-19 while also reminding her she owes money.
“I just felt like the timing and the message should be separate from (the team) checking in with you and telling you what they are doing in the community,” Harris said. “It’s one thing given the current circumstances that we’re all in and facing. You don’t put payment options in a reach out, how-are-you-doing (email). It was very insensitive, with the intent of the message being a COVID-19 message.”
Harris and her husband live in Mount Pleasant, S.C., and have been PSL owners for more than 15 years. Her husband’s parents are original PSL owners. Unlike other years, Harris chose not to make payments each month and instead was waiting for the May deadline. She wishes the email had contained more concrete information, such as a revised deadline, given circumstances for so many individuals and businesses.
“I can only imagine the number of people that have competing priorities because they have been laid off,” Harris said. “Why not outline what you’re willing to do for the people at this point in time and the fact that they’re even still trying to collect with the unknown. Is there going to be an NFL season?”
The Panthers’ ticketing office, which is still dealing with the fallout of uprooting some PSL owners because of Bank of America Stadium renovations, is focusing on current customers rather than new sales at this point.
Some NFL teams have been more transparent with season-ticket holders and what will come next with payment plans. On Tuesday, the Eagles informed season-ticket holders that they are indefinitely postponing payments. Teams such as the Ravens, Steelers, Giants, Packers and Falcons have told season-ticket holders that the deadline to pay has been extended, typically by at least a month, from previously scheduled deadlines.
For example, the Ravens announced they are moving their final season ticket payment deadline from May 15 to June 15. The Saints also extended their first payment deadline earlier this month, but told season-ticket holders to get in touch with them about potential payment plans.
Other teams have handled the situation similarly to the Panthers or are yet to contact ticket holders at all.
The NFL hasn’t yet announced any changes to the regular season. They league has restructured free agency, canceled the fan portion of the NFL draft that was scheduled to take place in Las Vegas and postponed offseason training programs.
The league told reporters in a conference call Tuesday that it was expecting to have a full season as planned. Still, the league and teams are preparing for the possibility of changes to that plan.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 5:55 PM.
