Gerald Hanks
A cancer patient and his wife claim they were unable to use the seats they bought for Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, in part due to a large man who took up multiple seats.
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Marc Duncan told a local TV station about how they saw the man filling up parts of the adjoining seats in Section 321 at Minute Maid Park.
“It was a difficult situation. I felt bad for him,” Duncan said. “I didn’t want to embarrass him, and yet at the same time, I thought my personal space started at the arm rest.”
Duncan is being treated for colon cancer. He and his wife purchased the seats for $700 each so they could see their beloved Astros reach the World Series.
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When they arrived, the large man’s body spilled over into one of their seats. Since Duncan was too weak to stand, he took one of the seats and his wife stood in the aisle. They both attempted to work with stadium staffers to resolve the situation, but to no avail.
According to Duncan, park employees told him repeatedly, “We can’t do anything.”
The frustrated couple left after the third inning. After several calls to resolve the situation with the park, a public relations staffer offered them two tickets to a regular season game next year.
Duncan suggested the stadium institute a policy for such instances.
“Irrespective of what you feel like you owe us or don’t owe us, that you, really for your own sakes to have a policy in place ’cause this will come up again,” Duncan told the TV station.
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A policy of stadiums requiring larger fans to purchase two seats has not yet been instituted by any major league entity or venue. Southwest Airlines attempted to enforce such a policy for larger passengers, but quickly scrapped it in light of public backlash.
