Big Red Business: Huskers’ game in Dublin in doubt

More signs are pointing to the cancellation of Nebraska’s season-opening trip to Ireland to play Illinois on Aug. 28th.

While there’s been no official announcement, sources told HuskerOnline that all signs point to the Aer Lingus Football Classic in Dublin not happening because of the still persistent pandemic that has made overseas travel too risky.

The sources said to expect an official word very soon.

John Anthony, the head of Anthony Travel and the game’s travel promoter, would not confirm a cancellation. But he reassured fans who had already spent money on travel packages and tickets that they would be taken care of.

When the August 2020 Aer Lingus match-up between Notre Dame and Navy was canceled, Anthony said “every dollar that was paid to Anthony Travel was repaid in full….many millions of dollars.” Anthony Travel is not responsible for airfare, only tour packages, game tickets and other “land” events.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late last week warned consumers to avoid all travel from the United States to Ireland because of the presently “very high level” of Covid-19 cases.

Canceling the Ireland trip would set off a chain reaction for the schools, the conference, the promoters, the Irish tourism industry, and the fans who shelled out thousands of dollars for tickets, tour packages and airfare months ago before Covid-19 shut down ticket demand.

Since the match-up at Aviva Stadium in Dublin is technically an Illinois home game, would the two teams play instead in Champaign-Urbana, and on the same date? Could the game be played instead now on Week 1 vs. Week Zero?

Anthony Travel, recently stopped collecting monthly payments from fans who had purchased tickets and travel packages in the thousands of dollars. Previously, as the pandemic spread, the company had extended deadlines on ordering travel packages and put late-payment fees on hold.

“With the uncertainty, we decided to be buyer friendly and not collect on the monthly payments until we know more,” Anthony, the owner of the Dallas-based college travel management company said in an email on Sunday.

Anthony also said “there are no changes at this point” as far as the game is concerned, and that new reservations are still being accepted..

When asked, he said he could not provide a deadline on when a final decision will be made. “This decision will be made jointly by all involved parties including the participating schools, the Irish government, Aviva Stadium, and with the guidance of the health officials and organizations who provide guidance based on the available facts at the time,” said Anthony.

Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos said on his monthly radio show in December that he expected a final decision on Dublin “after the first of the year.”

Had it not been for the pandemic, he added, “a lot of tickets would have been sold this past fall.” Hundreds of Nebraska fans ordered tickets for the trip immediately after plans for the game were announced in late 2019.

The athletic department could not be reached for further comment. An Illinois athletic department spokesman said last week he hadn’t heard of any changes in status for the game. Both schools continue to promote the game on their websites. For Nebraska: https://www.huskers2ireland.com/.

Under previously announced plans, Anthony Travel said tickets for the game could only be purchased through the company as part of the travel packages and corporate hospitality events it is marketing through Sunday Feb. 14.

After that, remaining tickets would be sold without requiring tour packages through the Nebraska and Illinois ticket offices, and perhaps through brokers and other traditional outlets.

The season opener in Dublin is one pricey package, with tickets and tour packages ranging from nearly $3,000 per person to about $5,000.

Those prices do not include airfare, only land travel.

Nonetheless, Nebraska fans opened their wallets and were prepared to travel.

Which raises the question: If the game is a no-go and fans have to unpack their bags, will they get a full refund?

Anthony Travel said in an August note to ticket buyers that it wanted “to ensure that during these uncertain times, you have peace of mind when making travel plans with us to Ireland.”

The company said it was working with its Irish vendors and partners “with the goal of being able to offer a full refund should the game cancel due to Covid-19. If we receive commitments from our Irish vendors we will adjust the cancellation policy accordingly and communicate it to you.”

Generally speaking, when it comes to sports and entertainment, consumers are entitled to a 100 percent full refund in a timely fashion when an event is canceled. Timely generally means within 30 days.

Chad Carr, the owner of Omaha-based Ticket Express (www.ticketexpress.com), said he has customers on a waiting list with his firm for tickets to the game. “A lot of people who hadn’t been to Europe before or Ireland before saw this as an opportunity to see the game and experience the country,” Carr said.

He said Anthony’s decision to stop monthly payment requirements “is a tell-tale sign of the prospects of the game happening .”

Assuming the game is called off, Carr urged travelers to be patient on refunds. “Give them at least two to four weeks to get everything processed,” he said.

“I feel Anthony will act in the best interests of consumers,” Carr said.

As for airfare, travelers would need to request refunds from the airline.

The worldwide Covid-19 crisis prompted the cancellation of last August’s inaugural Aer Lingus Classic between Notre Dame and Navy at Aviva Stadium. That game was rescheduled to be played in Annapolis, but ultimately was canceled again.

Fan fallouts? It appears refunds were handled in a generally seamless fashion, especially given the numbers that were expected to attend the game.

Several Anthony Travel customers posted complaints on the Better Business Bureau website about refund delays from the travel firm. But in each case, Anthony filed a response and indicated it was working through the problems.

Consider this response from Anthony to a customer complaint: “In June upon a game cancellation we communicated with guests that we would provide more details within 30 days, which we shared in 30 days that the refund process would begin in August and provided the option for guests to choose a check refund rather than original payment as their form of refund.”

“Our process began in August but when the expected timeline had to be changed, we communicated accordingly with all of our guests. We understand the frustrations and desire to receive refunds for this event as soon as possible and we have worked to provide those as quickly as possible. Under usual circumstances, we would not have not incurred the unexpected delays in the process as we did, but due to the pandemic and unprecedented times the process did take longer than expected.”

Scott Strasemeier, the senior sports information director at Navy, said he was not aware of any refund issues. “Not that I’ve heard of,” he said.

A spokesman for Notre Dame, could not be reached for comment.

Steve Rosen writes about the business of sports for HuskerOnline. Questions, comments, story ideas? Reach Rosen at srosen@huskeronline.com.