Green Bay Packers ticket waitlist; what you need to know
TREVOR, Wis. - There are about 147,000 names on the waitlist to become Green Bay Packers season ticket holders. Fans at the top of the list have been waiting decades.
So, what’s the official process when a waitlist member finally becomes eligible for tickets? One family in Kenosha County tells Contact 6, they can’t believe their opportunity was fumbled.
In 1990, the Packers wrapped their season with a 6-10 record. Green Bay drafted LeRoy Butler. The Packers’ head coach was Lindy Infante. Don Majkowski was quarterback.
It’s also the year that May and Larry Puzzo of Trevor got on the waiting list for season tickets. They still have their letter from the Packers confirming their spot at number 9,967. Back then, they lived in Illinois.
"You can tell the frame is old," said Larry Puzzo, showing the letter to Contact 6 reporter Jenna Sachs.
Larry and May Puzzo are team shareholders. They save ticket stubs, newspaper articles, even commemorative beer cans. They also have a pile of annual postcards from the Packers.
May and Larry Puzzo
"Just postcards saying where we were on the waiting list," Larry Puzzo explained.
Every fall, Packers fans on the waitlist for season tickets get updates on their position via postcard. Waitlist members are also asked to update their address information with the ticket office.
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"As members get within a few hundred places of being offered season tickets, they will receive a letter stating that they are within a few years of becoming season ticket holders," a Packers spokesperson tells Contact 6.
Members are told their default choice is the Green Package. If they want Gold Package tickets, they have to make the selection on a form and mail it back.
When tickets are finally available to a waitlist member, the Packers spokesperson says a "get ready" letter is mailed out in January, letting fans know they’ll be offered tickets soon. In May, a ticket holder account is created and tickets are assigned. In June, the Packers mail out a user fee invoice.
If the invoice isn’t paid by the deadline, the Packers move onto the next person on the list.
"We didn’t realize until this past Thanksgiving. [Larry’s] nephew said, "hey, where are you on the list?" May Puzzo recalled. "After 25 years, you do lose track."
The Puzzo’s last postcard arrived in 2015. It shows they were getting closer to tickets: number 406. Last year, the Puzzos wrote to the Packers asking where they stand on the waiting list.
"[The Packers[ sent an email back saying they sent a letter to us in 2016 offering us tickets and they never heard from us," said Larry Puzzo. "They said, "sorry," there’s nothing they can do."
In other words, the Puzzos missed their chance to claim their season tickets They claim they never got any letters from the Packers. Their address hasn’t changed since their last postcard was sent in 2015.
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"I think it got lost in the mail," said Larry Puzzo.
The Packers won’t comment on waitlist members or individual ticket holders. It asks members who have not gotten an annual postcard to check-in with the ticket office, and make sure their address is up to date.
Only 100 to 200 names come off the list every year. About 75% of people on the list choose to become season ticket holders. Sometimes, people turn down tickets, or the Packers don’t hear anything back after sending the invoice.
May and Larry Puzzo
The Puzzos still have their original waitlist letter hanging on the wall. It’s a point of pride and painful reminder.
So, are they still Packers fans?
"Oh yes. Absolutely," said May Puzzo.
Puzzos think the Packers should send certified letters when tickets become available. Or, should consider reinstating them on the waitlist at #406, their position in 2015.
Lambeau Field, Green Bay
In conversation with the Packers, Contact 6 learned that in rare cases, the Packers do hear from waitlist members months after invoices are mailed. The Packers do review cases and may reinstate a member on the waitlist in a position to receive tickets. But, a gap of years is not eligible for review.