LA Rams ticket policy restricts SF 49ers fans from NFC Championship game

LOS ANGELES - San Francisco 49ers fans were bummed out with a policy briefly on Ticketmaster that prevented many from buying tickets for the NFC Championship against the Los Angeles Rams this Sunday.

The Rams and Ticketmaster had restricted ticket sales to purchasers with a credit card zip code in the "Greater Los Angeles Region."

The fan ban prompted a huge outcry by Niner fans. By Monday morning, the policy was lifted. But for many, it was too little too late, because tickets had sold out.

Fans can still seek out third-party tickets but can expect to pay a markup.

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Die-hard 49er fan and North Bay resident, Cindy Grant, said, "Honestly if I wanted to go to Arizona or a completely different state to see a game, I shouldn't be prohibited because of my address."

Grant said she was not impressed with the tactic.

"Really, how can they stop people from buying tickets on the secondary market? And really, anybody in Northern California knows people in Southern California so there are ways around it," she said.

The Rams implemented the restriction two weeks ago after the Faithful turned SoFi Stadium into a sea of red during the regular-season finale. The 49ers appeared to outnumber the Rams fans.

Howard Wasserman, a law professor at Florida International University, said privately built stadiums give teams and the NFL more latitude.

"There’s no law in place that they would be running afoul of," said Wasserman.

That would be different if SoFi was publicly owned.

"Then it is subject to Constitution limitations like the 14th Amendment and the 1st Amendment," he said.

Most speech is protected in public places, so fans cheering on their favorite teams and wearing logos is free expression.

"They’re drawing distinctions based on the viewpoints the fans are going to express in terms of who they’re going to be rooting for," said Wasserman.