KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Edgar Galicia and his cousins planned a blowout party in Mexico City for Monday night's Kansas City Chiefs game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The group has been down in Mexico for two weeks, "getting everything ready for the big weekend," Galicia said in a video chat on Wednesday.
But due to issues with the field at Estadio Azteca, the NFL announced Tuesday that the game would be moved to Los Angeles.
For Galicia, the NFL's decision comes with a high price tag. His family rented a space for more than 75 people and had to put down a $1,000 deposit.
“We are very disappointed,” Galicia said.
Galicia himself spent $150 on a ticket to the game, $400 for a hotel, $500 in gas and $600 on tailgating preparations. And that's not even including fees from his credit card purchases.
The cost of moving the game? Priceless.
“We’re about $3,000 to $5,000 in the red. Most important, we have plenty of people, friends who trusted us and are coming down to visit. Those are the ones we're worried about,” Galicia said.
Galicia said some people are still flying to Mexico because they couldn’t cancel their flights. The only thing left to do, he said, is to just enjoy the vacation.
Russ Dubuc, owner of RD Travel Limited in Kansas City, Missouri, said travel insurance probably won’t help most people in this situation.
“If you've got cancel-for-any-reason (insurance), then you're home free. If you did not buy cancel-for-any-reason then you have a real problem because moving the game doesn't have anything to do with the travel insurance and what the insurance covers,” Dubuc said.
Dubuc said most people never get that type of travel insurance.
“The difference in the price of regular travel insurance and the cancel-for-any-reason is high, and the other reason is most people are going to go anyway. And, if you’ve got a really major problem, a death in the family or something, then travel insurance covers that,” Dubuc said.
