Seattle Kraken Arena Operator Charges Hidden Service Fees, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action alleges the operator of Climate Pledge Arena, the home of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, charges an undisclosed three-percent service fee when patrons buy concessions at non-Kraken events. 

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The 10-page lawsuit against Oak View Group LLC says that although the company touts itself as “a positive disruption to business as usual in the sports, live entertainment, and hospitality industries,” the company, until very recently, has charged at non-Kraken events a three-percent service fee that was not included in the list price of items bought by patrons at Climate Pledge Arena. 

Per the case, patrons “were not notified such a fee would be added to the total amount paid” for concessions, meaning the customers ultimately “paid more for concessions than they agreed to be charged.” 

“Climate Pledge Arena had an obligation to notify its patrons a 3% fee would be added to their purchase,” the suit, filed in Washington’s King County court Wednesday, states. “In failing to do so, Oak View fell short of Plaintiff’s and Class member’s [sic] reasonable expectations in their transactions—and failed to charge only the amounts that patrons had agreed to pay.”

According to the lawsuit, Climate Pledge Arena, which re-opened in 2021, has a capacity of anywhere from 17,200 to 18,300 patrons, depending on the type of event. The case says Oak View operates the arena as a cashless venue, meaning patrons who wish to buy concessions must pay with either a credit card or another form of cashless payment. 

No signage existed at Climate Pledge Arena informing patrons that they would be charged a three-percent service fee, the suit claims. Worse, the filing says, Oak View “took steps to ensure that the Arena’s customers would know nothing about the charge even after their purchases,” namely by failing to automatically provide receipts for concessions purchases. 

The suit accuses Oak View Group of violating Washington’s Consumer Protection Law and looks to cover all individuals who bought a concession at Climate Pledge Arena and were assessed a three-percent fee without notice prior to the purchase. 

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