Lightning offer ticket refunds for postponed games

TAMPA — Sixty-four days have passed since the NHL season was put on hold hours before the Lightning were supposed to take on the Flyers. The 19,092 fans who held tickets for that contest, and the six other remaining regular-season games, can now get refunds.

The games have not been officially canceled by the NHL, but it has long been clear that they are not being held as originally scheduled. Even if these games are rescheduled, at this point it seems unlikely fans will be present.

It’s possible the Lightning won’t even finish their regular season at Amalie Arena. One plan the NHL is considering features regional sites, which could mean games in Tampa or another city.

The Lightning sent an email to their season ticket members Thursday morning outlining two options. They can chose to roll over the funds from this season’s paused games into next season or they can take a refund. The email included links to notify the organization of which option fans chose by May 20, or it will automatically roll over.

Anyone who rolls over the funds to next season’s package will receive a 10 percent loyalty credit bonus to apply to their ticket package, concessions or merchandise. Those who take the immediate refund will continue to defer their payment plans.

Payment plans for next season were originally scheduled to begin March 15. The team deferred payment and the balances have rolled forward since then.

Those who held single-game tickets for the remaining games also have avenues for refunds. Anyone who bought their ticket from the box office directly should email boxoffice@viniksportsgroup.com — the office is not staffed in person, so there is no one to answer calls or in-person inquiries.

Fans who bought their tickets through Ticketmaster should find an option to request a refund upon logging into their Ticketmaster accounts.

The website also offers a refund process to anyone who bought their tickets on the resale market. The same option to request a refund appears in the account. Ticketmaster then requests and receives the funds from the seller and returns the tickets to them.

Contact Diana C. Nearhos at dnearhos@tampabay.com. Follow @dianacnearhos.