Commanders’ tickets for NFL debut in Spain are hard to come by, leaving fans frustrated

Commanders tickets for Spain game are a tough get

Many fans expressed frustration after not being able to secure tickets to the team's game in Madrid.

LANDOVER, Md. - Tickets went on sale Tuesday for the big Commanders game in Madrid, Spain this November.

But the way it played out left a lot of fans frustrated.

Ticket scramble

What we know:

Dozens took to social media saying they waited for hours in the online queue on Ticketmaster, only to be told the seats had sold out or the site crashed.

"I got tickets finally at 11 a.m., it took over six hours. It was a long morning, but I lucked out," said superfan Tailgate Ted. "I'm still looking for two more for family to go, but I know a ton of Commanders season ticket holders who just weren't able to get any at all."

The game on Nov. 16 will be the first time the NFL is in Spain - and Commanders fans went all in.

"It's frustrating, but the Commanders are hot again and everybody wants to go," Tailgate Ted said. "And we're also the away team, so there weren't as many tickets allocated to the team this time, so it's been more difficult for our fans to secure seats."

Back in May, when this matchup against the Miami Dolphins in Madrid was announced, the Commanders let season ticket holders enter into a lottery to purchase tickets if they wanted.

People Fox 5 spoke with who did that and were selected, said it was no problem to buy the tickets in June from the Commanders themselves.

The issues started Tuesday, when the NFL released tickets to the general public at 6 a.m. Eastern time on Ticketmaster.

Fan frustration

Fox 5's Homa Bash spoke to Commanders fan Meredith Bauer, who just relocated to Germany because her husband is in the military.

She said after a long wait on the official site and no luck - she eventually switched over to StubHub and was able to get four seats - with a ton of fees added on.

"It's me, my husband, and our two children and each ticket was like $200 in the 600 level -- and then when I went to check out it was like $1200 and I as like oh okay, wow," Bauer said, adding that it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the family. "It's a little taste of home so we had to jump on it."

The stadium in Madrid - Estadio Santiago Bernabeu - holds about 80,000 fans - so the seats were split between those in Spain, Dolphins and Commanders fans.

At last check, a few tickets were still available on resale sites like StubHub, Tick Pick, Vivid Seats averaging upwards of $400 excluding taxes and fees.