Idaho hockey fans file suit against CenturyLink Arena for fraudulent beer practices

Two individuals and a couple are hoping to gain class-action status in a lawsuit they filed against CenturyLink arena in Boise, Idaho, alleging the venue knowingly sells large beers for $7 even though they contain the same amount of liquid as the $4 small beer cup.

The lawsuit appears to have merit based on a video recently created at an ECHL Idaho Steelheads game at the arena that shows a fan pour a large beer into a small cup. The people who made the video are not involved with the suit, however.

“While different shapes, both cup sizes hold substantially the same amount of liquid and are not large versus small in actual capacity,” the group’s attorney, Wyatt Johnson, wrote in the lawsuit. “Defendants knowingly sold each of their beers in a similar manner at each event held at the arena where beer was sold for at least the last five years.”

The suit accuses the arena of using “unconscionable methods” and it is seeking punitive damages and more than $10,000 in actual damages.

“It was recently brought to our attention that the amount of beer that fits in our large (20-oz) cups also fits in our regular (16-oz) cups. The differentiation in the size of the two cups is too small,” Idaho Steelheads and CenturyLink Arena president Eric Trapp said in a Facebook statement.

“To correct that problem, we’re purchasing new cups for the large beers that will hold 24 ounces, instead of 20, for the remainder of this season to provide better value to our fans. As we do every offseason, we’ll evaluate our entire concessions menu for next season over the summer.”

One of the plaintiffs, Brady Peck, has allegedly attended 30 events at CenturyLink and bought a beer each time. The other three plaintiffs are said to have attended multiple events at the arena and always purchased a large beer.

“It’s a small thing the arena has done to a lot of people,” Johnson told the Los Angeles Times.

[Los Angeles Times] [CenturyLink Arena]