Mom calls for change after learning her baby needs ticket for Packers-Vikings game

(KMSP) - A lifelong Green Bay Packers fan is calling for her team to change their ticket policy after recently learning she would not be able to bring her baby to Lambeau Field without buying her a ticket. 

With her daughter being just over three months old and too young to sit up, Erica Johnson’s plan was to put some noise-canceling headphones on her and snuggle her in an infant carrier throughout Sunday’s game against the Vikings.

“We were super excited to take her to the game,” Johnson said.

But after calling and sending a letter, the Packers make it clear everyone entering the stadium must purchase a seat. That poses several obstacles for the new mom: the expense, the fact the game is completely sold out and the principle itself.

“Many nursing moms understand leaving her at home for the average length of the game – three and a half to four hours – just isn’t a feasible option,” said Johnson. “So you gotta figure out how to make do, which means bringing her with.”

According to Ticket City, the Packers are one of seven NFL teams that require everyone who enters to pay for a seat. Other teams have various height and age restrictions, ranging from the New Orleans Saints allowing anyone five years old and younger in without a ticket, to the Minnesota Vikings which welcomes any kid 36 inches or shorter to enjoy the game free of charge from the comforts of their parent’s lap. 

This season the Vikings even unveiled a new nursing room, which Lambeau also offers. Johnson, however, questions how a nursing mom who does leave a baby at home could even bring in pumping equipment with the NFL’s small clear bag policy. For this and other reasons, she says her beloved Packers need to step up their game. 

“I just want them to step back and review the policy being a hometown team,” said Johnson. “Family-friendly environment, the one we’ve always known the Packers to be, that kids could really enjoy that experience.”

Unless the Packers change their policy, the family won’t be going to Lambeau until their daughter is old enough to appreciate it.