WGNO

Why didn’t Bubble Run happen? Some parents feel scammed

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — What happened to the “Bubble Run?” that was scheduled for Saturday, March 27th?

Families expected a day of family fun at NOLA Motorsports on Saturday, but when they arrived the gates were closed, and the Bubble Run obviously had been canceled, but many parents say they were never notified of any sort of cancellation.

Parents like Ruth Avila are baffled as to why when they showed up to NOLA Motorsports for the “Bubble Run,” nothing was going on.

“It was a nightmare. It didn’t happen. Cars were lined up on both sides of the street. People were at the gate, we all were trying to figure out what was going on,” Avila said.

Avila went on to say, “No one knew what to do. No one got e-mails. No one was notified. People drove from Florida and North Carolina.”

Latrice Dixon bought tickets for her son and sister who were visiting from North Carolina. They were all expecting “Bubble Run” fun.

“I just feel they could’ve done better at the communication to let families know, especially with people driving in from out of town,” Dixon said.

Spokespeople with NOLA Motorsports said this is unfortunate. They said that “Bubble Run” organizers told them the event was canceled three weeks ago, and that organizers said they sent out an e-mail letting everyone who bought tickets know. NOLA Motorsports spokespeople said that they shared the e-mail they got from organizers with anybody that called or e-mailed them about it. The decision to cancel the event was not made by NOLA Motorsports.

NOLA Motorsports forwarded the e-mail to WGNO and it read:

“Hello Bubble Runners,

We regret to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances, we sadly must postpone our Bubble Run in New Orleans on May 27th. Unfortunately, we have been unable to secure a new date, and we are trying to find one in the next 12 months. For your convenience, we will be refunding your account, within the next 3 weeks, we appreciate your patience as we process.
Both parents Ruth and Latrice say they never got that e-mail.”

“I got a QR code when I registered in September but no follow-up e-mail,” Dixon said.

“These people let people register for the race the night before, until Midnight so if registration was still open for a race that wasn’t going to happen, it makes you feel like these people aren’t being honest like it is a scam,” Avila said.

Avila went on to say, “As a mom, you don’t want to disappoint your kids and you sign up for this fun thing and it is not true.”

Parents say they want a refund. We reached out to “Bubble Run” organizers, but have not heard back yet.

NOLA Motorsports Park later released a statement in reference to the incident.

It stated, “We would like to apologize for the cancelation of the Bubble Run event at our facility on Saturday, May 27. The decision to cancel the event was not made by NOLA Motorsports Park. We were informed by the Bubble Run management team that an email had been sent to all participants prior to the event day and that a full refund would be issued within three weeks.”

NOLA Motorsports Park is referring all ticket holders for more information or questions you may have about your refund, please contact: info@bubblerun.com.

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