Chargers, Police Warn Fans About Fraudulent Tickets For Cowboys Game

The San Diego Chargers and San Diego Police Department are warning fans about an increased number of fraudulent tickets for today's game against the Dallas Cowboys.

The SDPD will have additional officers, both uniformed and undercover, monitoring ticket sales around Qualcomm Stadium for the game that kicks off at 1:25 p.m., a team official said.

The only way to assure ticket authenticity is to purchase tickets directly through the team, at Chargers.com, Ticketmaster or the NFL's official resale provider, NFL.com/TicketExchange, the official said. Tickets obtained through other sources run the risk of being counterfeit.

A near-record crowd is expected for the Cowboys' sixth regular-season appearance at Qualcomm Stadium.

During pregame festivities and at halftime, the Chargers will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

The Liga de Beisbol Infantil y Juvenil Municipal de Tijuana, AC, which represented Mexico in the Little League World Series, will be honored before the game.

The national anthem will be sung by Cathia, who reached round 16 on the Spring 2013 season of the NBC singing competition "The Voice."

Mariachi Real de San Diego and traditional ballet folklorico dancers from Chula Vista will also perform. 

Lidia Martinez, manager of corporate community affairs for Southwest Airlines, will receive the NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award, which recognizes the contributions of Hispanic leaders in each NFL market.

Martinez was selected for the award because of her extensive leadership in both the private and public sectors. She is vice chair of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, which seeks to improve the image and employment of Hispanics in all media, and a member of the advisory council for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.

Martinez was recently elected to the California State University Foundation Board of Governors and the Board of Directors of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute.

Each award recipient will select an organization of their choice that serves the local Latino community to receive a $2,000 donation.

Martinez selected MANA de San Diego, which provides mentoring, educational support and health and wellness training for Hispanic girls and women. The group  will receive a matching $2,000 donation from Courtyard by Marriott in addition to the $2,000 from the Chargers.

Martinez is board chair of MANA National.

—City News Service