The New England Patriots found themselves in hot water this Sunday after fans complained that they were asked to pay $4.50 for tap water at Gillette Stadium. 
 
 Workers at Gillette Stadium had prepared for hot September day — temperatures hit 86 degrees in Foxborough — by doubling their inventory of water bottles. However, the demand far exceeded what they were able to hold in their concession stands and was almost four times the inventory they would have had for an average game. 
 
 As different concession stands ran out of water bottles throughout the course of the day, fans asked for cups of tap water instead. Gillette concession stands don’t have the smaller complimentary water cups you may find at other restaurants, so concessionaires resorted to selling tap water in soda cups for $4.50. 

 FOXBORO (CBS) – With temperatures soaring into the 80s across New England Sunday, it should come as no surprise that Patriots fans would be streaming for the concession stands in search of water. 
 
 But some thirsty fans got bad news. As vendors waited for their stock of bottled water to be replenished, people reported being charged for tap water. 
 
 Needless to say, they weren’t happy – and they let the team hear about it on social media. 
 
 @Patriots @GilletteStadium concession stand out of bottled water. I was offered tap water for $4.50!! — scottcarruthers (@ecarruthersjr) September 24, 2017 
 
 @Patriots so, hottest game I've been to and you run out of water, but, charging $4.50 for tap water? Shame on you…. — Joy Garon (@joygaron) September 24, 2017 
 
 Though player protests during the national anthem have dominated the headlines, 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher And Rich said many of their callers wanted to talk about the water situation. 
 
 Phone lines filled with people saying they were told to pay $5 for a cup of tap water at Gillette yesterday when bottled water ran out. — Toucher and Rich (@Toucherandrich) September 25, 2017 
 
 One fan even tweeted that he ended up spending a whopping $45 on tap water at the game. 
 
 @Patriots — Loved spending $45 on tap water today… how could you run out of bottles in the 2nd qr? #bestdayever — jim kappos (@jimkappos) September 24, 2017 
 
 The Patriots acknowledged the issue in a statement to WBZ-TV Sunday night. 
 
 “We apologize. That should not have happened,” team spokesman Stacey James said. “It is the first time that I have ever heard that complaint here. We are looking into the matter to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.” 

 Getty Images 
 
 The heat was on Sunday in New England and elsewhere. The heat at Gillette Stadium resulted in a run on bottled water. 
 
 After the bottled water was gone, tap water was provided. The only problem? Stadium workers charged $4.50 or $5 per cup. 
 
 “We apologize,” Patriots spokesman Stacey James said in a statement issued to reporters on Monday. “That should not have happened. It is the first time that I have ever heard that complaint here. We are looking into the matter to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.” 
 
 It would be impossible to issue refunds, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the organization finds a way to estimate the revenue generated by tap water sales and makes a corresponding donation to charity, or some similar gesture. 

 A New England Patriots spokesperson apologized Monday, one day after the team charged fans at least $4.50 for tap water at Gillette Stadium. 
 
 With the temperature hitting an unseasonably high 86 degrees in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the team doubled its inventory of water bottles for Sunday's game, the Boston Globe reported. That was almost four times the inventory for an average game. 
 
 The problem was that each concession stand could hold only so many bottles. 
 
 When the on-hand supply ran dry, fans started asking for cups of tap water -- and, according to numerous tweets, were charged $4.50 or $5 per soda cup. The tap water was the only option available until more bottles could be brought to individual stands throughout the stadium. 
 
 We are being told at the Patriots Game today when it's 90 that we have to pay $4.50 for tap water when they have run out of bottled water — Alan Blankenship (@alcurtis48) September 24, 2017 
 
 "We apologize. That should not have happened," Patriots spokesperson Stacey James said in a statement to reporters. "It is the first time that I have ever heard that complaint here. We are looking into the matter to ensure that it doesn't happen again." 
 
 The Patriots (2-1) defeated the Houston Texans 36-33 in the game.
– You might get asked "bottled or tap?" about your water preferences at a restaurant, but at Gillette Stadium on Sunday only the latter was offered—at prices usually paid for the former. NBC Sports reports that fans who came to see the New England Patriots beat the Houston Texans were thirstier than usual due to unseasonably high temps (CBS Boston says the mercury was well into the 80s). And so the stadium's concession stands, one by one, ran out of bottled water—and started charging people between $4.50 and $5 for the privilege of a soda cup filled with tap water. "Shame on you," one attendee tweeted, noting it was the "hottest game I've been to." The Boston Globe reports that while staff had ordered twice as much bottled water as usual in anticipation of the warm weather, demand was four times what it usually was (and the concession stands wouldn't have even been able to hold all that water). The Patriots are now hanging their heads for the overcharge. "We apologize. That should not have happened," a Patriots rep said in a statement, per ESPN. "It is the first time that I have ever heard that complaint here. We are looking into the matter to ensure that it doesn't happen again."