A San Antonio concert venue saw a chaotic scene unfold outside its doors over the weekend, after promoters sold more tickets than the building was able to host. The Cowboys Dancehall subsequently apologized for the snafu, which occured during a Grupo Firme concert.
According to local reporting, police and firefighters were called to the venue at 10:30 PM after reports of the building being far above capacity, which normally ranges up to 5,500 according to online sources. It is believed that the venue was oversold by at least 1,000, meaning hundreds were stranded outside despite purchasing and paying for tickets.
“At this point if one more person gets in, we’re issuing citations,” was the call made by the San Antonio Fire Department leadership that precipitated unrest among the locked-out attendees. Though tempers understandably flared and police called for additional support to deal with the issue, only one arrest was made in the aftermath. The concert ended at 12:30 and the crowd dispersed.
Afterwards, Cowboys Dancehall issued an apology for the oversell, and blamed the events promoter for the issue.
“We sincerely apologize to those customers who were not allowed in last night,” the venue posted on Facebook. “The concert was brought to us from a third party promoter and therefore we did not have access to the ticketing. We are currently investigating how the show became oversold. Please go to Ticketron.com for refunds, we will assist in anyway we can. We were assured that refunds will [be] given. Once again we are deeply sorry. Thank you.”
Local officials reportedly threatened to shut down the show entirely due to the building being overcapacity, but enough patrons left to mitigate the issue and the show went on. It is unclear whether or not the venue received any citations for the scene.
Video from outside the event: https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/05/23/cowboys-dancehall-nearly-shut-down-after-being-over-capacity-with-thousands-on-site-officials-say/