SAN ANTONIO – Cowboys Dancehall was nearly shut down overnight after San Antonio police said the venue was over capacity by the hundreds due to concert tickets being oversold.
Police were called to the venue, located in the 3000 block of NE Loop 410, Saturday night. Officials said the large crowd was there to see Grupo Firme, a Latin music artist, perform.
Off-duty police officers from other agencies were hired to work security for the venue due to expected large turnout, according to officials.
However, the crowd seemed to get out of hand after some concert ticketholders had to be turned away, due to the venue exceeding capacity by 800 people, police said. Some fights broke out and one arrest was made for public intoxication.
According to the San Antonio Fire Marshal, the large crowd was due to the overselling of the concert tickets.
The fire marshal said they notified the club manager that the venue was overcrowded and that they couldn’t let anyone else in. Failure to not comply would result in a citation and possible shut down, officials said.
Police told the crowd outside that they would not be able to enter the club due to it being over capacity.
Authorities also told the venue to notify people indoors to leave and to get within compliance immediately. Eventually enough people left the facility and the event was able to be continued, according to the fire marshal.
As of Sunday afternoon, the venue took to social media to issue an apology and said a third party promoter is responsible for overselling the concert tickets. You can view the full statement below:
We sincerely apologize to those customers who were not allowed in last night. The concert was brought to us from a third...
Posted by Cowboys Dancehall - San Antonio on Sunday, May 23, 2021
Refunds are being granted to those who were turned away at the concert, according to Cowboys. You can get your refund by following this link here.
At last check, citations for the venue were still pending.
We’ll bring more updates to this story as they become available.
More on KSAT:
Cowboys Dancehall receives 2 citations for two-day Cody Johnson concert and large crowds
Cowboys Dancehall cited twice for social distancing violations on Friday