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CHEYENNE (WNE) — The struggle between event venues and online ticket resellers has been going on for more than two decades, but this year, the cancellation of Cheyenne Frontier Days has caused a uniquely problematic situation for the CFD Ticket Office.

A recent release from the office said secondary ticketing markets have significantly impacted availability for customers seeking refunds. Only the primary ticket buyer is eligible for a refund for tickets purchased through the CFD Ticket Office or CFD website, so anyone who purchased through a secondary website is not eligible for a refund, rollover, exchange or credit through Cheyenne Frontier Days. Anyone in this situation must contact the ticket broker directly.

Each year, the release went on to state, several people believe they have purchased tickets from the CFD Ticket Office, only to discover they have instead purchased from a ticket broker or “scalper” in the secondary market. Although consumers, performers and venues have requested reform and change in the ticket reselling industry, without ticket purchasing legislation, primary ticket sellers like CFD must take on the responsibility to educate buyers.

Barbara Robertson, CFD box office manager, added that COVID-19 has caused a liquidity crisis for resale sites, so they enact what they call a credit policy. They don’t have the funds to refund their customers because they’ve either used the money on employees or overhead, so they’ve enacted a policy that says rather than getting your money back, you get a credit for 125% of their ticket price to be used on a future event.