NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The fallout from the second cancellation of the CMA Fest continues as fans say their tickets aren't being refunded.
Organizers made the decision once again this year due to the pandemic, but it's a decision that’s leaving several ticket holders without their money and without an event to go to this year.
The CMA Fest has always attracted fans from across the country, like Steve Constantino of New York.
"My wife has always wanted to go there for years, to the festival, and we finally decided that 2020 was going to be the year," Constantino said.
But it turned out not to be the year -- it was canceled due to the pandemic. Then CMA Fest canceled the 2021 event as well.
He bought his tickets through the ticket reseller Vivid Seats. He says he understood not getting a refund for the 2020 fest, but he's been told no for the second year in a row.
The CMA fest says tickets purchased through the official ticket seller Ticketmaster can be refunded, but that's not the case with ticket re-sellers like Vivid Seats.
Vivid Seats told ticket holders like Steve that they can only issue a refund once the event is officially canceled, not postponed or rescheduled -- like they say the CMA fest was.
But the CMA fest says ticket re-sellers like Vivid Seats actually could issue refunds if they wanted, saying that if purchased through a non-official channel like Vivid Seats, those re-sellers have purchased those tickets through Ticketmaster, and they've been given the same option to request a full refund from Ticketmaster.
Vivid Seats did not immediately respond to our request for comment about their ticket refund policy.
