Fans angered by sellout of State Fair concert

Fans of the band Florida Georgia Line, the artists behind the catchy summer single "Cruise," expressed frustration Friday after tickets to the band's concert at the North Carolina State Fair sold out within minutes.

Brian Long, spokesman state Department of Agriculture which runs the fair, said about 4,300 tickets were available online Thursday, and buyers snapped them up in five minutes. More than 10,000 people were in the queue 30 minutes before tickets went on sale at 10 a.m., he said.

"That many people going online at one time and snatching up a limited number of tickets, that’s what happens," Long said. "You sell out very quickly."

Yet tickets are still available, for a price. "They're selling $10 tickets for $75 to $100," one fan said. Lori Tennant found tickets available almost immediately on ticket reseller Stubhub.com.

Tennant wanted to buy the tickets as a birthday gift for her daughter. 

"You know what makes me mad about this," she asked. "This is the NC State Fair. I always thought this was something for the families, something for us to enjoy, and now it’s turning into commercialism."

Tennant recommended that fair tickets be made available first to in-state residents.

Long said he has heard the complaints, but there is little that organizers can do.

"I don’t know that it’s fair that there’s people out there who take advantage of the technology or the venue and do this," Long said, "But we certainly tried to take steps to make sure everybody had a chance to get online and get those tickets."

Buying tickets in bulk and reselling them at a markup is well within the law, Long said, and the fair limited purchasesto 10 tickets at a time. 

"Our data show most people bought three or four tickets," he said.

That is little consolation for Tennant and her daughter. "She’s extremely disappointed," Tennant said.