Scalpers cash in on 'free' Fan Fest tickets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than 50,000 fans are expected at Bank of America Stadium for the Carolina Panthers Fan Fest.

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This year, fans need tickets to attend and they're free.

Action 9's Jason Stoogenke found scalpers are trying to cash in on them.  He found people selling those "free" tickets on eBay and Craigslist for $55, $65 and even $400 for four tickets.  It appears legal, but fans call it unbelievable.

Stoogenke called the scalpers to see what they had to say for themselves.  Everyone that answered refused to discuss it and hung up.

Natasha Peterson took her two boys to Fan Fest last year.  She said they were "just star struck."  They wanted to go again this year, but couldn't get tickets.

She found out about people trying to make money off of those tickets.

"I was so shocked, number one, and just disappointed," she said. "I just can't imagine that someone would do that and mar what the intention of the Panther organization was to begin with."

She hopes the Panthers find a way to stop Fan Fest scalpers next year.

The Panthers told Stoogenke they took measures to prevent resale on secondary markets, like limiting fans to six tickets each.  Since that didn't weed out all of the scalpers, the team said, "We'll continue to look for ways to improve going forward."

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