CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Midlothian High School is set to have its prom at the Hippodrome in Richmond on Saturday night, but not all juniors and seniors will be able to attend, according to some families.
That is because some students said prom tickets sold out just days into the advertised week-long opportunity to purchase tickets.
Those students said they were floored because they claimed staff did not tell them tickets would be limited.
Others said they were frustrated because they thought their senior dues paid at the beginning of the year included prom tickets.
The news has parents buzzing on social media.
“All seniors and their dates should get a prom ticket," one parent lamented on Facebook. "Absolute failure to these seniors.”
“I feel sorry for families who worked hard to give kids a prom to remember and now can’t due to this,” another family member wrote to WTVR CBS 6.
Holden White, a junior at Midlothian High, said he was disappointed not to be able to get tickets.
"I was looking forward to it and I thought since there is only two grades everyone would get to go,” White said.
Officials with Chesterfield Schools estimated that fewer than 10 students and 15 guests were unable to obtain tickets.
Administrators said they communicated to families at the beginning of the year that the prom would have a limited capacity because of the venue change.
They also said an early ticket option was offered to seniors in March. Then juniors were able to buy tickets before the general sale this week.
“The reason for our location change is that students wanted prom at a different venue from [Chesterfield Career and Technical Center - Hull Campus] and very few venues can accommodate much larger than 700 without 18 months notice," Dr. Shawn Abel, Midlothian High School's principal, wrote. "We selected the Hippodrome based on very positive feedback from Deep Run HS, who has hosted their prom there the past two years. Deep Run is the same size school as Midlo."
Officials said students can add their names to a waitlist, but acknowledged that a very limited number of tickets would be available and that seniors would be given priority.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
