Nearly 900 Commonwealth Games tickets bought by the Gold Coast Council for staff, at ratepayers' expense, will be sent back after the Mayor ordered their return.
Council's chief executive Dale Dickson, who is also a board member for the Games, had in April bought 1,864 tickets, before the public could apply in the ballot.
Each councillor received two tickets to 27 events, and Mayor Tom Tate received another 108.
The purchase, estimated to be about $200,000, only became public days ago, sparking criticism from Gold Coast Commonwealth Games boss Peter Beattie.
Accusations flew that council staff got to jump the queue, and Mr Beattie agreed it was unacceptable, especially when the public was missing out.
A council spokesman said on Sunday that Mr Tate had not known the number of tickets bought by ratepayers.
The spokesman confirmed about half the tickets would be returned for a full refund.
The remainder will still be used by council to promote the city.
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