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mjl08 said:
I went to the Canada vs. Brazil men's soccer game last night in Hamilton. Probably 80% sold out, with a great crowd. Women's games and non-Canadian men's games are apparently well below 50%.
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Both of the men's games yesterday (Peru v Panama and Canada v Brail) were sell outs. Your observation that Canada match was 80% sold is inaccurate...it may have been 80% attended but it was sold out. The Peru match is also sold out because tickets are sold on a double header basis.....whether you are aware of it or not your ticket to the Canada match was also a ticket to the earlier Peru v Panama match.
 
DarnDirtyApe said:
The Gardiner was nearly empty and 427 and 401 WB were far lighter than usual, as it seems that most people got the message to avoid downtown at all costs. We didn't even get to benefit from the HOV lanes as traffic was flowing at 20km/h over the limit anyway. It looks like inbound traffic was equally light, and I heard reports that the city was generally deserted on Friday night.

Of course, we got snarled by traffic on the 410 NB at around 6:30PM as Peel region denizens went about their daily lives in ignorant bliss of the events going on downtown. We still made it to Collingwood in just over two hours and had a lovely weekend. Heard that the opening ceremonies had some good parts but the 1.5 hours of political speeches were a real drag. We forgot to record it but I don't think I will go to the trouble of downloading it - life's too short to be glued to the TV watching a politician's idea of "world class" entertainment.
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Those people snarling the 410 north are less likely Peel residents but more accurately Bramptonians. Since the games and any transit improvements both passed the city by....can hardly blame 'em for ignoring the games ;)
 
TOareaFan said:
Both of the men's games yesterday (Peru v Panama and Canada v Brail) were sell outs. Your observation that Canada match was 80% sold is inaccurate...it may have been 80% attended but it was sold out. The Peru match is also sold out because tickets are sold on a double header basis.....whether you are aware of it or not your ticket to the Canada match was also a ticket to the earlier Peru v Panama match.
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I noticed that for the men's rugby elimination round newsreel that the cameras were careful not to pan up to the deserted upper tier. Was it really empty?
 
The first day was sparsely attended, the second day was absolutely packed with a wild crowd that basically carried Harry Jones across the line to win the gold. He had two Argentinians on his back. Kid's a flyhalf, too, so it's not like he's Tait-sized.

Lots of unexpected e-mails from non-rugby Toronto friends of mine saying they went and had a blast. Toronto Scottish had a block of 135(!) tix as well, so well represented on the rugby friends side as well. I was very jealous watching the highlights!
 
I was at BMo on Sunday for the final games. There were no people in the upper tier - not one.

I was on the west side and our area ran out of food - only popcorn was available at the end. Beer was sold out at some areas too.

It was disappointing that there were no medal ceramonies.
 
BurlOak said:
I was at BMo on Sunday for the final games. There were no people in the upper tier - not one.
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The seating/ticketing plan for the games and Rugby Sevens particularly was put in place prior to the expansion of BMO Field......I don't think they adjusted that plan and upper tier tickets were never part of the plan.

I get that Toronto(nians) like to sell themselves short and fill themselves with self doubt....but all of the media last week about how there were only 70% of the tickets sold really created a negative impression that is (IMO) unwarranted. All multi-sports events like the PanAms are a combination of really popular events and some not so popular events. I bet 70% is a really good number when you compare it to other similar events.

A guy at work here who previously was a debbie downer on the games got all swept up in the hype on Friday.....spent most of his afternoon online trying to buy tickets to an event that he and his 7 year old daughter would enjoy.....like most he was focused on getting prime time/weekend tickets to sports like Track/basketball/men's football/gymnastics/beach volleyball/cycling/swimming/diving.....and like most he found that you just can't get those tickets.

Sure you can get bad seats to some of those popular sports if you go on non-medal days and take time off work to go in the middle of the day.......or you can seats any day you like to 10 pin bowling, shooting, archery or figure roller skating......and the empty(ish) stands at those events are what is "bringing down" the averages to that 70% range......but I bet that we are exceeding the expectations of, both, PASO and the organizing committee.

It is turning out to be a spectacular event that is being pulled of well and showing off a city that is more spectacular than we give ourselves credit for.

Hitches and glitches are to be expected......but this is going really well.
 
I have to agree -- I have been very impressed with how things are going. (and how well traffic is moving!)

Husband is off today so he has wandered down to some events and found himself able to watch beach volleyball and squash. We were able to catch a bit of the triathlon while out riding on Sunday.
 
animatronic said:
I've been trying to think of what the Pan Am Games most closely resembles, and I've settled on an undergraduate production of Chicago.

It's definitely better than a high school production, but nobody is pretending that this is Broadway. There's some talent in the cast and you can tell that one or two of the leads are probably going to go somewhere, but the balance of the team is best described as enthusiastic. The production values are uneven, and the audience (a half-full theatre of mostly friends and family) have a certain grit-your-teeth-and-smile approach to the whole thing.

Now don't get me wrong - the cast and crew have poured their hearts into it and for many this will be the pinnacle of their theatrical careers. It's just that their marketing campaign to get the general public to show up is woefully optimistic. And while most are working for free they still wouldn't have been able to mount the production without a generous subsidy from the student body.

Some may think that this is the next-best thing to professional theatre, but nobody beyond a small core is under any illusion that a kick-ass production will prove that the town is capable of landing the next touring edition of The Lion King.
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Hahahaha... Let. It. Go. Everyone I've heard from has had a blast, at least partially because it's not an Olympics. We can go back to arguing against an Olympic bid after the Pan Ams are over.

And, you've got to think it's a least a little cool to see the Mountain Bike course and be able to say, "Hey, that's where we cross-country skied last winter" or see NPS in full Canada Day regalia for a full month.
 
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