World Cup matches in Toronto still aren't sold out. But fans are facing high costs

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Would you rather buy a ticket to a World Cup match or pay a month’s rent at a condo near BMO Field?

With two weeks until kick-off and thousands of tickets still available for the six matches Toronto is hosting, many of the city’s soccer fans appear to be giving a definitive answer.

As of Wednesday, there were still plenty of tickets available for the first World Cup match in the city, featuring Canada against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The cheapest tickets, for nosebleed seats, were $1,370. The best remaining seats were just over $3,100.

“I wouldn’t even have paid that much for the Blue Jays in the World Series, Game 7 against the Dodgers, where we actually win this time,” he said. “To get into something like that for such a steep ticket price, it doesn't encourage locals to go.”

FIFA has faced criticism over the prices it set for this World Cup since tickets were first released late last year. But the federation may not be concerned with selling out matches, says Moshe Lander, a sports economist at Concordia University.

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If FIFA can make money selling seats at a higher price, even if fewer people can afford it and some tickets aren't sold, that might still be more profitable than selling out the stadium at a more reasonable cost to ticketholders, Lander said.

“Wouldn't you want to sell out?’ Maybe not. Maybe I don't maximize my profit that way." 

Fans worldwide reacted with shock and anger in December after seeing that FIFA's ticketing plans gave participating teams no tickets in the lowest-priced category. Their standard allocation is eight per cent of stadium capacity per team.

The backlash led FIFA to promptly slash prices on some tickets for each participating country.

Some resale tickets to Toronto matches were going for tens of thousands of dollars before Ontario capped ticket resales last month. FIFA then temporarily removed tickets from its official resale platform to get in line.

It’s all leaving Toronto’s dedicated soccer fanbase out in the cold, says Gareth Wheeler, lead commentator at the soccer streaming service OneSoccer.

“This is bigger than the Olympics. This is the biggest tournament on the planet. And I think it’s safe to say right now, you’re not really feeling it,” Wheeler said. “I don’t think it does anything for the atmosphere of the stadium whenever you’re keeping people that care the most out of stadiums.”

It's unclear whether moneyed tourists will descend upon the city to scoop up the remaining tickets.

Hotel bookings in Toronto haven’t surged for the World Cup. Destination Toronto executive Kelly Jackson recently said hotels in the city are seeing an 80 per cent occupancy rate in June and July, roughly what’s expected for those summer months.

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Meanwhile, local soccer fans are more likely to show up at watch parties, backyard screenings, and bars around the city, Wheeler said.

“That's where you're going to really feel the pulse,” he said.

But even the city’s fan festival near the stadium, which was initially advertised as a completely free event, is now charging for 20 per cent of its tickets. Toronto reversed a controversial plan to also charge $10 for general admission tickets after strong public criticism.

Cheri Bradish, a sports business professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, says there’s still plenty of time for remaining match tickets to be gobbled up, even if prices don’t drop.

“I don't believe the tourists that we see and the visitors that are coming just for the event are here yet in Toronto, and maybe have [not yet] completed all their purchases,” she said.

Toronto hosts its first World Cup match on June 12, and its last on July 2. It’s one of 16 North American co-host cities.

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