Toronto still has thousands of World Cup tickets available weeks before kickoff, but face-value prices above $1,000 are testing local demand.
Toronto’s World Cup run is approaching without a sellout for any of the six matches the city is set to host, with thousands of tickets still listed and many remaining seats priced far beyond what some local fans say they can afford.
As of Wednesday, CBC News reported that seats were still available for Toronto’s first match, Canada against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The lowest-priced remaining seats were listed at $1,370, while some of the best available seats were just over $3,100.
The gap between global demand for the World Cup and the unsold inventory in Toronto points to a central tension around this tournament: the event may be one of the most popular in sports, but its ticket pricing has made in-person attendance difficult for many people in the host city.
Cam Sharpe, a local fan, told CBC he would not pay those prices even for a rare championship moment in another sport. “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 World Cup ticket prices since sales began late last year. CBC reported that fans reacted angrily in December after learning that participating teams’ standard ticket allocations did not include seats in the lowest-priced category. FIFA later reduced prices on some tickets for participating countries.
The federation did not respond to CBC Toronto’s request for comment. Moshe Lander, a sports economist at Concordia University, told the outlet that FIFA may not necessarily need a sellout if higher prices generate more revenue than a full stadium at lower prices.
The resale market has also drawn scrutiny. Some resale tickets for Toronto matches had been listed for tens of thousands of dollars before Ontario capped resale prices last month. FIFA then temporarily pulled tickets from its official resale platform so it could comply with the change.
Whether late-arriving visitors will buy up the remaining inventory is still uncertain. Destination Toronto executive Kelly Jackson has said hotel occupancy in June and July is around 80 per cent, roughly in line with expectations for the summer season rather than a clear World Cup surge.
For now, some observers expect Toronto’s soccer atmosphere to be felt as much outside the stadium as inside it. Gareth Wheeler, lead commentator for OneSoccer, told CBC that local fans are more likely to gather at bars, watch parties and backyard screenings if match tickets remain out of reach.
Toronto is scheduled to host its first World Cup match on June 12 and its last on July 2, as one of 16 host cities across North America.
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