London Olympics Get Rid of Half a Million Soccer Tickets to Ensure "Full" Stadiums

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games have reduced the size of the venues just 10 days before the start of the Games to ensure all matches are watched by capacity crowds and have halted sales of half of the remaining football tickets, leaving 250,000 on sale, another 250,000 to be made available in the next 10 days and topped up with a further 150,000 free tickets for schoolchildren.

Matches at Hampden Park (52k seats) and Millenium Stadium (72k seats) will feature closed-off upper decks, covered in “netting.” Yes, it’s like they’ll be playing soccer at the old Marlins stadium. The good news is, people in Florida will still be able to see all the games.

Locog chairman Lord Coe said: “We have reduced the size of venues but we have sold more football tickets than anywhere else. We are not in bad shape with tickets”.

Withdrawing the tickets may also help Locog with its overall percentage of ticket sales, which last year were said to be “sold out”.

They’re juking the stats! They might as well move the soccer matches to Amsterdam. Ticket sales for other events are said to be strong.

[Telegraph, Getty]