SportBusiness.com

Michael Eyers, of organising committee SOCOG, said over 90 percent of tickets for Olympic events in Sydney could be sold by the time the Games end on October 1, beating the record 82.3 percent set at Atlanta in 1996. "For Sydney events, we've no doubt that we will be at that level - and beyond - not just at the end of the Games, but before the opening ceremony starts," Eyers, SOCOG's deputy chief executive officer, said.
"We've got a very good chance in Sydney in seeing a sell-through rate in excess of 90 percent, which is fantastic."
Eyers forecast total sales of at least 85 percent of tickets when soccer venues elsewhere in Australia, which have generally sold less well than for sports in Sydney, were included.
He also announced extended hours at box offices to clear a backlog of some 300,000 tickets bought through call centres and the Internet but not yet picked up.
In an effort to cut queues up to four hours long, he said box offices in Sydney would stay open until midnight for ticket collection with one of them working round the clock.
"We've got every experienced box office operator we can find," Eyers said.
SOCOG had appeared to be struggling to meet its budget target of A$626 million ($355 million) in ticket sales until it recently reversed an unpopular policy of holding back premium tickets for the wealthy.
The past week has seen a rush in sales, with Eyers reporting 50,000 to 60,000 tickets were being bought a day.
"In a very Australian way, it was late in the process as the torch got closer to Sydney that the spark came," Eyers said. "But when the surge came, it came with great enthusiasm".
As of Tuesday night, 80.85 percent of nearly 6.5 million tickets for sale to the public and corporate sponsors for Olympic events in Sydney had been snapped up.
Gymnastics, triathlon, swimming and track cycling were the most heavily bought sports, with sailing, synchronised swimming, shooting and Greco-Roman wrestling bringing up the rear.
Reuters