BROOKE WINS AGAIN
OLYMPIAN Brooke Hanson and her children are off to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games after securing tickets yesterday. Like everyone else, the gold medallist had to enter the random ballot, scoring tickets to her beloved swimming but missing out on the Opening Ceremony and netball final.
GOLD Coast Commonwealth Games chairman Peter Beattie has no regrets “low-balling” ticket prices despite yesterday revealing huge oversubscription.
Marquee events including the opening ceremony, swimming finals and rugby sevens final are all sold out after the first ticket allocation.
The netball final was oversubscribed by five times, with successful ticket applicants and those who missed out yesterday receiving emails letting them know.
Mr Beattie, the GOLDOC chairman, this month revealed he had gambled on revenue by setting prices at a “low-ball” palatable level for families.
“We could have gouged people – of course we could have – and sold less. But at the end of the day that’s not the spirit of the Games and that’s not the reputation of the Games,” Mr Beattie said.
“That would have damaged the reputation of the Coast and damaged the event. We didn’t want to do that.
“I think we got it absolutely right. A lot of families, if we’d gouged, would not have bought tickets.”
Mr Beattie said sales were ahead of where Glasgow had been at the same stage in the build-up to 2014 and ticket revenue was “on track” for what was estimated.
GOLDOC received 1.2 million tickets requests covering every one of the 274 sessions from the first allocation of tickets which closed a month ago.
Organisers would not release official numbers sold but said several hundred thousand people had successfully applied for one or more tickets in what was a random computer-generated ballot.
The 300,000 session tickets left will be available from July 5, with applicants from the first allocation given a priority window to apply on July 3 and 4.
Gold Coast mother Nicole Phillips, of Currumbin Valley, received tickets for her and two daughters to the opening ceremony, swimming finals and weightlifting sessions.
She spent well over $1000 and said it has “put a hole in the wallet”.
Coast-based Olympic swimming gold medallist Brooke Hanson was thrilled to secure tickets to the swimming finals, which includes the women’s 200-metre medley in which she won a silver in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
She also secured rugby sevens final tickets for her partner and two kids.
“My kids just love swimmers Cam McEvoy and Kyle Chalmers. I will be more thrilled at seeing the kids’ reaction to seeing their heroes race,” she said.
Games and Tourism Minister Kate Jones said it was now up to accommodation providers “to do the right thing” and not price-gouge room rates which would damage the city’s reputation.
“This is our chance to show the world why the Gold Coast is the best tourism destination in Queensland,” she said. “Let’s not blow it.”