Tory tries to generate Pan Am Games buzz
With only 50 per cent of tickets sold, mayor urges citizens to get behind event
Mayor John Tory used a pep talk to brush aside Pan Ampessimism from Torontonians who are testy over tepid ticket sales and temporary traffic woes.
“I don’t know why we focus on the glass being half empty as opposed to half full,” Tory said at Ontario Place Wednesday, referring to news that 650,000 tickets — or 50 per cent — have been sold with just over two weeks to go.
“Let’s get positive about this,” urged Tory, throwing a lifeline to Premier Kathleen Wynne and Pan Am Minister Michael Coteau standing nearby.
“We should get out of the old Toronto mentality . . . We look at the negative.
“This is going to be a great event. The tickets are going to be sold,” he insisted.
Pan Am officials said sales have been improving as the July10 start of the Games approaches in just over two weeks.
“Over the last week, things have really picked up — we are selling a ticket every 20 seconds. We expect that trend to continue,” said spokeswoman Neala Barton.
For people who would like to see a sporting event, the Games has launched a new “Top 5” section on its website pointing to the best bets for every day of the competition at to- ronto2015.org/tickets/top-5-sportpicks.
“We know some people want a little help navigating the many, many sports so we wanted to give them a little help,” Barton said.
Tory said he’s planning to catch a few events and predicted people will “get into the excitement of the whole thing.”
“I haven’t bought my tickets yet . . . but I procrastinate as people do.”
Tory’s words of encouragement had Wynne smiling like a gold medal winner.
“There is a different buzz about the Pan Am Games . . . than there was a week ago. You can tell people are getting more excited about it, there are more stories about the athletes,” she said.
While some venues are sold out, plenty of tickets remain for some soccer games at the new stadium in Hamilton, said Coteau, noting there are other reasons to get behind the Games. “It’s more than just the tickets, it’s about the legacy, it’s about building up Ontario, it’s about building up our athletes.”