Track could be boon to poor Athens ticket sales

Organizers expect big crowds at marquee events; 85 percent of tickets sold

	Near-empty stands have been more the rule than the exception thus far at the Athens Games, but that's expected to change when track and field starts on Friday.
Dave Martin / AP

updated 4:22 a.m. ET Aug. 21, 2004

ATHENS, Greece - Olympic ticket sales are expected to pick up with Friday’s start of track and field, one of the games’ signature events, Athens organizers said.

“Today is Super Friday,” said Seraphim Kotrotsos, an Athens 2004 spokesman. “We feel that these two days are extremely important and we believe that everything will run smoothly.”

Kotrotsos said 303 competitions will take place on Friday, with 55 of them in the main Olympic stadium, the athletics venue. A total of 200,000 spectators are expected at events, with 130,000 of them at the main complex.

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Attendance at the games was disappointing during the first week of competition, but track and field will change that, organizers said.

“In the morning sessions things are starting to change,” said Michael Zacharatos, an Athens 2004 spokesman. “It’s going to be a totally different image than what you have been seeing.”

Organizers said 85 percent of tickets have been sold for Friday’s track and field events, while on Thursday most venues were 75 percent full.

On Thursday, more than 70,000 tickets were sold bringing the total purchased to 3.2 million out of 5.3 million. Organizers had originally said their goal was to sell 3.4 million tickets, then they said the goal was to sell between 3.1 million and 3.4 million tickets. Officials said there are no plans for ticket discounts or giveaways.