A report on the early outcomes of Toronto's FIFA World Cup hosting duties shows that less than half of the premium tickets for the city's FIFA Fan Festival were actually sold during the tournament. Even so, the festival still generated an estimated $5 million in revenue.
According to the report, 44 per cent of the premium tickets were sold. While the majority of Fan Festival tickets were free, the premium ones were listed at between $100 and $300.
Those premium tickets came with added perks. They included faster entry and dedicated spaces on the festival grounds.
Despite the shortfall in premium sales, the festival still drew large crowds. More than 150,000 people attended the festival during the tournament.
On the broader question of what it cost the city to host, staff say they remain confident that the cost of hosting six World Cup matches will be within the city's approved budget of $380 million. A full financial report is expected next year, once staff finish verifying revenues and budget offsets.
The report also points to help from other levels of government. The federal government committed up to $45 million toward World Cup policing and security costs in April, which the report says may help offset some of the city's costs.
Public transit saw heavy use around the games as well. The report says about 85,000 riders used local transit routes at the stadium, and nearly 160,000 in ridership were reported at Exhibition GO station, located near the stadium, on match days.