VANCOUVER — Japan will likely have to battle the crowd as well as the U.S. in Sunday's Women's World Cup final at B.C. Place Stadium.
American fans have been a common sight in Vancouver during the tournament, whether the U.S. was playing there or not. The proximity to the border and Vancouver's many attractions have made it a popular destination for American soccer fans.
A tournament organizer said on Friday that over 51,000 tickets have been sold for the final. Over 20,000 tickets have been purchased for Saturday's third-place game between England and Germany.
The U.S. final group game against Nigeria on June 16 at B.C. Place drew a crowd of 52,193. The Americans' earlier games against Australia and Sweden drew 31,148 and 32,716 respectively at the smaller Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.
StubHub, which offers secondary ticket sales, said Friday that 89 per cent of its ticket sales for the final were made by American buyers compared to eight per cent for Canada, two per cent for Britain and one per cent for Japan.
In contrast, the Canada versus England quarter-final in Vancouver saw 75 per cent of StubHub ticket sales from Canada and 23 per cent from the U.S.
The England-Canada game drew 54,027 to the Vancouver stadium. Organizers may be hard-pressed to match that given the staging requirements for the final.
The face value of tickets for the final was $50, $85, $125 and $165.
But a ticket for the final on the StubHub site averaged US$427, although a spokesman said tickets had sold as low as $77 and as high as $2,199 as of Friday.
Games involving Canada and the U.S. were the biggest StubHub draws at the 24-team tournament.
