Pan Am Games ticket sales eclipse 1 million

Pan-Am-Games

Sales gained momentum after the sold-out July 10 opening ceremony, with daily sales doubling to more than 20,000. (Mark Blinch/CP)

TORONTO – More than one million Pan Am Games tickets have now been sold, a milestone organizers say reflects the event’s growing popularity.

Sales hovered around 750,000 — about half the 1.4 million tickets available — before the Games began last week, prompting some critics to question the international competition’s success.

More than 300,000 sold after the opening ceremony, which drew some 45,000 people to the Rogers Centre on July 10.

Saad Rafi, the CEO of the Games’ organizing committee, says it’s a sign that "Toronto and the region have embraced these once-in-a-lifetime Games."

He says tickets still remain for some events and more may become available at the last minute for sold-out competitions.

The Games wrap up next Sunday, and the Parapan Am Games begin on Aug. 7.

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