Ticket sales for the Lake Placid 2023 Winter World University Games “exceeded expectations” according to the event’s executive director, Ashley Walden.
As reported by insidethegames, over 58,000 tickets were sold for the Games by January 22, the final day of the event, which is organised by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). Organisers were originally worried that not enough tickets had been sold.
Ahead of the final day on Sunday, Walden said: “Early on, we had readjusted our projections on the ticket sales and, to be honest, heading into this three weeks or a month ago we were concerned about the ticket sales. We had done a bit of research and knew that we would see an uptick as the Games drew closer.
“I think a lot of credit is due to our ceremonies team for putting on such an incredible ceremony that it gathered so much attention and the ticket sales continued to have record-breaking days after that.
“It was wonderful to see how many people came out and how many sold out events we had in the end, particularly around some of the ice hockey games and for the short track.”
Walden added: “In the end it exceeded our expectations and we also do have a sold-out closing ceremony and gold medal hockey game here so we’re very excited that that trend continued right through to the end.”
Lake Placid 2023 also said that there were a number of sell-outs among different host venues, including preliminary ice hockey matches.
Short track attracted a large crowd including a sold-out audience for the men’s and women’s 1,500 metres events and mixed team relay. Curling, and in particular the men’s final between the US and Great Britain, also attracted a sold-out crowd.
The Lake Placid 2023 FISU Winter World University Games took place from January 12-22.