Pan Am organizers and revellers not discouraged by low attendance

Attendance-wise, the first soccer game of the Pan Am Games fell slightly short of predictions. But those who did show up threw everything they had into it.

The first game, held at Hamilton's Tim Hortons Field, drew an early estimate of 3,827 people. That's slightly lower than the estimate of 5,000 for each early-competition match, although TO2015 has not yet released official numbers.

When the Mexican and Colombian women's soccer teams kicked off around 11 a.m. on Saturday, less than one half of the lower bowl was filled. That's about 14,000 fewer than the average Hamilton Tiger-Cats home game last year.

Traffic flowed freely around the stadium, skirting the closed portion of Cannon but easily finding other routes. Attendees calmly filed on and off shuttle buses, many of them carrying flags and wearing team colours.

Mostly everybody from Hamilton from Colombia who's not working, they're at this game.- Ruby Arboleda

But as Colombia and Mexico played, the crowd screamed and cheered.

That includes John and Ruby Arboleda of the west Mountain, two of those 3,827 ticket holders. The Arboledas wear Colombia shirts every time the team plays a match. They fly a Colombian flag on their car. They've driven to New York to see Colombia play.

Now, "it's in Hamilton," Ruby Arboleda said.

"It feels like home. If you go to Gage Park, you see food from Colombia. Yesterday, we were there and they had music from Colombia."

"Mostly everybody from Hamilton from Colombia who's not working, they're at this game."

Of the attendees interviewed, most were from the GTHA, although most had Colombian or Mexican ancestry.

Jairo Echeverri of Mississauga, for example, moved to Canada from Colombia two years ago. He brought his wife and baby to the game, and waved a flag with his son in his lap.

Echeverri said it was thrilling to cheer with his fellow Colombia fans. He doesn't follow the Pan Am Games, necessarily, but he follows soccer.

"We like to see all the different countries," he said. "So this is great."

Marisa Victor was a rare exception – a visitor from Ottawa. She and her partner and three children came to Toronto and Hamilton for two days just to see the Pan Am Games.

"It's a world class sporting event," she said. "And it's cheaper than the Olympics."

This is a great time to be a soccer fan in Hamilton.- Mike Kirkopoulos, city of Hamilton

Richard Sayej, the city's special projects co-ordinator for the Pan Am Games, attributes Saturday's low attendance to it being the first game. Sunday's schedule, when Canada plays Brazil, is sold out. The capacity is about 12,000.

"It's the early part of the week," he said.

Parking and traffic flow went well, Sayej said. Coun. Matthew Green of Ward 3 concurred. He didn't get any complaints from residents.

He agreed that attendance will improve.

"On high-profile games, when it's in the evening and not a Saturday morning, we're going to see it pick up," he said.

Most importantly, he said, this weekend "demonstrates our ability and capacity to host," he said.

"I'm not disappointed. I think once we get into this thing, we'll see the uptake. If you were to ask me at the end of this, and it had averaged 3,800 people a game, I might have different comments. But on day one, I'm not worried."

The city expected about 5,000 spectators for the early games, said spokesperson Mike Kirkopoulos. 

"While we are happy with the turnout to begin the matches, we know those numbers will increase as we get further into the grounds," he said. "This is a great time to be a soccer fan in Hamilton."

Final scores so far on Saturday

Women's:

• Colombia - 1
• Mexico - 0

Women's: 

• Argentina - 2
• Trinidad and Tobago - 2

To come:

• Costa Rica and Brazil.
• Canada and Ecuador.