The organizing committee for the Tokyo Games is considering not selling marathon and race walk tickets if Sapporo's Odori Park -- the likeliest site in Sapporo -- becomes the location for the events' start and finish line, several sources said.
According to the sources, revenue lost to forgone ticket sales is expected to be several hundred million yen. However, this would be a smaller impact than the billions of yen it would take to prepare Sapporo Dome, the site that the International Olympic Committee suggested.
General tickets to watch the men's marathon will be priced between 2,500 yen and 6,000 yen if that race starts and finishes at the National Stadium in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward as originally planned. Tickets for the women's event, if held at the Tokyo venue, will be offered for between 5,000 yen and 30,000, yen to include other athletic events held on the same day.
Arranging a large space for spectating at Odori Park would be difficult, and the organizing committee is searching for an option on the streets instead.
A second lottery for ticket sales is expected to start in autumn, but whether this will actually occur is unknown as the decision on a venue has yet to be made.
Relocating the events to Sapporo will be discussed by the IOC's Coordination Commission until Friday.
As for the Paralympic marathons, Organizing Committee Director General Toshiro Muto said on Tuesday, "There's no concrete discussion regarding what to change now."
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