TOO LITTLE TOO LATE? DESPITE TICKET SURGE, PLENTY REMAIN

          A "late surge" in Olympic ticket sales for the 2000
     Games "may have come too late" for organizers "struggling to
     reach" their target, according to Michael Evans of the
     SYDNEY MORNING HERALD.  A SOCOG ticketing inventory
     completed yesterday "shows there was a net reduction" of
     74,200 tickets over the past week, nearly double the
     previous week.  The new inventory shows that just under 2.1
     million Games tickets "remain unsold," with buyers in the
     past week "targeting gold-medal sessions and the late rounds
     of high-demand sports" such as basketball and field hockey,
     where medal sessions have sold out.  However, Evans writes
     that more than 90 gold-medal sessions "are still on sale,"
     including gymnastics, diving, water polo, soccer and boxing. 
     Organizers "must raise up to" US$87M more in ticketing
     revenue in the remaining 35 days before the Games "to reach
     their budget."  An estimated average ticket price of US$35
     "suggests" organizers "could have raised" about $US2.3M from
     the week's sales (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/11).