Tickets to Saturday night's Sounders-Toronto FC MLS Cup championship at BMO Field "sold out three minutes after they went on sale to the general public" at 1:00pm ET yesterday, according to Laura Armstrong of the TORONTO STAR. The "minutes-long spree did not include tickets for every seat in the stadium, which will hold a larger-than-usual crowd of 36,000 fans thanks to temporary seating installed in the south end prior" to the CFL Grey Cup earlier this month. About 6,000 tickets were "designated for league needs and 1,500 visiting fans." More than 20,000 seats will be "filled by season-ticket holders, who got an early crack at BMO Field during windows from Friday to Sunday." The 10,000 or so remaining tickets were purchased yesterday "between a pre-sale, which required a special code provided by Toronto FC, and the public sale." TFC said that additional tickets could "become available in the days leading up to the match," as there is a "chance that some are returned and posted for sale to the public." Armstrong notes the flash sale is a "testament to the dedicated fan base" TFC has "cultivated over the playoff run" (TORONTO STAR, 12/6). In Toronto, Kurt Larson notes this year's MLS Cup final is the "most 'in demand' game that SeatGeek ... has seen since it began tracking data" for Toronto events in '10. It trails just the NBA All-Star Game and the NBA All-Star Saturday Night in terms of “demand” in '16. Saturday's match is even "more 'in demand' than any of the Raptors’ home playoff games earlier this year." Demand for Sounders-TFC is "in line" with demand for the Maple Leafs' last playoff series against the Bruins in '13 (TORONTO SUN, 12/6).
