| NEWS 07.28.08 1:53 PM |
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| Rain Washing Out Summer Events |
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Toronto is in the midst of one of the rainiest summers ever—Environment Canada reports it is the wettest in 28 years—and the record rainfall is wreaking havoc on events and festivals around town. Attendance at the Rogers Cup, held at the Rexall Centre Monday through Sunday, was on track to be the highest ever until rain washed out play for much of the day Wednesday.
"Obviously we lost some of that count for our attendance and some revenue from that session on the Wednesday," tournament director Karl Hale told reporters yesterday, adding, "Overall we had 151,000 people attend during the week, and also did $10.7 million in ticket sales, which is $800,000 ahead of Montreal, so it's a record."
Tournament officials had to postpone play again on Saturday when a major storm hit around 2 p.m. According to the Toronto Star, photographers covering the Rogers Cup had to "swim out of their seating area" Saturday afternoon. The semifinal match between France's Gilles Simon and Germany's Nicolas Kiefer was put on hold for an hour while the court was vacuumed dry.
Saturday's afternoon storm also shut down all competitions and the music programming at Wakestock, the annual wakeboarding competition on Centre Island, and delayed the start of play during the third round of the RBC Canadian Open at the Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville. Tournament officials cancelled the first day of the golf tournament last Monday, and play was stopped for much of the day Thursday due to heavy rain.
The Star also reported that rain washed out the Warped Tour and impacted BrazilFest last weekend. "The punk/rock concert tour had to shut down hours earlier than planned in Mississauga with rain knocking out one of the public address systems and sending scores of revelers for cover," reporter Bruce Demar wrote in a July 24 article. "A day later, BrazilFest on Centre Island was cancelled outright."
—Susan O'Neill
RELATED TOPICS
Rogers Cup, RBC Canadian Open, Warped Tour, BrazilFest, Wakestock
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