Thousands of fans braved the heat in Toronto for “just a fleeting glimpse” of Portugal F Cristiano Ronaldo at the “three locations they knew he’d be” ahead of their match against Croatia. Several fans “went to all three places -- the airport, hotel and practice facility.” The team arrived at the Delta Hotels Toronto where a “large crowd of fans camped outside went berserk when they saw the bus arrive.” Fences “blocked the hundreds of supporters” from watching the one-hour Portugal practice at Centennial Park, and those “pressed against the metal barrier were jockeying for the best position to momentarily see the team enter and exit the practice facility.” Tickets listed on secondary markets such as StubHub for the match “range from $2,643 to $8,689″ while on SeatGeek, they are being “listed from $1,592 to $3,921″ late Wednesday night. This is the first time Ronaldo has played in Toronto since 2009. By 10pm ET, the crowd had “grown so large outside Ronaldo’s hotel, that he popped out to the balcony area to wave to supporters that had packed the sidewalk and spilled on to the street.” Police had to “briefly close” the street for safety concerns (TORONTO STAR, 7/1).
Fans waiting to catch a glimpse of Ronaldo and the Portugal soccer team’s bus “forced a busy city highway to close on Wednesday.” Before 2:30pm ET on Wednesday, as the arriving Portuguese team navigated through the city, traffic “was backed up as a result of the crowd standing outside of their vehicles.” Large crowds are expected in the city Thursday, as Portugal’s and Croatia’s fans “plan marches to the stadium to support their teams” (TORONTO STAR, 7/1).
