Then planning for the Women's World Cup began 18 months ago, organizers at Foxboro Stadium figured they would be ecstatic if 35,000 people showed up for Sunday's game between the US and North Korea. So no one was shedding any tears yesterday that the final attendance of 50,484 fell about 8,000 short of a sellout.
''I think if somebody had told us six months ago, three months ago, that in one week we would draw crowds in Giants Stadium of 78,000, Soldier Field of 65,000, then 50,000 at Foxboro Stadium we would look at them and say that's outrageous,'' said Richard Finn, World Cup director of public relations. ''By no means were we disappointed.''
Any thoughts of downsizing the stadium went out the window immediately after the tournament began. ''Our phone started ringing off the hook [for tickets]'' said venue director Tim Larkin.
At least 10,000 tickets were sold between the first US victory (June 19) and Sunday's doubleheader opener between Italy and Mexico at Foxborough.
89-degree heat and 48 percent humidity probably discouraged some game-day sales, said Larkin.
''When we started setting up at 8 a.m. we thought `oh my God, this is really, really bad,''' he said. ''I think the late start really helped us a lot. We would have had trouble the week before.''
Although the US won't make another Foxboro appearance, the stadium will host a semifinal game July 4, most likely between Norway and China. The absence of the US combined with the holiday makes attendance tough to predict, said Larkin. ''I'll be happy with 30,000,'' he said, ''but will be hoping for 35,000.''
The latter total would give Foxboro a total of 100,000 spectators for the tournament.
''With 15,000 the first game, we learned a lot,'' said Larkin. ''Yesterday things ran really, really well. My staff's getting a little bit tired, but we just need to be sure we stay focused.''
On Sunday, a Major League Soccer game between the Revolution and New York-New Jersey MetroStars will precede the 7:30 semifinal game.
