Pandemic planning for tickets, fans, doctors

TOKYO – The postponed Tokyo Olympics are to open in just under nine months, and there are still far more questions than answers.

Organizers in Japan and the International Olympic Committee say they are working on a vast number of contingency plans to hold the Games in the midst of a pandemic.

Everything is up in the air and could face daily revisions. This includes ticket sales and refunds, experiments to allow maximum seating in venues, and the inevitable need for more medical professionals to test and monitor 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes that are hoping to enter Japan.

Add to the equation: thousands of officials, judges, VIPs, sponsors, media and broadcasters who typically attend.

Here are a few answers to pending questions. Many answers will be not fully known until next year, maybe even just months before the Olympics open on July 23, 2021.

Q: How can ticket purchasers even think about seeking refunds when organizers have yet to say if fans will be allowed into venues? And if so, will it be only fans from Japan?

A: Buyers who purchased tickets from the Tokyo organizing committee and already know they can’t attend, can apply for refunds this month. There will also be other chances for refunds when organizers decide how many fans can enter venues — if any. This applies only to the 4.48 million Olympic tickets sold to residents of Japan. All other refunds for those who brought outside Japan are at the whim of the so-call Authorized Ticket Resellers appointed by national Olympic committees. They have their own terms and conditions. These resellers can charge a 20% service charge, which possibly may not be refunded even if tickets are.

Q: What do we know about the possibility of fans being allowed into venues?

A: It seems likely. The real question is will only Japanese residents be allowed, or will the Japanese government and organizers decide to allow non-Japanese to enter. Japan has basically sealed the border to foreigners since the pandemic began and has attributed about 1,800 deaths to COVID-19. This compares with more than 230,000 in the United States.

Q: Are fans being allowed to attend sports events in Japan.

A: Yes. Baseball and professional soccer are being played in stadiums filled to about 50% capacity. Officials in Japan are now experimenting with hi-tech devices to see if they can fill sports stadiums to near capacity. The baseball stadium in Yokohama had a capacity crowd over the weekend. Of course, everyone in Japan wears a mask — everywhere. The Yokohama stadium used high-precision cameras, carbon-dioxide monitors, and machines to measure wind speed and direction. The experiments will be passed on to Tokyo Olympic officials.

Q: What will these Olympics cost, and who pays?

A: There are lots of numbers out there. The organizers say the official cost is $12.6 billion although a government audit last year said it’s twice that much. All but $5.6 billion is public money. The University of Oxford in September said…