ST. PETERSBURG -- The stands at the Goodwill Games have been half-empty because of high ticket prices, poor organization and virtually no advertising.


"We're selling them, giving them out, forcing different organizations to take them," said Irina Stepanova, head of the Goodwill Games organizing committee's ticket service.


By Monday, of 500,000 tickets available, only about one-fifth had been sold. Only about 4,000 people came to see Sunday's track-and-field competitions at the 27,000-seat Petrovsky Stadium. Team handball at the 25,000-seat Sports and Concert Complex attracted 500 or 600 people.


The only time the stands were full was during opening ceremonies at the 68,000-seat Kirov Stadium. Figure-skating ticket sales have also been strong.


"They slowly started to buy basketball tickets after Sunday's U.S.-Russia game," said Olga Popova, head of the ticket office at the Sports and Concert Complex. "But there is virtually no demand for tickets for wrestling and team handball, especially morning competitions when many people work."


In hopes of filling the stands, authorities said Tuesday they would give free tickets to children, war invalids and former sports champions.


"We are also going to take care of the children in the summer camps, providing buses to bring to the games," said deputy mayor Vitaly Mutko. "Let's hope there will be fewer and fewer vacant seats in the stands."


Popova blamed organizers, who initially gave no discounts to children or the elderly and were slow to cut ticket prices.


"We receive many calls from elderly people who are eager to watch the competition," Popova said. "Many of them are unaware of the price cuts, but even the new prices are hardly affordable for many of them."


Tickets initially cost between 30,000 and 135,000 rubles ($15 to $67.50) for the opening and closing ceremonies, and 5,000 to 30,000 rubles for other events.


The average Russian salary is about 200,000 rubles ($100) a month.


Three days before the games opened, prices were cut 60 percent for the opening and closing events. Basketball games now cost 6,000 to 10,000 rubles, and handball, wrestling and gymnastics cost 5,000 to 6,000 rubles.


Critics say another major mistake was organizers' neglect of the city's network of theater- and concert-ticket offices, which have been selling tickets to sporting events for years. Goodwill Games tickets are instead sold only at the stadiums and sports complexes where the competitions take place.