VANCOUVER It will cost sports fans up to $775 a seat to watch the men's gold medal hockey game at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Officials organizing the Games announced their ticket prices Thursday and said their goal is to ensure tickets are priced to allow people in all income brackets to enjoy some Olympic events. But the events most in demand will be pricey. The men's gold-medal hockey tickets will start at $350, while tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies will range from $175 to $1,100. For other events, 100,000 tickets will be priced at $25 and half will cost $100 or less. As well, VANOC will buy 50,000 tickets to give to people free who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford to attend the Games. The tickets go on sale a year from now. ``It's about much more than the ticket it's the entire Olympic experience that will likely not come our way in Canada for many years to come,'' said John Furlong, chief executive office of the organizing committee known as VANOC. ``It's about standing shoulder to shoulder and singing O Canada with fellow Canadians you have never met but with whom you are family for one incredible day.'' The committee says the ticket prices for the opening and closing ceremonies are lower than they were for the Summer Games in Salt Lake City and Turin. For the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, there are more than seven million tickets available. Tickets for the opening ceremonies there range from US$26 to US$650. Furlong told a news conference Thursday VANOC's goal is to ensure every event is full. About 1.6 million tickets will be available. VANOC said the ticket buying process will be done in phases and in some cases will include lotteries where the demand exceeds the supply. About 30 per cent of the tickets will be reserved for key partners who participate directly in the staging of the Games. The 2010 Winter Games will be held in Vancouver and Whistler from Feb. 12 to 28, 2010, while the Paralympic Games will run from March 12, to 21, 2010.