Complex sentence: For the first time, the participating teams were responsible for ticket sales, and as a result only 40,000 people actually attended; a large number of tickets were sold to a navy fleet which was called to service on December 31, the day before the game.
Split into simpler sentences: For the first time, the participating teams were responsible for ticket sales, and as a result only 40,000 people actually attended. A large number of tickets were sold to a navy fleet which was called to service on December 31, the day before the game.