Lionel Messi details anything that turns into silver. The Brazilian football star signed for Inter Miami CF from MLS in July, and the team has grown both on and off the field since then.
In a fight victory over Nashville FC, Inter Miami defeated Inter Miami to get the 2023 Leagues Cup. Messi started as a post. The team’s pricing has skyrocketed to over a billion dollars, a 74 % improve over the last year, according to Sportico’s MLS prices. The newly renamed Chase Stadium had ticket prices that doubled ( if not tripled ) in price. Ares Management Corp. ( NYSE: ARES ) closed on a$ 75 million preferred equity stake investment in the franchise two weeks after Messi debuted. The team sold out of 2024 period- ticket packages past November, and 3, 550 seats were added to Chase Stadium to match the demand.

Messi likewise provided revenue increases to opposing groups whenever the crew traveled, and much of that success has continued into the current year, despite the uncertainty surrounding his playing reputation for Inter Miami on any given time. Before getting injured against Nashville SC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup square of 16 on March 13, he played three games this year. Moreover, the 36- year- older receives sleep days and has worldwide playing obligations.
However, it does n’t seem to stop opposing clubs from putting forth a full-fledged marketing plan to support their fans.
On March 27 New England Revolution announced it sold over 60, 000 tickets for its meet on April 27 against Inter Miami, possibly setting a individual- game presence record for a home game at Gillette Stadium, even home to the NFL’s New England Patriots, in Foxborough, Mass.
The Revs even saw an opportunity to win over new long-term supporters by approaching the Inter Miami activity. The club provided huge discounts and earlier access to fans willing to purchase 4- and 6-game packs while maintaining a reasonable price for this game with no increase for season-ticket holders.
This method has proven effective. 30 000 tickets were sold to existing enthusiasts or those who have reservations to at least four sports this year by February 13 about two weeks before the game against Miami. In 2023, their solitary- time presence history was 23, 940 enthusiasts.
In a video call, Wakeman Consulting Group’s Dave Wakeman stated,” One of the big opportunities for having Messi in the MLS is overall brand awareness and getting people into the game.” The real test of his staying power and potential opportunities will be some of these markets he visited last year.
When the word about Messi joining the team began to spread, D. C. United saw fans purchasing tickets for the July 8 game against Inter Miami.
” We observed a three to four week increase in single-game ticket sales that we did n’t typically see.” Usually, we see 60 % of our sales come in the final two weeks, but this was just off- trend”, James Arnold, D. C. United’s SVP of ticket sales and service, said in a video call.

The club then made a few minor adjustments to dynamically price up in order to capitalize at the time. We made an effort to match the pricing with the rate the market is receiving, according to Arnold.
Although D. C. United did not win the Argentine over the summer, it was one of the first teams to host Inter Miami in 2024. The club knew it would likely play Inter Miami during a time when international window opportunities were unaffected, so the club put the ticket sales strategy in place even before the 2024 schedule was out. This time, the club’s strategy was to build long- term sustainable growth.
” Our data shows on the back end that if we’re able to get people to come to a match or two matches in a year, they’re 60 % more likely to come back”, Arnold said. We divided our remaining inventory into four different ticket products, which we would move, so we attached them to additional games, either before or after the Inter Miami game, once we knew we would have Messi.
Tata Martino, assistant coach for Inter Miami, restrained Messi against D.C. United after he injured himself during the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The viewers did n’t seem to care.
” The Audi Field was full, and I’d say 50 % ]of fans were wearing ] pink Messi No. 10 jerseys, even though it was announced the Argentine did not travel to D. C. with the team”, said Wakeman, who attended the match.
New York Red Bull had a similar experience to D. C. United. The club made the most money from their August game against Inter Miami last year. In an interview with Sportico at that time, the team’s president and general manager, Marc de Grandpré, said the club held back ticket inventory all year, knowing Messi visiting New York was a possibility, and restructured their offerings once the news was official. Inter Miami’s ticket gate was two to three times bigger than the average game’s ticket gate. A record crowd of 26, 276 arrived in the Red Bull Arena for the August 26 match.
Messi did not travel with the Red Bull team this year because Red Bull played Inter Miami earlier in the season during an international break. However, Red Bull Arena was packed with fans despite his absence and the pouring rain. The club did not share the ticket gate for the match, but 25, 219 fans were there to celebrate Red Bull’s 4- 0 win.
Leaguewide, the 2024 season is off to a good start: Ticket sales are up 15 %, and season ticket revenue is up 25 % compared to 2023, MLS said. Preseason ticket sales increased by sevenfold compared to last year, according to the ticketing service StubHub, with sales for each team increasing by one-half from last year.
The attribution of Messi is the biggest challenge facing the league as a whole, according to Arnold. ” Like what is the actual Messi effect”?