Another Animal shook Tom Brady’s original home in New England on Saturday.
A group of 65, 612 showed up to watch Brazilian football celebrity Lionel Messi at the Gillette Stadium, setting a New England Revolution presence history, surpassing the 2002 MLS Cup title fight between the team and the L. A. Galaxy, which drew 61, 316 fans to the house of NFL’s New England Patriots on October 20, 2002.
Messi did not disappoint, scoring half in Inter Miami’s 4- 1 succeed. Messi has now scored nine goals in seven Realtor game, which is league-leading.
At a press conference following the game, Miami head coach Gerardo” Tata” Martino said,” People come to see and help Leo Messi, but after they want their team to win.” ” We are motivated by the environment each area provides, but we know it incentivizes the foes, as well. And we make an effort to get ready for that.”
Saturday’s fight between Inter Miami and the Revolution is also the following- largest sport event in Gillette Stadium’s 23- year history, surpassing the USA- Spain helpful in 2011, which drew 64, 121 fans, and comes in just under the Brazil vs. Mexico helpful in 2007, which drew 67, 584 fans.
The Revolution told Sportico that by Wednesday, over 64, 000 tickets had been sold for the match. Additionally, the club reported that the special event train service for the MBTA Commuter Rail between Boston and Foxboro had been sold out. The MBTA Commuter Rail train from Providence had limited tickets remaining. The average purchase price for a New England Patriots game was$ 285, which is in contrast to the$ 274 average for a New England Patriots game last season.
The record-breaking audience on Saturday night is yet another illustration of Messi mania. The Argentine’s presence attracts soccer fans to the stadiums where he plays, but it is still too early to assess his long-term impact on the league’s popularity.
Inter Miami’s rivals see Inter Miami games as an opportunity to win over new long-term fans. The Rev. stated that the club offered sizable discounts and early access to fans willing to purchase 4- and 6-game packs and that the club reasonably priced tickets with no increase for season ticket holders. This strategy has proven successful. 30 000 tickets were sold to existing fans or those who have tickets to at least four games this season as of February 13 almost two months before the game against Inter. In 2023, their single- season attendance record was 23, 940 fans.
In front of a crowd that surpassed 72 000 people at Arrowhead Stadium two weeks ago, Messi made the announcement. The top 10 crowds in MLS regular season history viewed Inter Miami’s game against Sporting Kansas City.
Saturday’s match was not Messi’s first time in Gillette. In front of a crowd of nearly 60, 000, the Argentine scored in the 60th minute of his nation’s 4-1 victory over Venezuela in the 2016 Copa America Centenario quarterfinals in front of the crowd of almost 60,000.
The 36- year- old, who led Argentina to a men’s FIFA World Cup title two years ago in Qatar, will look to defend the Copa América title this summer in the U. S.
However, getting a glimpse of the soccer star will be difficult because all Argentina games are sold out. The average purchase price on the secondary market for the three games Argentina plays is$ 435, according to TickPick. That is 30 % higher than the average ($ 303 ) to see any other game during Copa América.
” Messi mania continues as we see his massive impact on ticket sales throughout the Copa América Tournament”, said Kyle Zorn, the content strategy lead at TickPick. His impact is most apparent when Argentina plays in Atlanta on June 20. That game has a get-in of$ 306, which is nearly five times the get-in price when the United States plays against Panama at the same venue a week later.