MLS fans will pay more to see Lionel Messi
a holiday deal offered by the Red Bulls football team includes some merchandise, such as a travel mug, as well as tickets to two games, including the first home game.
But there is some fine print. Major League Soccer’s schedule won’t be announced until the end of this year, and if it turns out the home opener is against Inter Miami, fans who buy the package will get tickets to the second home game.
The reason is Lionel Messi.
Miami is the team of Messi, the global superstar, and a chance to see him is much more attractive than a random match against, say, Toronto FC. Every time he comes to town will be an event, and teams don’t want that. just throw such a golden ticket into a package deal.
Some Red Bulls fans who noticed the fine print were annoyed and expressed that words like ‘guts’ were common on social media. But at least a few others shrugged it off as a smart business move.
The Red Bulls did not respond to a question about the ticket offer. Even if fans lose the Messi match, the deal still includes a match against the team’s regional rival, NYCFC. And because there are 29 MLS teams, the chances that the first match will actually be against Miami and Messi are slim.
But teams across the league see a gold mine in Messi. Not every team has set the full price yet, mainly because the schedule has not yet been announced. But the Columbus crew is charging at least $382 for the home game against Miami and $421 and $679 for better seats. In contrast, tickets to regular Crew games were available this year for as little as $40, or less as part of a season ticket package.
Dynamic pricing is not uncommon in MLS or other sports. A big game against a rival might cost a little more, but not several hundred dollars more.
Miami itself does to upload between 46 percent and 82 percent more for standard season tickets than this year, when Messi arrived mid-season. Cheaper packages now cost around $800 for 17 games, and other season tickets cost $4,000, $7,000 or even $10,000 for seats with club access.
That makes Miami one of the most expensive season tickets in the world. The most expensive season ticket for Tottenham, in the English Premier League, costs $2,498, and for Barcelona $1,021. This is reported by World Soccer Talk.
Messi signed for Miami in July, when many tickets had already been sold. That meant fans who already had tickets to his games could benefit from a resale, while no additional money flowed to the teams. For next year, teams have time to plan and get some of those profits for themselves.
Buying a season ticket to see another team scheduled to play Miami is one way to see Messi. Fans who do will enjoy seeing Messi when he comes to town, or flip their tickets on the secondary market for a big payday.
Of course, we assume Messi plays. He will turn 37 during the MLS season and missed some games this year due to a scar tissue condition. When he didn’t play, many fans grumbled, some of whom had made too much money.
After missing a game in Chicago in October that sold 61,000 tickets, the Chicago Fire offered $250 credits to season ticket holders and $50 to single-game buyers as a reward.
MLS teams across the country will have visions of packed houses with fans in expensive seats, and no refunds, before 2024.