Sporting KC set for record crowd vs. Lionel Messi, Miami. What if he doesn’t play?
Tickets for Sporting KC’s match against Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami CF went on sale to the general public Tuesday afternoon, and to snag one costs a pretty penny.
Last Monday, Sporting KC announced the move of its April 13 game against Inter Miami to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The move allows more fans the chance to see global soccer superstar and icon Lionel Messi play in Kansas City alongside former Barcelona stars Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez.
Children’s Mercy Park’s listed seat capacity is 18,467 for soccer. Arrowhead Stadium regularly attracts well-over 70,000 fans for Chiefs games.
Sporting KC president and CEO Jake Reid said the move to Arrowhead was primarily to make the price of tickets affordable for the average fan.
“I think the reality for us is: We want as many people from Kansas City as possible to go to this game,” Reid told reporters when the move was announced last week.
But just hours after tickets went live on Ticketmaster to the general public, the cheapest remaining seat was more than $200 with fees included.
One reason for the limited and pricey remaining availability on Tuesday was a significant amount of ticket presales to Sporting KC season-ticket holders, Jackson County residents and Chiefs season-ticket holders.
A club spokesperson said that as of Tuesday afternoon, the match at Arrowhead had surpassed 60,000 tickets sold — which would already mark a club record (52,342 fans vs. Manchester United, friendly) — with this year’s game trending toward being sold out sooner rather than later.
And while that price is certainly very high to get in the door, it still pales in comparison to the prices listed for Inter Miami’s visit to the Los Angeles Galaxy during MLS’ opening weekend, which start at $577 with fees included on SeatGeek. That’s just for the general-admission grass seating, too. The cheapest guaranteed seat starts at $682 (with fees) for a stadium similar to the size of Children’s Mercy Park.
But what happens if Messi doesn’t play? What if he gets injured? What if Miami rests him due to the amount of games the club plays?
During the end of the 2023 season, Inter Miami paid a visit to the Chicago Fire, where the Fire set a record for tickets sold with the anticipation of Messi playing. But Messi missed the game due to injury. The match still drew a reported attendance of 62,124 at Soldier Field (where the Fire regularly play their home games) despite missing the supposed star of the show.
The Fire released a statement prior to the match, acknowledging, “As there’s never a guarantee that an athlete will play on any given night due to several factors, we understand that many of our fans may be disappointed if they don’t get the chance to see him play.”
The Fire offered season-ticket holders a $250 credit toward their tickets for the next season and a $50 credit for single-game purchasers.
So, does Sporting have a similar contingency plan in place? Not at the moment, according to Reid, who spoke briefly on the subject with The Star.
“Our point of view is control what we can control,” Reid said. “Right now, he’s playing. We feel like it’s in a good window that the league put us in to maximize that opportunity.”