Lionel Messi’s announcement to join Inter Miami has had a global impact on the demand and price of tickets for the team’s MLS matches, as well as its popularity on social media. Since Messi revealed his intention to move to Miami, the David Beckham-owned Inter Miami’s Instagram account has seen a massive increase in the number of followers, surpassing 5.7 million in less than 24 hours.
The increase in Inter Miami’s Instagram follower count is significant, surpassing the number of followers of the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys, two popular teams in the NFL. In addition, Inter Miami now has more followers across all of its social platforms than any team in the NFL, Major League Baseball, or 75% of NBA franchises.
Inter Miami’s popularity is expected to continue to grow once Messi joins the team, as he himself is one of the most popular athletes on Instagram, with 469 million followers. Messi’s impact has also been felt in the MLS ticket market, where demand has quadrupled in the 24 hours following his announcement. Average ticket prices have increased significantly for both games at Inter Miami’s home stadium and away games.
Technology firm Logitix reported that the average purchase price for games at Inter Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium rose from $31 to $152, while for away games it increased from $94 to $207. The team’s debut match in the League Cup, where Messi is expected to make his first appearance in Miami, has seen a substantial increase in ticket prices from $24 to $521.
Given this high demand, MLS teams may consider moving Messi’s games to larger stadiums, as many of the current stadiums have a seating capacity of between 20,000 and 25,000, while NFL stadiums could triple that capacity.
In short, Lionel Messi’s arrival at Inter Miami has had a huge impact on ticket demand and the team’s popularity on social media. In addition, ticket prices have skyrocketed, and it is likely that larger stadiums will be considered for Messi’s games due to the high demand.