Photo: Megan Briggs/Getty Images, Maddie Meyer/Getty Images, Graphic illustration: Cora Veltman
On Saturday, another GOAT raided Tom Brady's former home in New England.
A crowd of 65,612 turned out to watch Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi at Gillette Stadium, setting a New England Revolution attendance record. This surpassed the 2002 MLS Cup title showdown between the Los Angeles Galaxy, which drew 61,316 fans to the NFL's home stadium. New England Patriots on October 20, 2002.
Messi did not disappoint, scoring two goals as Inter Miami won 4-1. Messi currently has a league-leading nine goals in seven MLS games.
Miami head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said in the post-match press conference, “People in every stadium come to see Leo Messi and cheer, because they want their team to win.” Told. “We are motivated by the atmosphere each city offers, but we know that it also inspires our rivals. And we are trying to prepare for that.”
Saturday's matchup between Inter Miami and the Revolution was also the second largest soccer event in Gillette Stadium's 23-year history, surpassing the 2011 USA vs. Spain friendly that drew a crowd of 64,121. It will be the second-largest match after the friendly match between Brazil and Mexico. In 2007, it attracted 67,584 fans.
the revolution has spoken sportico By Wednesday, more than 64,000 tickets had been sold for the game. Additionally, the club announced that MBTA Commuter Rail's special event train service from Boston to Foxboro is sold out. His MBTA commuter rail tickets from Providence were limited. According to secondary ticketing platform TickPick, the average purchase price for this game was $285 (the average purchase price for a New England Patriots game last season was $274).
Saturday night's record-breaking attendance was just another example of Messi mania. Soccer fans flock to the stadiums where the Argentine plays, but it is still too early to gauge his long-term impact on the league's popularity.
Inter Miami's rivals are approaching Inter Miami games as an opportunity to win new long-term fans. The minister said the club had kept ticket prices reasonable with no increase for season ticket holders, and offered deep discounts and early access to fans who wanted to purchase four-match and six-match packs. Told. This strategy has proven successful. By February 13, almost two months before the game against Inter, 30,000 tickets had been sold to existing fans or fans who had tickets for at least four games this season. The attendance record for a single season in 2023 was 23,940.
Messi played at Arrowhead Stadium two weeks ago in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 72,000 people. The game between Inter Miami and Sporting Kansas City had one of the top 10 attendances in MLS regular season history.
Saturday's game wasn't Messi's first at Gillette. The Argentine player helped his national team defeat Venezuela 4-1 in the 2016 Copa America Centenario quarter-finals, scoring in the 60th minute in front of a crowd of around 60,000 people. Ta.
The 36-year-old, who led Argentina to victory in the Men's FIFA World Cup in Qatar two years ago, will aim to defend his Copa America title in the United States this summer.
However, tickets for all of Argentina's matches are sold out, so it will be difficult to catch a glimpse of the soccer star. According to TickPick, the average purchase price on the secondary market to watch three Argentina national team games is $435. This is 30% higher than the average price for watching other matches during Copa America ($303).
“Messi mania continues and we're seeing a huge impact on his ticket sales throughout the Copa America tournament,” said Kyle Zorn, head of content strategy at TickPick. “His influence will be most evident when they play the Argentina national team in Atlanta on June 20th. Admission for that game is $306, and admission is $306 a week later when the U.S. plays Panama at the same venue. That's nearly five times the cost.”
