The lobbying began long before Lionel Messi touched down in Miami, before his greatness ignited Major League Soccer, before ticket prices soared and windfalls swirled. MLS rode Messi-mania to a “transformational” 2023. But to capitalize in 2024, individual clubs realized, they’d need a home game against Inter Miami — and in a league with a pliable, unbalanced schedule, none were guaranteed.
So, as rumors warmed last spring, club executives began pitching themselves to the league office. Once Messi arrived, their advocacy surged. Some floated NFL stadiums; others promised splendid shows. All were bidding to be among the dozen teams who’d host Messi throughout the 2024 regular season. They nudged and coaxed league officials, more persistently than ever before.
Because they knew a date with the GOAT could boost annual revenues by double-digit percentages.
They know Messi alone will be responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars across the league by the time his contract expires at the end of 2025.
A single matchup with Miami could, for some clubs, yield more ticket income than 16 other home games combined.
But the Messi games, which begin next week, are more than one-off bonanzas. In fact, they epitomize a macro challenge that will shape the future of MLS. Each game offers access to sports fans who are MLS-agnostic. Each one is an opportunity to convert skeptics into believers — into viewers, customers, lifelong supporters.
That long view hasn’t stopped some clubs from hiking prices and hunting profit. But it has informed creative ticketing schemes, and framed how winners of the scheduling lottery approach an opportunity that might never knock again.
The Los Angeles Galaxy, for example, kept next Sunday’s opener against Miami at their 27,000-seat soccer-specific stadium, rather than moving it to a colossus like SoFi Stadium or the Rose Bowl. And for weeks, they only sold season ticket memberships and six-match packages; to secure a seat for Messi, you essentially had to pay for at least five other games as well.
The strategy was clear — and common among fellow lottery winners. The hope is that a Messi jersey-wearer on opening day becomes a Galaxy jersey-wearer by season’s end.
“There’s a lot of casual fans,” Galaxy…