A holiday promotion offered by the Red Bulls soccer team includes some merchandise, such as a travel mug, as well as tickets to two games, including the first home game.
But there is fine print. The Major League Soccer schedule won’t be announced until the end of the year, and if the home opener turns out to be against Inter Miami, fans who purchase 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 the opportunity to see him is much more attractive than a random game against, say, Toronto FC. Every time he comes to town it will be an event and the teams they don’t want to just throw such a golden ticket in a package.
Some Red Bulls fans who noticed the fine print were annoyed and is expressed that on social media — words like “gouge” were common. But at least a few others dismissed it as a smart business move. “It’s just plain naive to expect the league not to try to exploit it at all costs,” said Dan Rodriguez, a Red Bulls fan from Westchester County, NY.
The Red Bulls did not respond to an inquiry about the ticket offer. Even if fans miss Messi’s game, the deal still includes a game against the team’s regional rivals, NYCFC.
Around the league, though, teams see a gold mine in Messi. Not all teams have set their full pricing yet, especially since the schedule hasn’t been announced. But the Columbus Crew charges at least $382 for its home game against Miami and $421 and $679 for better seats. Instead, tickets to regular Crew games this year could only be purchased for $40 or less as part of a season ticket package.
Dynamic pricing is not uncommon in MLS or other sports. A big game against an opponent might cost a little more, but not several hundred dollars more.
Miami itself charges between 46 percent and 82 percent more for standard season tickets than it did this year, when Messi joined midway through the season. The least expensive packages are now around $800 for 17 games and other season tickets are $4,000, $7,000 or even $10,000 for seats with club access.
This places Miami as 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 is $1,021 for Barcelona, World Soccer Talk reported.
Messi signed for Miami in July when many tickets had already been sold. This meant that fans who already had tickets for his matches could cash in from a resale, while no extra money flowed to the teams. For next year, teams have time to plan and take some of this marking for themselves.
Buying a season ticket to see another team scheduled to play in 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 that is if Messi is playing. He will turn 37 during the MLS season and has missed some games this year with a scar tissue ailment. When he didn’t play, many fans, some of whom had spent top dollar, grumbled.
After missing a 61,000-ticket game in Chicago in October, the Chicago Fire offered a $250 credit to season ticket holders and $50 to single-game buyers as compensation.
MLS teams across the country will have visions of packed fans in expensive seats, not refunds for 2024.
