- Lionel Messi's first full season in Major League Soccer will attract enormous interest
- Football fans will flock to see the World Cup winner in action for Inter Miami
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Sporting Kansas City is going all in on the Lionel Messi hype train, moving its Major League Soccer home match against Inter Miami from its usual home to the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium.
Children's Mercy Park, home of Sporting KC, has a capacity of just over 18,000. Arrowhead Stadium, where Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes play home games, seats more than 76,000 people.
The majority of Major League Soccer franchises play in a metropolitan area with a larger stadium that could be used for a home match against Messi and Inter Miami.
The only one without that option, the Portland Timbers, are currently not a fixture for Inter Miami in 2024.
Football fans from all over the US will flock to watch World Cup winner Lionel Messi and Inter Miami
Sporting Kansas City moved its MLS match against Inter Miami to the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium
Tickets for the game start at $65 and go on sale January 16 at noon.
Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium will also be used for matches during this summer's Copa America, as well as the 2026 World Cup.
The game also represents Messi's first professionally sanctioned match in the Midwest. He previously played in a charity match in Chicago.
“This match has generated an unprecedented amount of interest since Major League Soccer announced our schedule less than three weeks ago,” said Jake Reid, president and CEO of Sporting Kansas City.
“This match has generated unprecedented interest,” Sporting KC revealed
The home stadium of Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes seats more than 76,000 people
No other team has yet made the move to a bigger venue to cater to the Messi hype. But it's hard to believe Sporting Kansas City will be the last.
Six MLS venues on Inter Miami's schedule have a similar capacity to Arrowhead Stadium.
The New England Revolution play at Gillette Stadium, the Chicago Fire share Solider Field with the Chicago Bears and NYCFC play at Yankee Stadium.
The home venues of Atlanta United, the Vancouver Whitecaps and Charlotte FC also have more than 50,000 fans.