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South Florida has been ignited by Lionel Messi.
Messi has raised the aspirations of Inter Miami CF, the poorest team in Major League Soccer, since moving here by mesmerizing spectators with his goal-scoring prowess.
In South Florida, his arrival has also sparked a soccer fever that has increased demand for local pubs and eateries and raised league ticket prices to previously unheard-of heights.
According to bars and entertainment establishments, Messi is attracting new soccer fans who are eager to see the World Cup champion play in the United States. The excitement has increased as a result of goals scored in overtime.
Resale prices for Inter Miami home matches have increased due to the obsession with Messi. According to SeatGeek, resale tickets for home games now cost $282 on average, up from $31 before Messi arrived.
Since LeBron James, a star of the NBA, played for the Miami Heat nearly ten years ago, South Florida hasn’t seen an athlete of Messi’s caliber.
Chris Leyden, director of growth marketing at SeatGeek, noted that James, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, has long been a household figure that has increased ticket costs, particularly last season when basketball fans clamored to watch him shatter the all-time scoring record.
Prices for tickets increased due to Kobe Bryant’s retirement season with the Lakers as well, according to Leyden.
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Messi’s Impact on American Soccer
Leyden thinks that this degree of enthusiasm for a single player represents a significant shift for Major League Soccer. Messi is not a player in leagues like Major League Soccer (MLS), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and National Football League (with Tom Brady’s debut season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers being an obvious exception).
According to him, resale home ticket costs for Inter Miami now exceed the $251 that spectators spent on average for an NFL game last season. The typical cost of Inter Miami’s away tickets is $400, which is roughly 59% more expensive than the typical NFL game.
Messi’s signing by Inter Miami came at a good time, according to Adam Budelli, a StubHub spokeswoman. Many people already regarded Messi as the best soccer player in history.
He followed it up by helping Argentina win the World Cup in December, which was the only major soccer event he had yet to win. It was the greatest honor in the world of sports.
Even on days when there are no games, he continued, people come inside the bar to get a drink after snapping a photo of the Messi painting on the building’s façade.
According to Emi Guerra, co-founder of Breakwater Hospitality Company, which runs restaurants and outdoor venues in South Florida that organize Inter Miami watch parties, casual fans are arriving dressed in the recognizable pink apparel of Inter Miami. He claimed that they are actually watching the sports.
Source: MSN
