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The Sporting KC vs Messi Game should Move to Arrowhead

Sporting Kansas City host Inter Miami in 2024 and there are numerous reasons why the game should be moved to Arrowhead.

Published

5 months ago

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Back that bus out of CMP to Arrowhead | Credit: Thad Bell

Last week, Sporting Kansas City and the rest of the teams of Major League Soccer announced their 2024 regular season schedules. One of the headlines for many teams around the league, including Sporting KC, was that they get to host Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF.

As of today, SportingKC.com says that game will be held in Children’s Mercy Park. However, let us make the case why it should be moved to Arrowhead Stadium.

Big Caveats

First, we have to address some potential issues. While Arrowhead is set to be a 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup host venue, as well as a 2024 Copa America venue, I’m not actually sure they can fit a regulation size soccer pitch as of right now.

I’m going to assume that is being worked on and it’ll be resolved. The Sporting KC versus Inter Messi Miami game is relatively early in the season on April 13th but I’m confident they will get it done!

The other issue is Sporting KC and their ownership group doesn’t control Arrowhead and there would undoubtedly be some cost associated with that. However, the gained revenue should far outweigh that.

Venue Comparisons

For anyone who remembers the Kansas City Wizards days, Arrowhead can be cavernous when you aren’t able to fill all the seats. I don’t think that’ll be a problem with Messi is coming to town.

Children’s Mercy Park

Capacity: 18,467 (21,650 with standing room only)

Arrowhead Stadium

Capacity: 76,416

The record attendance at a Sporting KC/Kansas City Wizards game is 52,342. That was in 2010 when SKC hosted Manchester United.

Arguments Against this Move

Before we get to why the game should be moved to Arrowhead, we should address the naysayers. There was a thoughtful discussion in the comments on this very site, that I don’t want to just brush aside. I think they make some valid points, but I’m here to shoot them down.

It’s Just a Cash Grab

There is no doubt moving the game to Arrowhead would be seen by some as a cash grab. And to an extent, that is obviously true. There are some MLS teams that made more money last year on their single game they hosted when Messi came to town than they made on all their other ticket sales all year.

However, if the game remains at CMP, it’ll just make the scalpers rich. The primary ticket market will go up, but the secondary ticket market will likely skyrocket. As of right now, there is no “tickets” button next to that game as I imagine all the details are still being worked out on how you get tickets to that game.

I’d personally like to see the money go back into the team, and if the team makes more money off the sales, they’ll have less of an excuse to not spend huge on their next Designated Player, for example.

How Should Sporting KC Spend its Open DP Spot?

Why Cater to Messi Fans?

Opening up 50,000+ more tickets just means more Messi fans. 

That is obviously true. There will be some fans that come to the stadium just to see Messi. And if/when he subs out, some of them may leave too.

My counter argument is simple. Don’t you think that’ll still happen with less seats? Many season ticket members have already planned to sell their tickets to the Inter Miami game to subsidize the rest of their season ticket costs. That will mean there will be plenty of pink jerseys in the stadium, and not the St. Louis City wet dog food pink that crossed the state in hoards last year.

The Messi fans are coming regardless.

Homefield Advantage Will be Lost

This is a tough one to push back against. However, I think there is the potential that this happens no matter what. As mentioned above, the Messi fans are coming. Some of them will surely be Messi and Sporting KC fans. But a lot of them will be in either CMP or Arrowhead, meaning less straight up SKC fans.

My counter argument would be two-pronged. First, more Kansas Citians will be in the doors (and probably more out of town folks too) and they have city pride. They may cheer for Messi, but they’ll also cheer for their club. We are the Soccer Capital after all.

Second, think back to the Manchester United game. People undoubtedly came for the visitors, but the Wizards won them over when they upset the English giants.

Come for Messi, become a Sporting Kansas City fan!

Arguments For this Move

These are simple.

More People Can Go

Yes, some of those extra folks will be rooting for the wrong team/player. But it will give many more people a chance to see one of, if not the, greatest players to ever play our game.

In my life, most of the people I know don’t care about soccer. However, they know I care and were already acutely aware that Messi is coming to town. Just the fact that others were bringing up soccer to me, instead of the other way around, shows this moment is capturing non-soccer fans attention. Maybe they’ll become soccer fans.

More People = More New SKC Fans

If you get more people in the door, there is no doubt in my mind new Sporting KC fans will be made (assuming SKC don’t embarrass themselves in this game). It’ll be a chance for Sporting KC to capture the attention of so many more eyeballs.

I can already picture Jake Davis standing over a downed Messi, just like Matt Besler over Cristiano Ronaldo at the World Cup.

JFD! JFD! JFD!

Not to mention, if Sporting KC play the beautiful soccer they are capable of, who wouldn’t want to come back and watch that? Plus, even though it’ll be in a much different venue, soccer matches are just different. 90 minutes of singing and chanting. It’s going to bring in new fans of the game, and hopefully the team.

It’ll Keep Costs Down

As of the time of this story publishing, single match tickets weren’t officially on sale yet for this game. However, the resale prices had ballooned to north of $400 per seat on the limited seats somehow out there. That will obviously come back down to earth, but it’ll still be very expensive to see Sporting KC or Messi on April 13th.

If costs come down, it’ll make it more palatable for regular people to get out to the game. People who are much more like you and I. And it won’t force season ticket members into feeling like they need to sell their tickets to recoup some of their costs.

It will make this SKC/Miami/Messi thing a shared moment in time that tens of thousands more of us can say, “I was there.”

Shout out to my wife for Tweeting the idea right after the schedule came out. 

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