While the Miami Heat and Florida Panthers were making historic playoff runs, the most notable sporting news to hit South Florida involved Lionel Messi announcing he would play with Inter Miami CF for the remainder of the Major League Soccer season. His contract signing may not be official while he’s under contract with Paris Saint-Germain until June 30, but his impact on the South Florida community reaches historic proportions. We delved into the effect he’s already generating:
- $300 Million: The reported annual money he turned down from Saudi Arabia to join Inter Miami CF.
- 8.1 Million: The Messi news increased Inter Miami CF’s Instagram followers from roughly 1 million to over 8.1 million and growing.
- $885: Messi’s first game in Fort Lauderdale is not set in stone, but July 21 is his anticipated debut and the cheapest ticket at time of publication on TicketMaster is $920 for standing room. While the cheapest ticket for a July 1 game is $35, an $885 difference.
- $5,804: The most expensive ticket on TicketMaster for his anticipated debut is listed for $5,804.
- 3,000: An additional 3,000 seats are expected to be added to DRV PNK Stadium by August, increasing the capacity to 22,000.
