Inter Miami takes steps after low ticket sales for Monterrey game

Inter Miami is offering their fans discounted tickets for the club’s upcoming home fixture with Mexican side Monterrey to boost sales. The matchup will be the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals. The tournament is essentially the confederation’s answer to the UEFA Champions League but without a group stage. It will be Miami‘s first time taking part in the quarterfinals of the competition.

Miami’s home match against Monterrey is scheduled for Wednesday, April 3 at 8 p.m. ET. Despite seemingly being a big fixture, ticket sales have been disappointing so far. As a result, the Major League Soccer side has issued a rare discount code for fans looking to purchase tickets.

Discount code only accessible through a specific link

Fans wanting to take advantage of the markdown must start the process by visiting a specific link provided by the club. Once the link is clicked, fans will then have to enter PACKTHEHOUSE in the promo code section. Using the code through the link will unlock savings on tickets in certain areas. The promotion is only valid in upper-level seating of Chase Stadium (formerly DRV PNK Stadium). Each buyer can only purchase up to six tickets using the code as well.

The cheapest ticket using the discount code is $60 in section 125. This area is directly behind one of the goals at the arena. Seats in this section on StubHub currently start at $76 each. Tickets to sections 113 and 114, along the sidelines, are also available for a lower price as well. These seats can be purchased for $90. Tickets in this specific area typically go for up to $150 each on the aforementioned ticket exchange and resale website.

Three factors affect Inter Miami discounted ticket sales

Miami’s move to offer the discount code ultimately comes down to three reasons. First of all, Lionel Messi is currently injured and may miss the Monterrey match. The superstar has not featured for the club since March 13th and was recently unavailable for Argentina‘s two friendlies in the United States. Although Messi has not yet been ruled out for the game on April 3rd, there is some uncertainty regarding his availability.

There has also been a clear lack of interest in the earlier round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Just 137,000 people watched Miami’s thrilling draw against Nashville on FS2 in the first leg of the previous round. Miami then could not come particularly close to selling out their home stadium for the return fixture of the matchup. Messi featured, and scored, in both legs of the round of 16.

Clubs have also found it difficult to sell out stadiums for midweek matches. Tournament fixtures such as the CONCACAF Champions Cup or U.S. Open Cup are generally played during the middle of the week. American soccer fans seemingly prefer to attend matches on the weekend.

There is also the structure of the knockout tournament to consider as well. Teams do not have a lot of time to sell tickets between each matchup. Miami only just announced that tickets are on sale and the upcoming game with Monterrey is now just one week away.

PHOTOS: IMAGO