Outrageous Leagues Cup final ticket prices are bad look for MLS

Inter Miami’s qualification into the Leagues Cup Final against Nashville has not been kind to ticket prices. Although the World Cup winner’s appearance in the game is expected to drive up prices, they are too high. Pricing out the fans in Nashville continues the ‘pay-to-play’ nature that has plagued American soccer.

Understandably, it is a final. Already, that will make tickets more expensive. However, this is still an MLS game, just a cup final. It has no business being more expensive than the UEFA Champions League Final from this past season. Prices for the final between Manchester City and Inter Milan started at $75.

The lowest ticket available for the Leagues Cup final is $485 according to the official Leagues Cup seller Ticketmaster. That absurd price gets a middle-of-the-section ticket in the corner of the stadium.

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For comparison, the most expensive standard admission ticket on Ticketmaster is just shy of $1,500. That’s not from a reseller, who is trying to take advantage of the Messi craze to turn his or her ticket into a profit. That’s a standard admission ticket price that’s set by Ticketmaster and MLS.

With the resale tickets, some of them are less expensive than what Ticketmaster is charging for standard admission. For instance, on Vivid Seats (one of our advertisers), prices for one ticket start at $396.

Still, prior to Messi’s visit to Subaru Park in Philadelphia this week, a Leagues Cup spokesperson said these official ticket prices come based on demand and comparisons to other major sports.

“The prices reflect the market demand for tickets similar to playoff pricing in all major sports events,” Leagues Cup spokesperson Felipe Martinez Amaral told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Even if it is likely these clubs sell the tickets, they are making it impossible for the average fan. Paying $500 for one game is ridiculous.

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Compare that to this past season’s UEFA Champions League Final in Istanbul between Manchester City and Inter Milan. The lowest official ticket price for that game was just $75. Of course, resellers did shoot those ticket prices up in the long run to prices comparable with this Leagues Cup Final. However, the $75 is for a similar style of ticket to the aforementioned $450 ticket at the Leagues Cup game, which is tucked away in the corner of the stadium.

Worse off, Leagues Cup tickets are not generally included in the clubs’ season ticket passes. These season ticket holders did have the first selection on tickets, which has already passed.

Nashville fans priced out of a home game

The worst part about the Nashville game against Inter Miami is that there is an abundance of tickets still available. Looking at ticket-purchasing websites, some sections are still half empty. Compare a section in the lower bowl in the Leagues Cup Final to a regular season MLS match. To see Messi and Inter Miami, Nashville fans would have to pay just shy of $861 per ticket in row X. Again, that is official admission, not a reseller. On Saturday, Sep. 2, which is the club’s next home game against Charlotte FC, a ticket in row R of the same section is a cool $27 on Vivid Seats.

MLS may be trying to cash in on Messi’s popularity to make more money. In doing so, it is making it impossible for average soccer fans to add to the atmosphere of the first final of what MLS calls ‘historic.’ Unfortunately, the main part of history for many of these fans is their inability to watch in person with exorbitant entry fees.

PHOTO: IMAGO & ZUMA Wire