A crowd of 65,612 showed up to watch Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi at the Gillette Stadium, setting an attendance record for the New England Revolution.
PHOTO BY MEGAN BRIGGS/GETTY IMAGES, MADDIE MEYER/GETTY IMAGES, GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CORA VELTMAN
Another GOAT shook Tom Brady’s former home in New England on Saturday.
A crowd of 65,612 showed up to watch Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi at the Gillette Stadium, setting a New England Revolution attendance record, surpassing the 2002 MLS Cup title clash between the club and the L.A. Galaxy, which drew 61,316 fans to the home of NFL’s New England Patriots on October 20, 2002.
Messi did not disappoint, scoring twice in Inter Miami’s 4-1 win. Messi now has a league-leading nine goals in seven MLS games.
“People in every stadium come to see and support Leo Messi, but after they want their team to win,” Miami head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said at a news conference after the match. “We are motivated by the atmosphere each city provides, but we know it incentivizes the rivals, as well. And we try to prepare for that.”
Saturday’s clash between Inter Miami and the Revolution is also the second-largest soccer event in Gillette Stadium’s 23-year history, surpassing the USA-Spain friendly in 2011, which drew 64,121 fans, and comes in just under the Brazil vs. Mexico friendly in 2007, which drew 67,584 fans.
The Revolution told Sportico that by Wednesday, over 64,000 tickets had been sold for the match. Additionally, the club said MBTA Commuter Rail special event train service from Boston to Foxboro was sold out. Limited tickets remained for the MBTA Commuter Rail train from Providence. According to secondary ticket sales platform TickPick, the average purchase price for the match was $285 (the average purchase price for a New England Patriots game last season was $274).
Saturday night’s record-breaking audience is just another example of Messi mania. Soccer fans flock to the stadiums where the Argentine plays, but it is still too early to measure his long-term impact on the league’s popularity.
Inter Miami’s rivals approach Inter Miami games as an opportunity to convert new long-term fans. The Rev said the club priced tickets reasonably, with no increase for season ticket holders, and offered sizable discounts and early access to fans willing to purchase 4- and 6-game packs. This strategy has proven successful. By February 13, almost two months before the match against Inter, 30,000 tickets were sold to existing fans or those who have tickets to at least four games this season. In 2023, their single-season attendance record was 23,940 fans.
Messi played at Arrowhead Stadium two weeks ago in front of a sellout crowd of over 72,000. Inter Miami’s match against Sporting Kansas City became among the top 10 crowds in MLS regular season history.
Saturday’s match was not Messi’s first time in Gillette. The Argentine helped his national team beat Venezuela 4-1 in the 2016 Copa America Centenario quarterfinals, scoring in the 60th minute of that match in front of a crowd of nearly 60,000.
The 36-year-old, who led Argentina to a men’s FIFA World Cup title two years ago in Qatar, will look to defend the Copa América title this summer in the U.S.
But catching a glimpse of the soccer star will be hard as tickets for all Argentina games are sold out. According to TickPick, the average purchase price on the secondary market to see the three games that Argentina plays is $435. That is 30% higher than the average ($303) to see any other game during Copa América.
“Messi mania continues as we see his massive impact on ticket sales throughout the Copa América Tournament,” said Kyle Zorn, the content strategy lead at TickPick. “His impact is most obvious when Argentina plays on June 20 in Atlanta. That game has a get-in price of $306, which is nearly five times the get-in price when the United States plays at that same venue a week later against Panama.”
