The decision made by Chicago Fire due to Messi's absence at Inter Miami
The Illinois franchise will benefit fans who bought tickets to see Leo.
Chicago Fire fans are in for a big disappointment this Wednesday, October 4. Inter Miami will visit them tomorrow as part of a new MLS matchday and Lionel Messi will not travel for the match. All the seats at Soldier Field had been sold out days ago with the idea that the best player in the world would be present, but La Pulga did not even train with his teammates in the last training session before traveling and would not have minutes against the Illinois team.
To put it into perspective, the average attendance for that franchise's matches is barely 15 thousand people per match, while for Inter's match they had sold all 63 thousand seats that the venue has. For this reason, many fans complained, not only because they paid a ticket for a player they were not going to see, but also because their prices were much higher than the average, to the point that a record was broken in money income. In this context, the Chicago club issued a statement announcing a measure to reward fans.
Chicago Fire's statement regarding Messi's absence
“The Chicago Fire are excited to host Inter Miami CF at Soldier Field this week. While we don’t yet know the official status of Lionel Messi’s availability for our match tomorrow, as there’s never a guarantee that an athlete will play on any given night due to several factors, we understand that many of our fans may be disappointed if they don’t get the chance to see him play. We realize that there will be many in attendance who are coming to a Chicago Fire match at Soldier Field for the first time, and we’re excited to welcome them to the Fire Family and give them an opportunity to become long-term fans by creating a wonderful, fan-focused atmosphere.
To show our appreciation, the Chicago Fire will be offering a $250 account credit toward new memberships for the 2024 season – or a $50 account credit for anyone unable to use the new member credit – to all single-game ticket buyers who attend our match vs. Inter Miami regardless of which players are able to make an appearance on the pitch. With a variety of in-match activations, including a surprise halftime performance, Wednesday is going to be a memorable night. We’re excited to host Inter Miami; this match has major playoff implications for both Clubs, and with over 61,000 tickets distributed, we’re expecting a thrilling Eastern Conference match-up at Soldier Field.”
