Ticket requests flying for Barcelona vs. Real Madrid ‘El Clasico Miami’

As expected, ticket demand is extremely high for “El Clasico Miami,” a July 29 soccer exhibition match between Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid at Hard Rock Stadium.

Despite the high prices (cheapest ticket is $125 in upper bowl), organizers have had more presale ticket registrations for the match than any outside event in stadium history, and six times the number of any previous match in the International Champions Cup – which has included popular European clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United, Juventus and A.C. Milan.

Seventy-five percent of the ticket requests have come from outside the state of Florida. Fans from all over the United States, Latin America and Europe are expected to show up for the rare event. The teams have met only once outside Spanish soil – in 1982.

Among the stars expected to play are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Neymar.

El Clasico Miami, the brainchild of Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and his Relevant Sports company, will be the culmination of a Super Bowl-like week of festivities that will include a Wednesday match between two yet-to-be-named teams, a Legends Game, skills competitions, VIP parties, concerts including FloRida and Mexican pop duo Jesse and Joy, and an open training session Friday.

The match will be televised on ESPN and ESPN Deportes at 7:30 p.m.

VIP travel and ticket packages are available now via the Fontainebleau Hotel at www.fontainebleau.com/elclasico. Presale tickets are available beginning at 10 a.m. Fri. Mar. 17 and general public sale starts Mon. Mar. 20 at www.internationalchampionscup.com

This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Ticket requests flying for Barcelona vs. Real Madrid ‘El Clasico Miami’."