Club World Cup ticket prices drop for opener, but high demand for other Miami matches
Good news for South Florida soccer fans who waited to buy tickets for the Club World Cup opener between Inter Miami and Egyptian team Al Ahly June 14 at Hard Rock Stadium: Upper deck ticket prices had dropped below $60 as of Thursday, which is approximately half the price they were listed at last month.
The opener remains the most expensive match at Hard Rock Stadium for tickets already sold, with an average price of $385 per StubHub data and $338 per Vivid Seats data. But large sections of seats at the 65,326-capacity stadium remained unsold on Ticketmaster and other online markets, leading FIFA to reduce prices.
According to a report by The Athletic, tens of thousands of seats remained unsold and FIFA officials were concerned that the demand for the opening game was not as high as they anticipated.
Surely, organizers figured that Lionel Messi and his high-profile teammates would fill seats so close to home, but Al Ahly, while an Egyptian power, is not as big a draw as the Latin American and European giants in the tournament.
Also, fans in South Florida get the opportunity to see Messi play MLS home games on a regular basis, so it is not as much of a novelty for locals.
Despite the price drop for the opener, Miami demand is strong compared to the other cities hosting games, according to StubHub. Hard Rock Stadium ranks second nationally in terms of number of tickets sold, with peak demand for Real Madrid vs Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal on June 18. The cheapest upper level endzone seats were listed at $314 as of Thursday.
The get-in price for Bayern Munich vs. Boca Juniors at Hard Rock June 20 is listed at $140, aided by South Florida’s large Argentine population and the rich history of both clubs.
The games in Miami and Philadelphia capture the majority of U.S. tournament attendance, per StubHub.
Inter Miami’s three group stage matches are averaging $322 per tickets sold on Vivid Seats, about 27 percent higher than non-Inter Miami games ($253).
Prices for Inter Miami’s game against Brazilian club Palmeiras on June 23 at Hard Rock Stadium averaged $331, as of Wednesday, per Vivid Seats, but there were tickets available in the $114 range on Thursday.
Tickets sold for Inter Miami vs. Porto in Atlanta June 19 were averaging $269 on Vivid Seats.
When looking at average prices, the most affordable Hard Rock Stadium game is Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa vs Fluminense of Brazil on June 27th, with an average price of tickets sold of $129, per StubHub. As of now, get-in prices for this game are below $45, though that could change at any time.
Asked to address the remaining ticket inventory and price drops for the opening match, a FIFA spokesperson released this statement:
“We are introducing many new, successful clubs from all over the world to the world through this tournament being staged in the 11 cities across the United States. Overall, we anticipate great attendances throughout the competition for this first-ever edition – a tournament that we believe will grow edition-on-edition.
“The strong international appeal has seen supporters from more than 130 countries book their ticket to the competition. The top 10 countries per ticket sales are the United States, followed by club fans from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Saudi Arabia, France, Japan and Spain.”
Tickets for the month-long tournament are available at FIFA.com/tickets