We’re still more than 48 hours away from game time, but “Messi Mania” has already landed in North Texas.
The Argentine soccer legend will play in Frisco with his new team Inter Miami against FC Dallas on Sunday and preparation is already underway.
We caught up with a quick-moving Andrew Weaver inside the Soccer90 team store in Frisco on Friday.
The merchandise manager spent much of the afternoon switching out inventory ahead of Sunday.
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“We have some new PSG and Barca merchandise, anything that is pretty much tied to Messi,” Weaver said.
Tickets at the 20,500-seat Toyota Stadium sold out in minutes on Thursday and resale prices on the secondary market quickly spiked to more than $1,000 per ticket.
Robert Lodes with Metro Tickets in Dallas said the combination of the international icon Messi and a relatively low supply is responsible for the price spike. But, he added, with temperatures expected to be well over 100 degrees on Sunday evening, it could lead to some downward pressure on prices.
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“I’m already starting to see some prices come down closer to $600,” Lodes said.
Matias Sada hasn’t bought tickets yet but the Argentine native from Richardson said he will for himself and his two sons. It’s a moment he said they simply will not miss.
“It happens with music and concert tickets,” Sada said about the prices. “Now we are talking about the best player in the world and I think he deserves those prices.”
Sada considers himself a superfan of sorts. He helped organize the World Cup watch party at Klyde Warren Park in Dallas last December when Argentina, led by Messi, won it all.
Lucas Sada, 16, saw Messi at AT&T Stadium in Arlington when Argentina played Mexico in 2015.
“To have Messi come to Dallas just after the World Cup, it’s the biggest thing I can imagine happening,” Sada said.
For his younger brother Bruno, Sunday is admittedly a moment the 12-year-old said he doesn’t know how to describe yet.
“Every time I see him play, it’s just magic, absolute magic,” Sada. “I almost cried when I found out he was coming.”
Jesse Llamas, president of Dallas Sidekicks, said he doesn't find the demand for Sunday tickets surprising. The Dallas Sidekicks are a professional indoor soccer team.
"He’s the human highlight reel. Anytime he’s on board, no matter if it’s for the national team, or now with a MLS team…he’s just going to create content and everybody loves to watch him," Llamas said.
Popularity in U.S. soccer has been growing, he added.
"I saw the growth happen when they exposed a lot of the U.S. fan base to the premier league. When the premier league started televising about seven or eight years ago, you could really see an increase," he said.
Growth in soccer can be seen across different age groups, according to Chris Hayden with FC Dallas. Hayden is the academy director and VP of the organization's youth program.
"We’re really, really excited to be able to be a part of this moment and I think it will help us evaluate where we are as a club and where we need to go. It’s going to expose a lot of people to soccer in the metroplex that might not have been connected to that," he said. "I think globally, people who aren’t familiar with MLS or people who aren’t familiar with FC Dallas and our players and our product and our stadium, I think they’re going to know more about that."
As of this writing, kickoff for Sunday has not been announced but expect it to be in the evening, between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.
