The Colorado Rapids will host defending MLS Cup champion Inter Miami at Empower Field at Mile High on April 18, the club announced Thursday. The decision to host at the Broncos’ stadium was made independent of Miami’s global star power, including two-time defending MLS MVP Lionel Messi.
Hosting the Argentine World Cup winner will certainly be a plus and will likely drive ticket sales as it has for other teams around the league, but the Rapids chose to host at Empower to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the team’s inaugural home match that weekend.
That match, a 3-1 win over the Dallas Burn on April 21, 1996, was played at the since-razed Mile High Stadium. The Rapids played at that venue and its replacement, then named Invesco Field at Mile High, until Dick’s Sporting Goods Park opened in 2007.
“We are elated to be hosting this event and celebrating this club’s illustrious history with the city of Denver, promoting Commerce City, which is our current home now, the sports fans in the communities of Colorado, and obviously our tried and true Rapids fans and all of those supporters,” Rapids Chief Business Officer Haley Durmer told The Denver Post. “Mile High holds a special place in all of our hearts. … It only makes sense for us to bring it back to our original home. There’s no better way for us to celebrate our 30th anniversary than being there, and hosting Inter Miami is the cherry on top for everybody.”
Durmer said discussions with the Broncos were underway well before the MLS schedule was released last month, and the club had no idea at the time that Miami would be the opponent for the 30th-anniversary match. When she got the call, she said she got chills.
Miami has been in demand since Messi joined the club in 2023, particularly in cities around the country. Numerous clubs around the league have accommodated by hosting in larger stadiums, such as Sporting Kansas City, which averaged 18,122 fans in attendance at Children’s Mercy Park in 2024, but drew more than 72,000 at the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium for the April Inter Miami match.
By contrast, the hype for Messi has led to disappointment and disaster control for other MLS clubs. The Houston Dynamo, which did not move its Miami match from its home Shell Energy Stadium, saw inflated resale ticket prices ahead of the match, only for the star to not make the trip. In response, the Dynamo offered free future match tickets to fans who attended the Miami game anyway.
Despite the MLS schedule being released nearly a month earlier than in recent years, single-match tickets will go on sale January 15. For now, Durmer said, the best option to secure a spot at the Rapids’ match against Miami is through season ticket membership.
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