CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Lionel Messi will not receive special treatment when he comes to face Charlotte FC in October.
Charlotte FC team officials said on Thursday that they would not switch their field from turf to grass for the Oct. 21 match against Inter Miami CF at Bank of America Stadium.
“All of our Major League Soccer matches are scheduled to be played on turf and there is no plan to change to natural grass,” the team said in a statement.
Speculation has surmounted accommodations for Messi ever since he announced he was joining the MLS side in June. Messi has never played on artificial turf but could face two opponents in the regular season at stadiums that do not use grass, Atlanta United FC and Charlotte FC.
Don Garber, MLS Commissioner, told The Athletic earlier this week that he expects teams to make the change. However, both Atlanta and Charlotte have balked at the idea.
It's unclear whether or not Messi will choose to sit out the games on turf fields. Garber noted that Messi does not have a requirement to play a certain number of games in his contract and could miss MLS games due to Argentina national team commitments.
If Messi does miss out on the match against Charlotte, it might benefit Charlotte FC from a competition standpoint but ticket buyers would surely be upset. Charlotte FC opened the upper deck of Bank of America Stadium in the immediate aftermath of Messi's announcement that he was coming to Miami as ticket demand skyrocketed.
The cheapest tickets for the match are around $150 for the upper deck seats. The lower deck seats are almost completely sold out and resale tickets are listed from around $300 with many tickets being listed for well over $1,000. For comparison, Charlotte FC's next home MLS match against Los Angeles FC has tickets from $15 to $200.
It's not completely out of the question to think Charlotte FC would change its turf for an opponent. The team swapped the turf for grass for a friendly match with English Premier League side Chelsea FC. Bank of America Stadium used grass once again for two Gold Cup matches earlier this month. However, the match against Miami will be on Decision Day, or the last day of the regular season, and Charlotte will likely need all the points they can get to help their postseason chances.
Bank of America Stadium used natural grass for the Carolina Panthers from 1995 to 2020 until changes were made for the arrival of Charlotte FC in 2022.
Messi's Miami MLS debut is expected on Friday against Liga MX side Cruz Azul in a Leagues Cup game. Messi's first match in MLS competition will be against Charlotte FC in Miami.