Editor’s note: This article was written by Alex Silverman and first appeared in Sports Business Journal, the industry’s leading source of sports business news, events and data.

The MLS record for single-game ticket sales revenue is ready to fall with Inter Miami and superstar Lionel Messi scheduled to play at some of the league’s largest venues during the final stretch of the regular season.

The biggest boost will likely be in Chicago, where sources said the Fire can expect to generate $9 million to $10 million in ticket revenue for its Oct. 4 match against Inter Miami at 61,500-seat Soldier Field. That would equal or exceed combined ticket revenue for the club’s other 16 home games this season. Dave Baldwin, first-year club president of business operations, said he anticipates the match will be “one of the highest-grossing MLS matches of all time, if not the highest.”

A source with knowledge of the situation said the current MLS single-game record is north of $9 million; no game has reached $10 million.

While two other upcoming Messi opponents, Atlanta United and Charlotte FC, play in even larger NFL stadiums than Soldier Field, the Fire has more available single-game inventory due to its much smaller base of season-ticket holders (Chicago wouldn’t confirm its figure; sources pegged Charlotte’s at roughly 24,000 and Atlanta’s at about 32,000-35,000). The Fire is averaging just 14,880 fans per game at Soldier Field this season, the second-lowest figure in the 29-team league. Messi’s arrival is a rare chance for the club to charge premium prices for seats in the lower bowl that don’t belong to season-ticket holders, as well as for the entire 300 and 400 levels of the stadium, which are typically unsold.

Since the news broke in June that Messi intended to sign with Inter Miami, Baldwin estimated that the Fire has made more than 200 ticket price adjustments across all the stadium’s seating zones for the highly anticipated match. When Messi scored three goals in his first two matches during Leagues Cup, for example, the Fire raised prices.

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“As all that is happening, there are millions of impressions on social media, we’re seeing more page visits and views on our site, so we’re making sure that our prices are accurately reflecting what the market is,” said Baldwin, a longtime ticket sales executive who had worked with the Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders.

As of Sept. 6, face-value tickets in Chicago ranged from $199 in the 400 level to $5,000 for premium field-side seats added just for the Miami match that include food and beverage. The club has sold 54,000 tickets, far exceeding the club’s best regular-season attendance of 37,122 in 1998, and expects to sell out by game day.

Messi moments are still ahead for Atlanta United, which hosts Inter Miami on Saturday, and Charlotte FC, which will do so on Oct. 21. (Inter Miami’s only other road game is at Orlando City SC’s 25,500-seat Exploria Stadium). Both teams can offer significantly higher price points than before. For a match against LAFC last month, Charlotte sold a handful of upper-deck tickets for $15 each. Yet upper-deck tickets for Messi’s visit to Bank of America Stadium are currently ranging from $125-$200 at face value. At an average of $150 each, Charlotte would earn $6 million in revenue from just its approximately 40,000 upper-deck seats for the Inter Miami match.

In contrast with the Fire’s approach of frequently adjusting ticket prices for the marquee match, Atlanta United has kept prices consistent over the past few months since first setting prices with the broader AMBSE team, the league and Eventellect. “We priced to meet demand,” said Georgia O’Donoghue, vice president of business operations for United. “This really isn’t a revenue play so much as it is to protect our brand. If you go out with your same pricing for a match with this kind of demand, you’re letting brokers control the market. We didn’t want to do that.”

The benefits of hosting Messi at such oversized venues go beyond a one-time windfall, as clubs seek to leverage the excitement to advance longer-term business goals.

Greg Krug, senior director of client services at advisory firm Navigate, suggested that the Messi matches offer the home teams an unprecedented opportunity to add thousands of potential future customers to their databases.

“How do I get these people in my database and start retargeting them and marketing to them and engaging with them?” said Krug. “To me, the much bigger play here is finding the pocket of fans within Atlanta, Chicago and Charlotte that came out of the woodwork that you couldn’t find before.”

Baldwin said the Fire has sought to strike a balance between maximizing income from Inter Miami match and using the spectacle of Messi to create new fans and bring them back in the future. To that end, the club has sold 8,000 discounted tickets to groups and 4,000 as part of bundled ticket packages, while also setting aside 3,000 complimentary tickets for customers who buy season tickets or a suite for next season and running sweepstakes to win free tickets.

“We have a lot of inventory and there obviously was some real dynamic pricing power,” said Baldwin, “but we also wanted to set the Fire up for long-term business success and hopefully have [this match] be a large part of our fan acquisition model.”

In addition to ticketing, the Fire reached a six-figure, multiyear sponsorship deal with Celsius based primarily on making the fitness drink brand the presenting sponsor of one match per season, beginning of course with the game against Inter Miami. Baldwin said he and owner Joe Mansueto plan to host a private prematch reception for more than 200 Chicago-area CEOs, civic leaders and philanthropists.

Perhaps the biggest upside for Atlanta, Charlotte and Chicago is that as members of MLS’s Eastern Conference, all three clubs will get to host Messi annually as long as he plays for Inter Miami.

“This game should 100% be treated like a Game 7 from a maximization standpoint,” Krug said. “Lifelong fandom is made off of these type of marquee events.”