Argentina F Lionel Messi, who has been battling a sore back, "was not included in the starting 11" for last night's Copa America Centenario match against Chile, casting an "unfortunate shadow on the tournament," according to Andrew Keh of the N.Y. TIMES. However, the match "was an entertaining one for the announced crowd of 69,451" at Levi's Stadium. Messi’s absence "highlighted the fact that the tournament’s star power has been somewhat dimmed over the last few days." Consider the banner image on the tournament’s official Twitter page, which "features eight marquee players." Four of them "were expected to miss games for a variety of reasons." With Messi's absence from the starting lineup, the price of admission "became a little bit harder to swallow for some." Other games in the tournament "have not had the drawing power of multiple stars, and swaths of empty seats at some of the early matches have raised questions by sports commentators and on social media about whether tickets were appropriately priced" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/7).
TICKET MASTERS: VICE SPORTS' Aaron Gordon noted last weekend's matches "were played in front of sparse crowds dotting massive stadiums." Costa Rica and Paraguay played to a scoreless draw in Orlando in front of "an announced crowd of 14,334," while Haiti and Peru "played in Seattle, America's soccer hotbed, to an official attendance of 20,190." Rather than being some "grand statement about American soccer fans, the sparse crowds are largely due to high ticket prices, which begs the question of why the tickets were priced not to sell, but to deter." Copa America tickets "are historically expensive, similar to what you'd find at an NFL game." The "absolute cheapest Copa America ticket starts at $50, but upper deck seating runs as high as $95." The get-in price for the Euro 2016 quarterfinals ($51) "is the same as Copa group stages and significantly less than Copa's knockout stages." The prices "are also much higher than last year's Copa America in Chile" (SPORTS.VICE.com, 6/6).
