Weather sparks fan chaos at gate for Lionel Messi’s Miami event

Lionel Messi’s introduction to the Inter Miami faithful hit a little bit of a delay on Sunday as the South Florida rain pushed back the start of the event and sent fans scrambling through one of the gates at DRV PNK Stadium. 

Video posted to Twitter by Magic City Soccer, appeared to show fans going through what looked to be an unmanned gate outside the stadium to enter the grounds to find cover from the torrential downpour.

La PresentaSíon, as it was dubbed by the team, was a ticketed event, with season ticket holders being given complimentary tickets and then a limited number of tickets were made available to the general public. 

A previous video posted by the Magic City soccer account did appear to show a security guard originally at the gate as the sky began to open up. 

“Security abandon their post as the worst of the weather came in,” the two videos were captioned. “Supporters breached the gates and passed security with no one on hand. This may be a problem.”  

A follow-up tweet from the account explained that fans had rushed the gate to get out of the passing storm, but there had been no security inspection or anyone there to collect tickets. 

The event had been scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, but rain forced a weather delay and fans had only started to be allowed to go to their seats around 7:30 p.m., according to soccer reporter Franco Panizo. 

The tickets for Messi’s introduction had warned that the event would take place rain or shine due to South Florida’s unpredictable weather, according to World Soccer Talk. 

“We understand that weather conditions can be unpredictable, but we want to assure you that we are fully prepared to make this event a success,” the warning read.

“We encourage you to come prepared for any weather conditions, such wearing appropriate attire, to enhance your comfort. We believe that nothing should dampen the spirit of this exciting event, and we look forward to seeing you there, rain or shine!”

Messi officially signed with the team on Saturday after revealing he would be coming to South Florida in early June. 

His first game with Inter Miami will be at DRV PNK Stadium on July 21.