The Rapids drew 75,824 fans to Empower Field at Mile High on Saturday for a match against Inter Miami, a milestone secured by lobbying MLS to bring Lionel Messi to Denver. The attendance figure was the second-highest single-game mark in MLS history, a monumental showing for a team that has ranked near the bottom of MLS attendance in recent seasons.
Rapids CBO Haley Durmer, who joined the organization last July, described the club’s participation in a formal but unpublicized process to convince the league to put a home game against Inter Miami on the 2026 schedule. Since Messi joined MLS in 2023, Inter Miami’s road matches have driven massive crowds across the country and provided clubs with an unmatched opportunity to reach new fans.
But unlike Eastern Conference teams, who are guaranteed to host Inter Miami once per season, only three Western Conference teams have the chance each year.
Two other Inter Miami matches already eclipsed 70,000 fans, 75,673 vs. LAFC on Feb. 21 and 72,026 vs. D.C. United on March 7.
MLS said in a statement that it takes a “thoughtful and measured approach” to scheduling Inter Miami’s Western Conference trips, citing “significant demand across the league” and a goal of giving more markets access over time.
Durmer said the Rapids had previously tried unsuccessfully to land a Messi match. She attributed this to a perception at the league level that the organization was unprepared to capitalize “from a flywheel standpoint on the excitement and buzz of hosting an opponent like Inter Miami.”
Convincing the league that the club and market were deserving of an Inter Miami match was among Durmer’s first priorities on the job last summer. She sought advice from other Western Conference teams who had previously earned a Messi visit, including Minnesota United, and worked with her staff to put together a pitch deck to present MLS brass.
“There were numeric figures in there, there were fan acquisition figures in there, there were partnership considerations in there,” Durmer said. “There’s a lot at stake for this club right now from a financial standpoint. This helps us reinvest in our flywheel to help create some rocket fuel to get us to where we need to be. So, that was essentially the pitch.”
A delegation including Kroenke Sports & Entertainment President of Team and Media Operations Kevin Demoff, Rapids President Pádraig Smith and Durmer visited MLS headquarters in N.Y. to make the pitch. She said Commissioner Don Garber praised the club’s direction following the presentation.
“That made me feel great because it’s like we’ve done our job articulating not only why the Rapids are ready for this in how we’ve structured, how we’re organized, how KSE is now supporting us in a way that maybe wasn’t seen as supportive in the past, but also Colorado is ready for this,” Durmer said.
Saturday’s match, which was preceded by a fan fest and featured a halftime show, is part of a broader revitalization effort under Demoff’s leadership. The team has upgraded game presentation and concessions at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park this season and is engaged in a refresh of its brand identity.
