Cavalier FC Sporting Director Rudolph Speid says ticket sales for the grandstand at the National Stadium have been suspended ahead of their second leg Round-of-16 Concacaf Champions Cup against Inter Miami on March 13.

The game has drawn attention because of the prospect of Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi, considered by many as the greatest footballer of all time, playing at the National Stadium.

Speid says the decision to pause sales was made in the interest of transparency and ensuring compliance with regulations.

“Right now, we have suspended the sales of tickets for the grandstand as a matter of transparency,” he said. “The grandstand holds 5,400 persons, and we have sold 3,000 tickets. There are 2,000 that we have not sold for a simple reason. We have sponsor commitments that we haven’t finalised and based on the regulations, we have to keep some tickets available for Inter Miami FC’s travelling fans. If they travel, we have to make room for them as per the regulations.”

Speid says a portion of the tickets must also be allocated to specific stakeholders.

“We also have some persons that get complimentary tickets, like the players, the JFF (Jamaica Football Federation) and these are protocols that we have to follow,” he said. “So, at this particular time, we have to ensure that we know the number of persons attending so that we don’t oversell the tickets.

“As soon as we finalise that number, by this week, we will definitely continue the sale of tickets for the grandstand. We have to protect our integrity and ensure that we don’t have overcrowding in the grandstand.”

Grandstand tickets are priced between US$50 (just under J$8,000) and US$100 (close to J$16,000) and are divided into three categories – General Grandstand, VIP, and VVIP.

Bleacher tickets range from US$20 (just over J$3,000) to US$25 (just under J$4,000), with an additional bleachers’ premium category.

Speid says those tickets remain on sale as the capacity has not yet been reached. The tickets are being sold on CaribTix.com.

Speid describes the game as an unprecedented event in Jamaican club football.

“There has never been a club game like this before in Jamaica,” he said. “We have had bigger teams, like when Cavalier brought Santos with Pelé in 1971, and of course, Pelé came back in 1975.

“We also brought Chelsea here, but those were friendly games. This is a real competition and we have never had a player like Messi playing in a competitive game in Jamaica. There is Messi, along with Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets, and these are really top-shelf players.”

Cavalier FC striker Shaquille Stein (left) celebrates with teammates Kaile Auvray (centre) and Jeovanni Laing after scoring the winning goal against Cibao FC in the first leg of the Concacaf Caribbean Cup final at the National Stadium on Tuesday, November 26, 2024. (Photo: Jhovanna Costa/Concacaf)