LaLiga is coming to the United States, with FC Barcelona set to play Villarreal at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on December 20. The game marks the first time that a regular-season match from any of Europe’s big five leagues will be played outside of its home country.
The decision to host the match in Miami comes just days after UEFA approved the Spanish football association’s request for the historic overseas fixture. And it also comes a year after a failed attempt to schedule a different match in Miami, as we reported last October. That match was planned on almost as short notice as this one, and we doubted at the time that it would happen. But this match appears to have cleared the administrative and legal hurdles, and the Villarreal website has already updated the fixture’s location to Hard Rock Stadium.
Potential ramifications of LaLiga’s U.S. match
The matchup may signal things to come, with major football leagues starting to push for international tilts of their own. In fact, LaLiga officials have already made public their intentions to feature international fixtures as annual events, using the NFL’s overseas scheduling as its model. And a future announcement may be coming in the following weeks about two Italian Serie A clubs playing a regular-season match in Perth, Australia.
European clubs have played on U.S. soil before, in both international friendlies and preseason tune-ups, such as the English Premier League’s Summer Series, which began touring in the U.S. in 2023. However, LaLiga’s decision to play a regular-season fixture abroad is unprecedented and, as such, has been met with mixed reactions from both fans and players alike.
How fans can attend the game
The public onsale for the match won’t take place until Wednesday, October 22, and ticket prices have not been announced. Despite that, tickets are already available on resale marketplaces like StubHub, with get-in prices starting at over $300 for upper-level tickets.
A presale will be held for Dolphins season ticket holders, and it’s possible that additional presales will be announced, such as for holders of specific credit cards or fan bases. To keep an eye out for those, click here for Ticketmaster’s event page.
Schedule Scout
As always, we’ve got you covered on possible doubleheader opportunities. In addition to the LaLiga match, the NHL’s Florida Panthers will host the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night at 7:00 pm at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. And then on Sunday night, the Miami Dolphins will host the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium. To see other potential sports overlaps on this particular weekend, visit TSI’s Miami Schedule Scout here.
Bottom line
If you’re thinking about attending the match, you need to watch the ticket situation closely. We don’t know the prices yet, but we assume they will be lower than the current StubHub prices. Regardless, you are going to want to at least try to get tickets through Ticketmaster when they go on sale on October 22. We feel confident that demand will be extremely high given the historic nature of the event, and tickets could sell out quickly.
In the meantime, it might not be a bad idea to grab a cancelable hotel and car reservation, just in case you get lucky with tickets. There is always hotel availability in South Florida, but early booking may be helpful to get the best pricing.
Keep checking back at TSI for updates as they are announced.
