Hottest ticket for Bay Area sports this week is not a Warriors playoff game

(KRON) — The hottest ticket in Bay Area sports this week is not a Golden State Warriors playoff game — despite the NBA team being in the full swing of the playoffs. It’s a regular-season soccer match.

As of Monday evening, the San Jose Earthquakes game on May 14 will cost fans more than the Warriors’ Game 4 home game on Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the conference semifinals.

According to resale tickets from official retailer Ticketmaster, the get-in price for a single ticket to the Warriors’ Game 4 at Chase Center is $158. The cheapest ticket for the Earthquakes-Inter Miami game on Wednesday is $358 — for a standing-room only spot. The cheapest seat at the soccer stadium that day is $408.

There is one reason for that price point: Lionel Messi.

The drop in the Warriors’ ticket price could be attributed to the absence of basketball’s Messi: Stephen Curry. The Warriors’ superstar will not play in Game 4 due to a hamstring injury he suffered in Game 1 last week.

It will be one of the soccer legend’s few Bay Area appearances in his illustrious career. According to soccer journalist Favian Renkel, Messi played in a 2009 friendly for FC Barcelona against Chivas at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

Messi, 37, is one of the most famous athletes on earth — boasting more than 500 million Instagram followers. He is widely regarded by many as the greatest footballer of all time.

Firsthand and face-value tickets for the Earthquakes-Inter Miami game are officially sold out, the host team announced Monday afternoon. For reference, tickets for the Quakes’ match against the Colorado Rapids on May 10 were available for as low as $23.

According to USA Today, Messi is expected to take the field at PayPal Park in San Jose against the Earthquakes. On Sunday, a flock of people were waiting for Messi to get off the team bus and walk into the team hotel in San Jose — just to get a glimpse of the soccer legend.