Lionel Messi in Baltimore? Professional soccer returns to Charm City

This week DC United announced that the team’s MLS fixture against Inter Miami next month will be played at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium, the first time the city has hosted a soccer game in nearly two years. On March 7 Lionel Messi and the MLS Cup champions will be heading to Charm City, one part of a significant move for sport in the city.

DC United usually play at Audi Field in the Buzzard Point neighborhood of Washington, DC, but with Messi coming to town Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott struck a deal to have the game played at the home of the Baltimore Ravens.

“We’re a sports town. We’re a soccer town, and Baltimore is a city that knows how to ride together,” Scott said on Thursday. “We are proud to welcome DC United and professional soccer here to Baltimore next month, but more importantly for the years to come.”

This will be the first professional soccer game hosted in Baltimore since the summer of 2024 but it could become a more common event in the near future. In a phone interview this week, DC United CEO Jason Levien confirmed that the team is interested in bringing professional soccer back to Baltimore on a permanent basis.

Soccer returns to Baltimore

Levien is overseeing a massive project to bring a socccer stadium, two professional teams and a youth academy to Baltimore. Adding some star power, NBA legend and Baltimore native Carmelo Anthony is heavily involved in the push to get professional soccer teams in Baltimore. Levien revealed that Anthony, along with other local and state figures, is working to help satisfy an under-served soccer market.

Forbes reports that there are plans in place to build a soccer-specific stadium of around 12,000 seats, to be used by a first-tier USL Women’s Super League team and a men’s team in the third-tier MLS Next Pro, connected to DC United. It’s an ambitious project, but one which comes at a time of heightened interest in soccer and with the imminent arrival of Lionel Messi.

Scott said: “With the World Cup on the horizon, there is no better time to bring Major League Soccer to our city, to Charm City. Because we all know that above all else, Baltimore is a sports town. From the Ravens to the Orioles to our collegiate — we’ll be seeing our CIAA tournament here in a few weeks — to our winning high school teams. We’ve got a strong, passionate soccer fan base, and we’re ready to bring all of that energy to this match."

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