Storms soak fans attending event to debut Lionel Messi as Inter Miami player
Messi's welcome to Miami was delayed by several hours because of severe rain on Sunday night, but thousands of fans crowding to see him were not deterred.
Fans quickly headed through the gates of DRV PNK Stadium, home of the Inter Miami CF soccer club, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to escape heavy rain from a severe storm on July 16.
The atmosphere inside Miami’s DRV PNK stadium Sunday was thunderous as Lionel Messi introduced himself as an Inter Miami player, but the weather heralding his arrival was even more tempestuous.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Joe Lundberg said the severe weather was fairly isolated in nature and was sparked by thunderstorms erupting along a “sea breeze front” moving inland from the southwest coast of Florida.
Though the unveiling of Messi, largely regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time, was framed by hours of torrential rainfall outside the stadium, fans were not deterred. Thousands rushed through the gates of the stadium, ducking under umbrellas and weaving past bystanders. Tickets to the unveiling had sold for more than $1,000 each.
Messi was set to take the stage at 6:30 p.m. ET, but Inter Miami announced a rain delay via Twitter at 6:26 p.m. Gates reopened by 7:45 p.m., and the show was underway by 8 p.m. A heavy downpour continued for more than two hours along with frequent flashes of lightning before giving way to a light rainfall.
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