DC United head to Baltimore for Inter Miami & Lionel Messi visit | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

WASHINGTON – Jacob Murrell fielded more ticket requests than usual from loved ones for D.C. United’s match vs. Inter Miami CF on Saturday afternoon. A lot more.

“I think maybe 30 to 40 more than normal,” United’s 21-year-old striker told MLSsoccer.com with a chuckle on Wednesday.

It’s not just the allure of Lionel Messi and his star-studded Miami side. This is a homecoming for Murrell, a native of Forest Hill, Maryland, north of Baltimore, where the Black-and-Red are setting up shop at M&T Bank Stadium for the Herons’ visit in Matchday 3.

It’s a special occasion, officially declared ‘B-more United Day’ by Mayor Brandon Scott, with a full slate of activities around the match.

“It's really exciting for me,” said Murrell, who made his name as a high-school standout at the McDonogh School near Baltimore, then played college soccer in the District at Georgetown University before joining D.C. via the 2024 MLS SuperDraft.

“There's going to be a lot of friends and family there. Going home to the area where I grew up and went to high school, it's just going to be super special.”

Match Trailer | DC United host Inter Miami at M&T Bank Stadium

Heading north

M&T Bank Stadium is home to the NFL’s Ravens and more than triple the size of Audi Field, helping maximize the crowd size as the GOAT and the rest of the reigning MLS Cup presented by Audi champions hit the DMV region (local slang for D.C., Maryland and Virginia).

The Black-and-Red know some of those in attendance will be cheering for Messi & Co. But they aim to win hearts and minds with a spirited performance against the team that currently sets the standard in MLS.

“It’s going to be awesome to kind of expand our fanbase a little bit, hopefully, into Baltimore and play in front of a different crowd,” homegrown midfielder Jackson Hopkins told reporters on Thursday.

“When you're younger, all you want to do is play in a stadium full of people, whether they're for you or against you. So I think they're going to be for us, mostly, but I'm just super excited to play in a new place, a new stadium that's bigger than what we’re used to. It'll be fun.”

Fan experience

Ticket sales thus far have D.C.’s front office optimistic they will approach a sellout at the nearly 71,000-capacity venue. They’ve added to the spectacle with live music, highlighted by Maryland-bred rappers Phil Adé and Wale performing pregame and at halftime, respectively, and R&B songstress Alex Vaughn singing the national anthem.

The festivities will start around noon, more than four hours before kickoff. Murrell’s recommendation: Arrive early and nosh on crab cakes, a local specialty.

“Beyond the revenue, it's an opportunity to showcase this great moment to all the fans in all the communities,” said Danita Johnson, United’s president of business operations.

“You're going to have pregame festival opportunities – come in early, drink, eat, have a wonderful time. … And then we have some custom merch happening, so there's going to be some Miami-D.C. United special event commemorative merch in the team shop.”

It’s a chance for United to better connect with Charm City, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States lacking a fully professional outdoor soccer club despite a rich history in the sport and a thriving local scene.

“We see Baltimore as part of our community,” said Johnson.

“That area is a hotbed for soccer, and we want to help grow the game. We see it through the folks that come through our academy, players on our first team, and so we want to be there to help grow the game and expand into Baltimore, and think about how we develop the youth in the area.”

Long-term goals

That last part is a key driver for United’s long-term vision along the northern edge of their territory.

The Black-and-Red are in talks with city and state officials about constructing a 12,000-seat stadium and 80-acre training campus for a future MLS NEXT Pro team at Carroll Park, about a mile west of M&T, and recently recruited Baltimore native and NBA legend Carmelo Anthony as an investor in the project.

The plan is to house United’s second team at the facility and perhaps also D.C. Power, their USL Super League women’s team, as well as an extension of their academy, which is currently centered at the Inova Performance Complex (where the first team trains).

The Inova Performance Complex sits in Leesburg, Virginia, well over an hour’s drive to the southwest and thus a challenging commute for Baltimore-area players. D.C. United recognize the talent they may be missing out on as a result.

“Baltimore kind of gets lost in between Philly and D.C.,” noted Murrell. “So when I was growing up as a kid, an hour-and-a-half south of Philly and an hour-and-a-half north of D.C., it was one of those things where we didn’t hear too much about MLS.

"Bringing this up to Baltimore is going to be huge for the younger generation of kids.”

Soccer history

The Baltimore Bays were founding members of the old North American Soccer League. An indoor team, the Blast, have been a fixture in the area since the 1980s. Big clubs from abroad have drawn huge crowds to M&T Bank Stadium for summer friendlies. Local clubs like Christos FC, Pipeline SC and Baltimore Celtic have churned out quality players and teams for years, and the high-school soccer landscape is arguably the most competitive in the country.

“Baltimore is a kind of forgotten-about area, but there's so many good players,” said Murrell. “It's known for being a hard-nosed area, guys who are blue-collar players. When you look at it on the youth level, you have so many teams that come through and win national championships and really represent Baltimore well.

“You look at guys around the league right now, you look at Andrew Privett down in Charlotte, Ben Bender in Philly and myself at D.C. – those are guys that I played against in high school.”

Beyond Saturday’s spectacle, United hope more like them will eventually don their colors at academy level.

“We've got a strong, passionate soccer fanbase, and we're ready to bring all of that energy to this match,” said Scott, the city’s mayor, at a press event last month. “But this isn’t just about one day. This is about a long-term investment into the city of Baltimore.”