D.C.’s Newest Intercontinental Property Takes Aim At Luxury Soccer Tourism

23.04.2024 - 07:59 / forbes.com / Lionel Messi

Sports tourism has long been a passion pursuit among affluent globetrotters. And no sport holds more global appeal than soccer.

The FIFA World Cup is the premier destination event for soccer aficionados worldwide. The international tournament, which rotates host sites every four years, will be contested in stadiums across North America in 2026. It’s a logical time for FIFA to capture the U.S. soccer audience. The fan base for domestic leagues such as Major League Soccer (MLS) and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is growing, to say nothing of the American interest in European professional teams and the hit Apple TV series “Ted Lasso.”

Against this backdrop, is the time right to pitch a luxury hotel to sports tourists in a U.S. soccer hub? The InterContinental Hotels Group thinks so.

In partnership with DC United, the district’s own Major League Soccer (MLS) team, InterContinental Washington D.C - The Wharf. The Wharf’s new package gives soccer enthusiasts an opportunity to indulge like a VIP on match day and meet the players on the pitch for the ultimate fan experience. The full package includes:

New data reported by CNBC and the UN World Tourism Organization shows sports tourism represents one of the fastest growing sectors of the travel industry, with an estimated increase of 17.5 percent by 2030. The trend has real momentum, but the idea of attracting soccer fans to a luxury hotel at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers is new on several fronts.

Start with the neighborhood itself. Buzzard Point, a former military site, and the adjoining Navy Yard neighborhood only took root as a sports and entertainment district with the construction of Nationals Park (home to D.C.’s Major League Baseball team) in 2008. Other new amenities have slowly but surely filled in around it, turning the area into a vibrant destination for a new generation of District residents. Audi Field, Buzzard Point’s soccer venue, broke ground in 2017 and opened its doors a year later.

The D.C. United have been one of MLS’ steadiest performers at the ticket gates since its inaugural season of 1996. However, the quality of the play in the league needed time to tick up. (MLS, the top professional league in the U.S., was derisively called “minor league soccer” by fans of the top foreign leagues for years.) Although the league still lags behind its European counterparts in terms of overall talent, MLS has consistently attracted post-peak foreign stars since the arrival of David Beckham in 2007. The trend continued in July 2023, when Inter Miami signed 36-year-old Lionel Messi.

Messi, an Argentine national, has practically been a household name since he was a teenager. His exploits in the World Cup, combined with his