Liverpool and Man United are playing in the college town of Columbia. How did that happen?

In late 2023, a group of top Liverpool employees visited the college town of Columbia, South Carolina. They were thinking about exercising early the next day when the USC athletics department saw a chance to work together.

Chance Miller, who was working as the deputy athletics director at USC, organized a special early morning ride for the Liverpool staff and gave them permission to use the South Carolina Gamecocks college football team's gym. The Gamecocks' fitness coach, Luke Day, led the Liverpool staff in a workout. To set the mood, Miller made sure to play Liverpool's anthem You'll Never Walk Alone, followed by some iconic songs from The Beatles.

It was all part of a big plan to impress people, which led to USC holding its first major exhibition match between European football teams at the 77,599-seat Williams-Brice Stadium. On Saturday night, a city with fewer than 140,000 people, Columbia, will host a well-known rivalry in sports. Liverpool will play against Manchester United as part of their Rivals in Red tour of the United States. Before this match, both teams also played against Arsenal, with United playing in Los Angeles and Liverpool playing in Philadelphia. This will be the first time a team from the English Premier League has played in Columbia.

Los Angeles and Philadelphia are ranked as the second and fourth largest designated market areas in the United States according to media researchers Nielsen. In Los Angeles, over 62,000 fans attended United's 2-1 defeat by Arsenal at SoFi stadium, while in Philadelphia, Lincoln Financial Field sold out for the match between Liverpool and Arsenal (which Liverpool won 2-1). This ranking is based on the size of television markets in the U.S.

Liverpool's Salah finds the back of the net against Arsenal (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

On the other hand, Colombia is ranked 76th and has no prior experience in hosting soccer events. Therefore, this decision was a bold move into uncharted territory.

Miller, who recently left USC to join Coastal Carolina University, started thinking about hosting these games during the Covid-19 outbreak.

"It was a challenging time for us and the university as we faced decreased attendance at our college football games," he explains. "It was the most challenging period in our careers due to the high level of uncertainty surrounding whether or not we would even be able to play the games. The main concern was how we would support our student athletes and ensure their well-being during this time."

When examining the finances, major college sports rely heavily on football, basketball, and baseball. Generating revenue through attendance, ticket sales, and television broadcasting is crucial to support other sports like swimming, diving, track and field, tennis, and golf. As I pondered the situation, I couldn't help but notice our impressive facilities, particularly our 75,000-seat football stadium that sits empty most of the year. This got me thinking - how can we expand our revenue streams, host exciting events, and showcase the capital city of South Carolina in a unique way?

The talk about this game began in the fall, when TEG, a company that puts on live events, contacted Miller. TEG has put together tours like Rivals in Red and Wrexham’s tour of the west coast in the U.S. this summer. This Australian company has also brought the New Zealand rugby All Blacks to play Fiji in San Diego this year, and has organized T20 cricket matches on the east coast, including the popular India vs Pakistan game in New Jersey.

Miller explained that Hugh Nicholson from TEG contacted him with the concept of introducing professional soccer to large university towns with strong college football fan bases. Miller eagerly embraced the idea and got on board.

Miller had a different discussion later that evening. He shared, "My son Carson, who is eight years old and a big Manchester United supporter, is quite knowledgeable about soccer." He chuckled and continued, "I asked him, 'Carson, how would you feel if I could arrange for Manchester United and Liverpool to have a match in our stadium?'. He was ecstatic, running around the house and screaming with excitement. That's when I knew we were onto something good."

Nicholson elaborates on the idea: "Past events at the University of Michigan with Real Madrid and Manchester United have been incredibly successful. I've always believed that college stadiums, while incredibly large, also have dedicated fans who are passionate about their school, community, and area."

The teams were traveling towards the east at the conclusion of the tour, which was logical based on geography. I promptly began searching for locations in the Southeastern Conference that were large enough to host a match of this size, as well as universities with devoted fans who would enthusiastically show their support.

USC thought about holding different events this summer, but in the end, they decided that if they were going to get involved in football, they should go all out.

Miller suggested bringing two high-performing teams to our location to demonstrate the strong support from college sports fans. The teams were particularly impressed by our top-notch facilities during our discussions.

Our team of grounds crew and turf management experts are top-notch. They recently visited our facility to assess our grounds, led by the experienced Clark Cox who has worked on prestigious events like the Major League Baseball All-Star game and the Super Bowl. He impressed them with our ability to execute at the highest level.

United found the pre-season beneficial for them. The club aimed for their tour to bring in money and also focus on performing well. They wanted to avoid any tiring travel across the U.S. to make the most of their time.

Erik ten Hag's team has been training at just one location in Los Angeles and will fly to South Carolina on Friday for a short stay before returning to Manchester after the Saturday game.

The Manchester United team practicing in Los Angeles (photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)

There were some details to figure out. Miller clarifies that in college football, visiting teams often have less comfortable locker rooms than the home team to emphasize the home team's advantage.

When we examined the facility, we immediately knew that we couldn't have top soccer teams like Liverpool or Manchester United using it in its current state. Therefore, we decided to completely renovate the lockers, carpet, and lighting to create a more inviting space for them. Our goal is to make sure that they feel welcomed and valued, so that they would want to return in the future.

When it came to the football field, the length was fine, but the width was a little tight. Miller explained that the grounds crew had to buy some grass to create more space for corner kicks. Unlike many stadiums in the United States, this stadium has natural grass, which is unusual at the professional level. Miller mentioned watching a game between Man United and Arsenal in Los Angeles, where the commentators pointed out dead spots and patchy areas on the turf. He assured that this would not be an issue at their stadium.

Staff members from the operations, marketing, and maintenance teams of United and Liverpool visited the facilities several times. They attended a college football game between South Carolina and Kentucky Wildcats in November, where they experienced a lively atmosphere. They were informed that the stadium would be illuminated in red whenever United and Liverpool played there.

The game in November between the South Carolina Gamecocks and Kentucky Wildcats was a thrilling showdown.

We booked a table for dinner at two different fancy restaurants: Halls Chophouse, which specializes in steak, and Di Vino Rosso, a elegant Northern Italian restaurant with white tablecloths.

The blog section outlined a detailed strategy, showcasing the various lodging options for teams in the university town, where pre and post-game meals would be served, accommodations for ownership groups and VIPs in exclusive areas, and transportation arrangements for getting to and from the stadium. These matches generate huge profits for European soccer teams, bringing in substantial match fees. Additionally, there are agreements in place for sharing revenue with the promoter from ticket sales, as well as potential earnings from media rights, parking fees, and merchandise sales.

The promoter, TEG, pays a rental fee to the venue, in this situation USC. Miller mentioned that USC received a payment of $400k-$500k for covering the regular operational and security expenses of organizing an event. Additionally, USC also received a share of the ticket sales fees, not a portion of the ticket sales themselves.

After that, we showed them a large amount of information," Miller explained. "We gathered data from our supporters, including ticket purchases, sponsorships, and donations. Additionally, we collaborated with Fanatics, a sports merchandise retailer online, to compare our data and create a Venn diagram showing Gamecock fans who also bought merchandise from Manchester United or Liverpool. Through our collaboration with Ticketmaster, we were able to further identify and target these fans.

The team was worried about selling tickets in a small city, but we assured them that on college football Saturdays, we can attract fans from four big cities in the southeast: Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville, and Raleigh-Durham.

Tickets were made available for purchase on Tuesday, March 27th, starting at 9am. Miller remembers: "I decided to check the queue at 8.45am and saw that I was number 14,000 in line. It really made me realize how much people are looking forward to the Premier League soccer matches."

Tickets were selling incredibly quickly, even faster than when Beyonce performed at the venue seven years ago. Out of all the tickets sold, 40% were purchased by fans from outside of South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina. TEG promoter Nicholson mentioned that South Carolina's location between Charlotte and Atlanta made it a prime spot for soccer fans from those cities. The game sold out almost instantly, with attendees coming from all 50 states in the US and from around the world.

USC graduates and students showed up, eager to be involved in the event. Despite tickets selling out in just 36 hours, we have been working hard to spread the word about the upcoming match. This event is significant for Columbia and South Carolina as a whole. Even the governor, Henry McMaster, was excited and tweeting about it the day it was announced. It's not every day you see such enthusiasm from a governor.

The excitement is still building. This week on Ticketmaster, the lowest priced ticket being resold was $89, but most were in the hundreds and some were going for over $1,000. This game will have the largest soccer attendance ever in either North or South Carolina.

The agreement was finalized ahead of schedule, so that tickets for the game were available for purchase before other competing matches. These include Real Madrid versus Barcelona at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and Manchester City versus Chelsea at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, all happening on the same day. There are also other major games planned in Charlotte, Atlanta, and Raleigh throughout the summer. This event at Williams-Brice Stadium is expected to bring in record-breaking revenue and host the largest crowd for a non-American football event at the venue.

United, a team that has never competed in this area previously, have taken full advantage of the chance. They have set up brand new official fan clubs in North and South Carolina. It is anticipated that five thousand fans will attend a complimentary fan area outside the stadium prior to the game. The FA Cup, which was triumphed over Manchester City in May, will be showcased for supporters to see.

Regarding Miller's son Carson, he was at the front of the line. "Once we got the game, he was the first one I informed."

First image: Lance King/Getty Images The section on the blog will be rewritten in layman's terms using different vocabulary.