It's official, "only" 500 tickets will be available for away fans in the PNW rivalry games. It doesn't sound like this is an actual change to league wide policy as was thought from the comments in the ABM, but is only for games between Seattle/Portland/Vancouver. Also, the teams won't be setting aside the tickets and then pulling them back at a certain time prior to the game like they do with the normal away fan allocation, rather the away team will be buying the 500 tickets from the home team and then reselling them to the traveling supporters. So, if the 500 tickets don't sell, which I think is highly unlikely, it sounds like they'll be empty rather than back filled with home fans. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ht..._away-fan_ticket_allocations_se.html#continue
It's better than nothing. I think this will a while before a reasonable visiting fans allocation amount is set.
It's a starting point and it is certainly better than the normal 150 ticket allocation. If the tickets sell out quickly, I doubt there will be much of an issue with increasing the allocation in future years. Especially if the home team is guaranteed the sales. Portland is the only one that will have a capacity issue in future years with the Sounders having all but the first four rows of the upper deck available, and the Whitecaps having their entire upper deck and last few rows of the section in the lower deck available.
its a good starting point, allows them to work on any kinks out in security and other issues before they grow it out. Anyone have any idea where the new away sections will be at the 3 stadiums?
It's just two away games for our away supporters next year. Growing pains. If the demand proves to be much greater than 500 both ways (in other words not just Seattle fans), then I'm certain they'll increase that allocation in the future.
I agree, though I think they should get the vast majority of the tickets. SS, TA, and ECS were the ones pushing this agenda. Im not in a supporters group, but I applaud their efforts to pressure the FO`s and the league to make this happen. I am likewise disappointed in the number, as I to plan to travel both to PDX and VAN. As it is, I will most likely get aftermarket tickets, though I would much rather sit with other Sounder fans. This seems unlikely with only 500 tickets allocated.
*shrug* Put it on the team's website. Most of the fans buying the tickets will be SG members just because I don't see a lot of "casual fans" going to the games.
BTW, much better response from ECS: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ht...3685592_away-fan_ticket_allocation_rea_1.html Hopefully that trickles down to the rank and file.
I must have missed their news releases or any mention on their websites then regarding them asking for any, or, indeed, any mention of this subject at all. Having ECS get 100% of the tickets wouldn't be fair, of course, but it seems fair to me for them to get certainly a majority.
get pissed at the FOs. we fought our battle and got shit from sounders fans at the alliance council meeting.
Why is that? ECS is at best 10% of the Seattle's STHs. The tickets should be available to all Seattle fans, not just those that happen to belong to a supporters group. If ECS members want to get in, they should be going the same route as every other Seattle fan.
You don't see the difference between reserving tickets for ECS members only and making the tickets available to all fans with most tickets being taken by ECS members? Wow...
I have to admit I don't understand your logic here. Are you suggesting that away fan group ticket allocation should be based off home STH percentages? In that case poor GFC and NES will get to watch about 5 minutes before they have to give up their percentage to some youth soccer team with zero interest in going to an away match. ECS, the only (?) constituency who has strongly said they want to be in a group, would then get about 50. It also seems like, if you’re reserving it that way, you’ll take other fans who have no interest in being near a supporters group and forcing them to take those group tickets. It seems to me that it would make more sense to do it based on, roughly, precedent from previous away matches. Fans who don’t want to be part of the supporters group nonsense can buy their tickets the same way they always have, through the same routes they have for other games. They can then happily cheer for the Sounders calmly seated in with the Portland or Vancouver fans without incidence, just like in Salt Lake, LA, etc. But, of the fans who do want to be part of an away group, we’ve luckily got a whole season for example! ECS organized the away group for every trip except for 2 of the 4 CCL matches, and the FO organized a small away group for the LA playoff game. I know the ECS keeps track of who bought tickets by membership status, so from the 17 games this year it would seem like they could easily figure this out. My guess is ECS accounts for about 90% or more of those who want to be part of an away group. I know in El Salvador that all of them were ECS, but that’s not a large enough sample. Finally, it just seems rather churlish to take the one Sounders fan group (ECS) who has been working hard advocating on this issue, and already sending hundreds to away games, and then giving other constituencies – who may not even care – a large percentage of tickets with the away group.
I cant believe you dare to claim that the ECS is "taking these tickets away". had the ECS not worked to get these seats they would not be available to other fans. we worked for other fans on this issue against the general opinion of many SSFC fans as witnessed at alliance council meeting. Now those same fans want a piece of it. The world does not work that way.
Are you saying it should be 'first come first served'? In other words, the majority should go to scalpers?
No... My point is that the tickets should be made available to all Sounders fans and not just those that happen to be members of ECS. It really isn't that hard to follow.
I understand that's your position, but I'm trying to figure out WHY that's your position, because it seems to be based purely on your personal emotional opinion. As far as I can see your only reasoning behind it is that ECS only comprises 10% of the home ticket sales, so their away allotment should then be proportional to that. I asked you some fairly direct questions trying to understand your reasoning so I could refute them, or try and persuade you differently. But cutting remarks belittling my intelligence seems to be your response. Okay, I'll grant you that. Yoshou is more intelligent than I am. Could you now, pretty please, respond to my questions? Maybe with really small words and short sentences so I can follow along?
I'm trying really hard not to just reply "Wah" to this self-conceited piece of shit post, Fuzzy. If you really feel this way, then ECS needs to immediately stop acting like it has any interest in promoting anything other than itself, because you clearly don't give a shit about the Sounders or the 33,000 other fans that attend games alongside ECS. What ECS, TA, and SS did is a good thing and you should be applauded for it, don't cheapen it by claiming those tickets are yours and yours alone.
Wow, I'm shocked! shocked I tell you, that ECS is now using the "We were the ones that got the FOs to up the amount of away tickets so we obviously should get all of them" card. Who didn't see that one coming?
Sorry but Fuzzy is exactly right. People can't sit on their hands and expect things handed to them. If you don't organize (as ECS had done) you get stomped down in life by the powers that be. There is nothing preventing anyone who wants a crack at the tickets from joining a supporters group or forming their own supporters group to lobby the front office next time around. To the victor go the spoils. Its always funny to see people try and coattail on the hard work of others when 9 times out of 10 they criticized the people doing the hard work saying things like "you don't know what you're doing", "give it up", "who do you think you are?", "i'm not part of your group and I think you're going about this in a non-productive way". They're always the first in line for benefits.