Ticketing for US-Mexico - Time to Go to Frequent Buyer Program?

Mexican fans are always going to get to the games. I still feel that there were more mexican fans than US fans there last night but they were just sprinkled all over the place and couldn't have the same effect as we did in Sam's Army. If they're gonna come, theres no way we can keep them out but if US Soccer and ticketmaster can find away to conrol the seating chart and not let them get together in a specific group, the casino advantage goes up a few percentage points.

 

As someone there, I didn't not see 50/50 or even close. There may have been more than 05 or they were grouped together better. I don't know.

 

I'm not against the idea of a frequent buyer program, and it's a very good idea in the future as support for the national team grows. There will always be the issue of dealing with the support of immigrant fans for their teams, and a point system would be a good way of ensuring good support for the Nats.

I don't think that's going to help right now though. I mean do you really know any US fans who wanted to go to the game but didn't because they got shut out of tickets. There may be some very casual fans in the Columbus area who might have shown up if the game hadn't sold out so quickly.

For me, and I know I may get crucified for saying this, but Crew Stadium might not be the best place to play Mexico. I'm not going to complain about it since the only 3 truly pro-US crowds we've had against Mexico are the three WCQs played there.

It's been rehashed dozens of times, but the single most important factor in getting a pro-US crowd vs Mexico is having a big season ticket base (relative to the stadium size) that you can pre-sell tickets to and for that fan base to have few Mexican fans.

I'll be shocked if the game isn't in Columbus 4 years from now since you can tell Mexico fears the place now, but the Crew's season ticket #s just aren't that good and the result is that around 10k Mexican fans were at the 05 and 09 matches. They would be making their presence felt if Mexico played better.

If a Portland expansion team sells season ticket #s any where near the Sounders #s, I think Portland would be a much better pick for a pro-US crowd.

The last 3 US/Mex tilts in Columbus have been epic, but I think we can do better.

 

Let us not forget that there is also a larger amount now of hispanic Crew season ticket holders than there has been in the past... so just saying that more Mexican fans in CCS last night was because of a weak Crew season ticket holder group is complete crap in my honest opinion.

 

Yeah, but 99% of the venues in this country will not even provide for a pro-US crowd. It's not about finding a Mexico-proof location. That's impossible, but we can pick the venue that will provide the best pro-US crowd possible. Portland would do better.....if they get an MLS team with a season ticket base that we can pre-sell to.

Of course, they have to get their stadium in gear. It provide great atmosphere, but needs grass and a better configuration.

 

I was disappointed with how many Mexican fans were able to score tickets. And to add salt to the wound, it seemed like they were all there early, while most American fans were very late arriving. Makes it easy to believe that those who didn't show were American fans. Very disappointing.

I'd be open to any idea that makes it harder for non-US fans to get tickets... fairly. A frequent-buyer program might help.

 

Mexican fans ALWAYS arrive very early. Always, always, always.. not just for the US.

 

Define fairly. I'd like to see this match taken to a non-MLS stadium in the 30k range and the Fed hire 15-20 "soccer insiders" who can sell AS THEY SEE FIT! Larger allotments to the supporters' groups and those groups selling based on their best judgment. Yes, it means you have to know someone to get your hands on a ticket, but if something isn't done, this game in 2013 will end up pro-MEX in the stands.

 

Uhh... no. To everything. Especially the idea it will be pro-Mex. What USSF did with this game is about the best that can be done given US demand for soccer.

 

Obviously, some of the stuff we've done in the past - such as trying to guess based on last names or accents - isn't. There are plenty of Hispanic US fans, even some with accents.

Frequent buyer plans make a lot of sense. So does letting supporters groups buy as many tickets as they want.

 

But that isn't enough, simple as that. The seats can be sold, no question. Just a matter of making sure the right people are getting them, and no system that does not allow for human decision-making on the selling end can guarantee that.

 

I agree that it makes sense, but the points system needs to reward continued purchases and put more value on less-in-demand matches and non-ticket purchases through the Fed. Also agree with not capping the supporters groups (or even just letting them handle the whole thing aside from the away fed's allocation and one-for-one season tickets).

 

there were also 5 section that were just us fans only
its seemed like there were a lot of mexicans early but after the game got started on we scored our first goal you could really see how many us fans were there
i would say at most 1/4 mex

 

We bought our tickets before the VISA pre-sale and there were lots of Mexico fans that had better seats than we did. Some people must be buying tickets to sell them. I don't know how many end up with brokers, but it stinks.

But as some have pointed out, would we have filled the stadium if Mexicans weren't there?

I agree with the Pacific NW comment, I thought maybe Seattle might have provided a more pro-US crowd, though a lot would travel from CA. I just don't think there is anywhere they can do it that won't have the same result.

 

I noticed as the game went on, the two groups of fans really kind of settled out and fell into their own groups, I think thats why you saw larger pockets of green. I think this was due to weak regulation by the security as pretty much 70 percent of the stadium was just general admission seating. I know for a fact we chased out like 20 mexicans out of our section so I am assuming they just found somewhere else and took other peoples seats.

For the large amount of mexicans there, I blame it solely on the VISA pre-sale. You could do a google search and find the password in several different places easy. Thats why they were all there.

Loose lips sink ships. Fact.

 

I thought all you guys that went did a wonderful job. We can blame the amount of Mexican fans on whatever, but if they arent there, you really think there were American fans that were left out in the cold without a ticket? No way.

It still is, and will remain to be, our job to foster more fan growth and do a better and better job of getting to these games.

Well done to everyone last night!

 

were there really any US supporters that wanted to go to the match and didnt? was there anyone who would gain a benefit from a frequent buyer program that could not get a ticket? personally, i dont think so.
if we want a more pro-US crowd it seems there are two choices: 1) put the match in a stadium that is small enough where the supporters groups (SA, AO) and MLS ticket holders make up a very large portion of sales (doesnt seem feasible) or 2) grow the sport.
if there are more US supporters with an interest and passion for going to these matches then we could get tickets in their hands. the fact is that at this point the Mexican National team supporters have shown enough of a willingness to travel to any location to see their team, while the US supporters have a more limited fanbase.
i have been a member of a 'loyalty program' for a national team and it was helpful in some respects. i think it was mainly useful for 1) away ticket allocations 2) world cup/major tournament ticketing and 3) home venues where availability is limited. aside from number 2, i dont think the USSF has a need to address any of these issues yet.

 

Any of the die-hard types who post on websites like these, probably not. More casual fans, probably.

There were tickets going for hundreds of dollars on StubHub, eBay, etc. Certainly not at all a stretch to think that a lot of people (US and Mexican fans) would've been willing to pay the $50 face value but couldn't afford to throw down close to 10X that.

 

that is my point exactly! casual fans wouldnt benefit from a frequent buyer program, it would only benefit people that go to a larger number of matches.
im sure there are US supporters in the greater columbus area who would have gone to the match if the price was right and the weather was nice. but the idea behind a frequent buyer program, much like any loyalty program is not only to reward people for their behavior but to influence their future choices and behavior. im not saying that every single US supporter who wanted to go to the match in columbus were able to, but i dont think a frequent buyer progam would increase the number of US supporters at a match.

 

I think in this economy right now also, if your a casual fan you are going to pick what your really passionate about. In the case of the mexicans, this is there dying passion for a lot of their population base. For the lay American sports fan, I dont think so as much

 

1. No way Mexican fans were more than 1/4 to 1/3 of the stadium, despite whatever you saw on TV. Americans dominated both end zones, so if there were more Mexicans in the sideline seating, they paid at least $75 per seat or more to sit there, and there were plenty of non-red wearing USA fans in those seats, too.

2. If the US fans were "late arriving", blame Columbus's stupid, no make that asinine parking logistics. I spent over 1 hour in my car that night on the grounds of Crew stadium or the state fairgrounds waiting for traffic to move in or out. I left work at about 5:20 for a 7 pm game and didn't reach the stadium until ESPN was already broadcasting. USSF needs to not hold another match at this venue until they pave or gravel over enough parking space to handle a full house crowd.

3. Frequent-buyer is silly for a country that holds NAT team games at all of the following locations: Gillette Stadium, RFK, Crew Stadium, Home Depot Center, Pizza Hut, Soldier Field, Toyota Park, and more. How many fans would go to more than 3 of those locations? Actually, no that I think about it, there is a Frequent Buyer club -- IT'S CALLED SAM'S ARMY. I'm sure they have a direct line to tickets.

4. The idiot who claimed the stadium was "70% general admission seating" is full of cr_p. I checked listings on three different web sites and every ticket had a seat location. When you've got 5 or 6 price points for ticket prices, there's no general admission seating.

5. It's time for us (the USA) to grow up and play this match at Soldier Field or Gillette in cold weather months or RFK in the summer. This is a match that should be played in front of 60-80,000 fans, not just 23,000, and our soccer team is good enough to be able to handle a stadium that might be split 60-40 in favor of USA fans. Hell, if we can't handle that, how can we ever expect to go into Mexico City, or Costa Rica and think we can come out with a victory?