What should MLS do about away fans????

[james]

for the most part there is not much away support in MLS so teams saving thousands of seats for away fans isnt needed. However with new bitter rival teams comming in the next few seasons such as Portland, Seattle, Vancouver on the west side and Montreal with Toronto on the East there might be alot more fans wanting to travel much like in numbers of Toronto travelling to Columbus.

The question is will these teams save bigger numbers for away games....will Toronto save more then just 100 away seats like they have in the passed when Montreal comes to town in 2012??? Will Vancouver save seats for Seattle fans??? Or will MLS just try to sell all there tickets to the home fans and miss the opportunity of creating a real great atmosphere when these teams play??

Has anyone herd of anything about away fans?? what do you guys think MLS teams should do?

[Parkdale]

simple - there needs to be communication from club to club.

If Dallas is going to send 300 people to Toronto (like happened at the MLS Cup) then it would be great if the people hosting them (us) got more than a days heads-up about it. This should be the case for all travel. People can deal with anything, except for surprises.

It doesn't matter in half empty stadiums, but in full ones, there needs to be a way to accomodate away support. I've always said that they should sit on 300 tickets, and if the visiting supporters don't contact them 7 days before the match, then release 250 of those tickets to the local public.

[james]

ya my main worry is Montreal and Toronto. They both will play in stadiums of round 20,000 and will beable to sell out games with out even bringing away fans. But if they dont let away fans come its really a big miss in the atmosphere, away support is a big part of soccer culture. And i could see Montreal and Toronto easily bringing 500 away fans on a weekend game here and there.

i dont think youd have to save more then 20 seats for teams like Dallas or Los Angeles comming to Toronto.

[deltox]

the cascadia teams have all agreed to have 500 tickets available when one of the cascadian teams are playing

thats Seattle, VAN and Portland

[james]

the cascadia teams have all agreed to have 500 tickets available when one of the cascadian teams are playing

thats Seattle, VAN and Portland

oh really? thats cool. Vancouver and Seattle both playing in 60,000 plus stadiums amd only really using 2/3rds of them so really i think they should beable to open more then 500 for away fans if they wanted to come, just uncover some of the seats. Guess its more of a matter are they willing to see the advantage of having away support? Portland is a bit more like us....whats the capacity there 24,000???

Toronto and Montreal should deffinitly make some sort of similar agreement between each other as well and save at least 500 seats for away fans.

[Parkdale]

Toronto and Montreal should deffinitly make some sort of similar agreement between each other as well and save at least 500 seats for away fans.


but you know that a Toronto-Montreal match is going to be hyped as a HUGE event, so I wouldn't expect MLSE to sit on any seats for visitors when they can sell them as 'premium tickets'. The same thing will probably happen in Montreal.

Sadly, I expect the first few games between Toronto and Montreal (in either city) to be botched. Seat allocation, security, etc etc etc.

[james]

but you know that a Toronto-Montreal match is going to be hyped as a HUGE event, so I wouldn't expect MLSE to sit on any seats for visitors when they can sell them as 'premium tickets'.

thats my thinking of MLSE...it worries me. They will just be happy selling tickets not giving a shit that the atmosphere isnt nearly as good as it could be.

[deltox]

Sadly, I expect the first few games between Toronto and Montreal (in either city) to be botched. Seat allocation, security, etc etc etc.

it might take a few games for the FO and supporter groups to gel

[Mark in Ottawa]

Has anyone herd of anything about away fans?? what do you guys think MLS teams should do?
I posed this question for consideration at the supporters forum at the last two MLS cups. Two years ago "The Don" (Garber that is) admitted that this was a new problem for MLS and that it was teh Toronto fans that had brought it to the forefront. It was being discussed at that time but this past MLS cup I did not get an update regarding the discussions or the situation to date.

My recommendation was for each club to be mandated to allot a % of total seating in their stadium to travelling support and turn those tickets over to the visiting club to handle until about two weeks before kickoff when all o a portion could be returned to the home club for re-sale. I never anything heard back on my proposal.

[Mark in Ottawa]

Some comments that may interest you regarding supporters and "fans from away"...
http://www.redpatchboys.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=25820

[Ryan1984]

MLS First Kick 2012: TFC VS Impact at Olympic Stadium.

http://montrealmls2012.com/stade.php?language=EN

"If need be, the Olympic Stadium could be a viable and exciting alternative for important soccer events, including the Impact’s MLS home opener, the MLS All-Star game, playoff matches or international matches in the fall or winter."

[Ryan1984]

that should make room for at least 1000 TFC Supporters

[TOBOR !]

the cascadia teams have all agreed to have 500 tickets available when one of the cascadian teams are playing

thats Seattle, VAN and Portland

I hate Cascadians.

[phonzo]

just for some context 500 is still not considered enough for those cascadian travelers. Timbers sent 1,500 to a friendly in Seattle once.

[prizby]

there is a lot of things that the MLS should do...they just don't do it

[deltox]

but i still think that you should not stop local fans from buying so away fans can go to the game.


i would say that away fans have maybe 3 weeks before the game to buy tix. after that they are made available to the general public

[james]

just for some context 500 is still not considered enough for those cascadian travelers. Timbers sent 1,500 to a friendly in Seattle once.

thats what i ment by i could see Seattle, Portland and Vancouver taking travelling numbers similar to waht we brought to Columbus.

[Yeoman]

generally, again wishful thinking
all stadiums have entire sections saved for away fans.
i wish that is how it would go.
but alas, it's always the benjamins flashing

[james]

really there is only a few games in a season that teams would actually bring big travelling numbers. For 90% of the games teams dont need to save more then 50 away travelling seats (and with many teams not selling out games they dont even really need to save them).....but for those 1 or 2 big games in the season for close rival matches would i say away fans should be saved 500 to 1,000 or even 2,000 seats if the demand is there. And if not say few weeks before game as you guys saiid any unsold ticekts should be sold back to the general public.

[Flint]

I think we as the supporters should start from now pressuring the TFC FO and the MTL FO to set up some proper allocation numbers. Everyones aware of the rivalry between these two cities. MLS and MLSE both know this and if they miss this oppurtunity it will be a huge loss. If done right these will probably be some of the greatest matches in terms of away support ever seen in MLS.

[james]

I think we as the supporters should start from now pressuring the TFC FO and the MTL FO to set up some proper allocation numbers. Everyones aware of the rivalry between these two cities. MLS and MLSE both know this and if they miss this oppurtunity it will be a huge loss. If done right these will probably be some of the greatest matches in terms of away support ever seen in MLS.

ya it would be a good idea to pressure them to do it before they even start selling the tickets, rather then pressure them after they already sold all the tickets and say sorry we only have 100 tickets for away fans and then obviously we all get pissed off about it!

[Flint]

ya it would be a good idea to pressure them to do it before they even start selling the tickets, rather then pressure them after they already sold all the tickets and say sorry we only have 100 tickets for away fans and then obviously we all get pissed off about it!

you got it...we cant give them a reason to fuck up and say sorry...were the supporters well be the ones to make it happen...aaand they will thank us later.