Exhibit 1 is how they created an ownership group which blended the new (Hollywood producer Joe Roth, comedian and television star Drew Carey and former software mogul and financial titan Paul Allen) with the old (Adrian Hanauer, owner and operator of the incumbent USL Sounders). It gave the franchise seamless continuity with the city's USL soccer tradition and history while at the same time injecting it with economic, political and creative clout that is second to none in Major League Soccer.
Exhibit 2 is how they listened and responded to their constituents on the issue of the name and identity of the franchise. They abandoned their choice for a new name -- either Seattle FC, Seattle Alliance or Seattle Republic -- and embraced the clear favourite of Seattle soccer fans: the traditional Sounders FC designation.
Exhibit 3 is the democratic spin they've put on soccer operations management; a vehicle in which Sounders FC season ticket holders will have a voice in extending the initial contract of general manager Hanauer...or in voting for change.
Exhibit 4 is the authenticity of their fan experience; where Sounders shirts and scarves combine with band-led fan marches (Sound Wave) and other touches on match nights at Qwest Field to make it the closest thing to European soccer in North America.
Exhibit 5 is the most impressive marketing launch in North American expansion franchise history.
Exhibit 6 is an infrastructure provided by Allen's Vulcan Sports & Entertainment, the company which owns and operates the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL and markets and manages the Sounders FC.
Exhibit 7 is a dynamic community partnership between the Sounders FC and Washington State Youth Soccer.
The first-year results included a playoff berth as an expansion franchise and records in MLS attendance (north of 30,000 per game), sponsorship (including a five-year, $20 million shirt deal with Microsoft's Xbox 360), merchandising and regional television success. The second-year has picked up where the first ended, with crowds now eclipsing the 36,000-mark in an expanded seating manifest at Qwest Field.
Yet the ownership and management of the Seattle soccer club pushed the envelope to another level this week after the Sounders suffered an embarrassing 4-0 loss at home at the hands of the Los Angeles Galaxy. By Sunday morning, they had announced a one-game refund for all season ticket holders. It will come in the form of a credit against next year's season ticket charges.
It all came after one of the partners in the club looked around at his colleagues in the owners' suite and said if he was a fan, he'd want his money back.
Within 24 hours, Sounders FC season ticket holders had received word they would get the single-game credit as an acknowledgment of the sub-par team performance against the Galaxy and in appreciation of the support they had given the club since the announcement four years ago that MLS was coming to Seattle.
It was another example of the Sounders FC walking the walk and talking the talk. It was also quite simply a case of the team's ownership putting its money where its mouth is. Whether or not other ownership groups have the integrity to make similar moves in the months and years to come, the Sounders FC have made a resounding statement about the importance of season ticket holders to the most successful sport franchises.
www.TheSportMarket.biz
The Sport Market on TEAM 1040 and teamradio.ca
Saturdays 9 a.m. to 12 noon PT
Facebook.com/TheSportMarket and Twitter.com/TheSportMarket
