Seattle Sounders Get Ready for MLS

By: Laurie | December 7th, 2007

We don’t have a name. We don’t have players. We don’t have a coach. We don’t have a logo. But the new Seattle MLS team has already sold 9500 season tickets.

(And yes, two of them are mine. How did you guess?)

Granted, I think most of us future season ticket holders have some misgivings. Like the fact that games will be played in the Seahawks’ NFL stadium, Qwest Field. (Because football markings on a soccer field add such a pleasant visual element to the game.)

What’s exciting for me as a pre-fan of this future team, though, is the fact that the MLS franchise will be able to hold over some players from its USL team, the Seattle Sounders. (The exact number is yet to be determined.)

Why is this exciting? Because the Sounders were amazing in 2007. I saw them play three MLS teams in US Open Cup games, and they demolished the first two (Chivas USA, 3-1 and Colorado Rapids, 5-0) and held their own against FC Dallas for ninety minutes despite having a night where they were not quite on their game. (They eventually lost 2-1 in extra time.)

The team then went on to win the Commissioner’s Cup (regular season best record) and the USL championship.

So I’m more than excited by the fact that the franchise is going to use the 2008 USL season to build the team with players who may have the ability to make the leap to MLS in 2009.

“We are going to try to bring in quality young players for the USL in 2008 to develop more players that could play MLS in 2009,” [Seattle MLS co-owner and GM Adrian] Hanauer said.

Though he acknowledges the focus of the 2008 team will be on developing players for 2009, Hanauer doesn’t anticipate that interfering with the quality of play.

“I’m too competitive to mail it in,” he said. “We’ll just have more of a balance between winning and bringing a young player along.”

Damn. With all of this drama and building excitement, it looks like I’m going to have to buy 2008 USL season tickets too. Adrian Hanauer, my wallet hates you.

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Category: MLS

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Rob

Whenever I've had the misfortune of going to a Sounders game (which is like watching paint dry at the best of times), the staggering lack of atmosphere has been the worst part about the event.

My three big complaints are;

1. "Hey fans do you like pizza? Then go to Bobs Pizza after the game!" annoucements every 5 minutes really kill the mood.
2. "Throw in to the Sounders!". Really? No really it was? No one else saw that? If they're doing that annoucement for the visually impaired then they're doing a lousy job, and if not, then stop it. Knock it off.
3. The only time there's any crown interaction is when free stuff is available.

I got given free tickets for the Sounders a few years ago. I wanted my money back.

Utter waste of time.

I'm English, I've lived in Seattle 10+ years now, and I'd rather watch the team I support and care passionately about when they're on FSC/radio feed over the internet/etc, then waste my money on the MLS.
Lucas

I don't think the sounders/seahawks/whoever's running things up there have any plans to build a new SSS. They're just fine playing on a gridiron field in a 1/4 filled NFL stadium. Which is lame. As lame as burpo's pajama pants.
Melissa

The SanHo stadium deal has the Quakes ownership group funding it from their own pocket. The only concession the city made was to approve the re-zoning of some land owned by Lew Woff & Co. to build resedential properties and use the profits off that for the stadium. I suspect this method of funding soprts facilities is likely to become the norm and what Seattle will do to make their own SSS a reality. Also, the SanHo stadium deal was still mired in city meetings by the time MLS approved the franchise.

Seattle's still got a year to get their sh*t together so while that doesn't mean a SSS will drop from the sky, I can certainly see something more beneficial to fans and the League coming to fruition in the coming months. Not knowing too much about the geography of the city (but I WAS there to see the Kingdome implode), I don't know what that will be.
Jon

Pragmatism? It's one thing if a team has been around for decades, has made some bad decisions, has had a few hard breaks, etc., and as a result, the team and league say they're now trying to make the best of a bad situation. That's understandable and pragmatic.

But do you really want the fans and team already trying to make excuses and say they're making the best out of a weak and non-ideal situation from day one?

Seattle probably isn't a bad MLS market. But the league certainly should've had a soccer stadium plan in place other than Qwest before granting the city an expansion team.
Melissa

If how quickly season tickets are selling out right now for the SanHo side is any indication, I'm going with a "yes" those Seattle deposits will still have real people behind them in 2009 (and real people buying multiple tickets).

Also, I'd like to point out a hilarious comment from Colin Murray who hosts Fighting talk on the BBC. They recently had an American pointy football game at (I think... ooh I think I'm wrong) Wembly. So when the regular football games resumed, they couldn't completely get the markings off the grass and Murray thought it was kind of cool becuase when there was a foul, he could assume the player had a down.

Oh and Laurie, I still have not figured out how I'm going to handle the day when Chivas play SanHo. I've blocked it out of m mind for now.
Laurie

Jon/Lucas, I'm not completely disagreeing with you. But I love going to events at Qwest. (Safeco too.) The downtown/Sodo thing is really fun for me. The Real Madrid games was magical, despite the fact that Qwest had no idea how to deal with those crowds and we missed the first fifteen minutes of the game.

I guess part of this is pragmatism. Taxpayers are NEVER going to approve another stadium of any kind. Ever. Ask the Sonics. So this is the only way we'll get MLS. If it takes some compromises, so be it. And I kind of like the thought of making the best of imperfection rather than demanding that others makes things perfect. It's very Seattle.

Lucas, were you at the Seattle-Portland season opener this year? (Admit it. You were one of the guys in the kilts, weren't you?) ;-) Yeah, that one did feel a bit empty. But the Open Cup games were fun to watch as the stands got progressively fuller. In the semis against Dallas the East (?) stand was very close to full. That was fun. I think MLS can do at least that.
Jon

Laurie, I've been to games at Qwest too, and well, I guess we're just gonna have to disagree. Because in my book, whether it's 4,000 fans (USL Sounders games) or 15,000 (?) fans (MLS Sounders), if it's in a 65,000 seat stadium, it is indeed very cavernous. Hell, I've been to events there that were even half full (30,000 in attendance) and the place still had no atmosphere. And MLS will never even get those crowds in Seattle except for opening night and when the Golden Balls Tour comes to town.

MLS going to Seattle may work out well in the long term (decent ownership, potential connection to the far east, and all that), but I fail to see any rationale where MLS expansion specifically to a ginormous pointyball-first stadium is anything other than a detrimental and ugly (literally ugly, with the lines and turf) step backward for the league.

I'd love to support MLS, but man, they sure make it hard when they make decisions like this.
bluemeanies

From what I understand letting the Sounders play at Qwest also dates back to a major misjudgement from the pre-Garber commisioner. He made statements that pretty much promised Seattle a team if the city/state approved funding for the Seahawks/Future MLS Team's new stadium. It was apparently a small but notable part of the stadium campaign. And then saner heads pre-vailed when MLS realized they didn't have owners for the market and that NFL Stadiums might not be the way to go. But Seattle has been kind of like Philly for the league - a market where the league desperately wants the right offer to come along, and any ownership group who would try to appeal for gov't funds for an SSS faced the gov't turning right around and saying we approved Qwest partly for MLS. So the ownership finally came together and years afterwards MLS is going to test out whether the design features to make it good for a 16k average team are actually any good.
Lucas

I’ve been to games at Qwest, and it doesn’t feel cavernous. When the section you’re in is full it feels like a good crowd, even if the tiers above you are empty.

I've been to games at qwest, in a full section (of visiting fans); and even during games when the announced attendance was over 8K (which is absolutely massive by sounders standards), the place is most definitely cavernous.
Laurie

Valen, Free Krispy Kremes? What free Krispy Kremes? I WANT MY FREE KRISPY KREMES!

:)
Laurie

I think the actual percentage will be much higher. The interest really is here. And the Qwest location is wonderful -- I much prefer it to the alternate sites down south that they were considering for a soccer-specific stadium.

I've been to games at Qwest, and it doesn't feel cavernous. It doesn't really feel that much bigger/emptier than Home Depot Center, which is held up as the ultimate SSS. When the section you're in is full it feels like a good crowd, even if the tiers above you are empty.

I'm a little concerned about the turf, but other teams are surviving. And this year they didn't put on the football lines until NFL season started -- before that it was a soccer field. My guess would be that they're going to do something with removable lines during NFL season, because I can't imagine Paul Allen going at this half-assed when he can afford not to.
Jon

Of the 9,500 people who made a $50 down payment, how many will actually sign up for the season ticket though... 2,000 maybe?

Another MLS team playing on fake turf, in a 3/4 empty cavernous no-atmosphere football stadium, with football lines. Gag, gag, gag. You'd think after ten years, MLS would start to realize what direction to take the league, but the addition of Seattle only shows the league is still having a hard time shedding its amateur hour tag of one step forward and two steps backward. Ugh.
Valen

I guess the free krispy kream promo really paid off
Laurie

Um...I have over a year to figure that out, don't I?

:-)
Tom

Laurie, what are you going to do when Seattle plays the Galaxy?