—by Abram Goldman-Armstrong
107ist board members Joanne Coachman, Garrett Dittfurth, Fernando Machicado, Jeremy Wright, and Abram Goldman-Armstrong are attending the MLS Supporters Summit and MLS Cup in Los Angeles. The weekend started with the supporters meet and greet at the Marriott Hotel in Torrance, where board members were able to network with supporters from clubs across the league. The was a presentation on the brewing process by Anheuser Busch InBev brewmaster George Reisch, including samples of AB Budweiser in malt, wort, and part way through the fermentation process. Goldman-Armstrong discussed security issues with MLS security consultant Jeffery Stonebreaker. A No Pity scarf was one of the most sought after items in a charity raffle put on by Angel City Brigade.
Saturday morning all board members attended the Independent Supporters Council Meeting at el Pescador Restaurant organized by Goldman-Armstrong and facilitated by Wright. Supporters from teams from across the US and Canada gathered at el Pescador Restaurant to discuss issues facing supporters, including security, away support, and game day ops. The Council developed several Position Points:
An Unbalanced schedule lowers the integrity of the league
When does MLS set up schedule? When Can we Have Input?
-Schedule regional and rivalry games (as determined by supporters) for Saturday rather than mid week
-Away Supporters Group Ticket Allotment- The ISC supports the FIFA 5% recommendation That 5% of stadium capacity of tickets be held for away supporters until two weeks before the match.
-The ISC opposes a league-wide banned supporters list. (too much chance to be arbitrary)
The Council also discussed a number of other pertinent issues including the following topics:
Designated Supporters Sections should be controlled by the supporters groups.
MLS has to hold clubs accountable for not following Away Travel plans (need to stick to security plan outlined in conference call).
The ISC will take a stance against violent SGs.
Saturday afternoon the group attended the Supporters’ Roundtable with Evan Dabby of MLS, and MLS club liaisons including Chris Wilson. Topics discussed included:
o Communication Strategy between Supporter Groups, Front Office and League Office
- Finding effective ways to build rapport between stakeholders - Improved communication tools to facilitate traveling supporters
o Supporter Group Committees
- Continuation and growth of existing committees
- Sub-committees (e.g. Hispanic and/or Cascadia Clubs)
o Growing and Enhancing the Game Day Experience
- Pre-match Communication and Planning
- Prohibited Items with Supporter Group Exemptions (see below)
- Minimum Ticket Allotment and Pricing (see below)
- Security
- Eliminating YSA/Foul Language Chants
o League-Wide Spectator Misconduct Tracking
- Establish a reporting process and plan to disseminate the information with all clubs
- Consistency in response and enforcement
o Self-Policing Strategies for Supporter Groups
- Identify successful models from individual groups and how it evolved
- Developing a system with discipline and rewards
o Partnership Marketing Opportunities
- Ideas for future growth, as well as finding a balance without “selling out”
- MLS and Club partners
- TEAM Coalition and “Responsibility Has Its Rewards”
o Supporter Group “Certificate of Authentication”
- Criteria to be recognized as an official supporter group
- Motivate and incentivize supporter groups
o 2012 Supporter Summit
- Review of the organization and approach
- Evaluating on the best location and timing for 2012
Though supporters and the MLS did not agree on all points there was a lot of good information sharing. 107ist, along with Section 8 Chicago, and ECS seem to be among the forerunners of the groups in many areas including self-policing, relations with the club front office, and travel organization. SUNDAY Nov. 20 You can virtually join in the conversation with Commissioner Don Garber tomorrow at 11 am via live webstream.
