Above is a current seating chart showing where identifiable members of the Southsiders have bought tickets for the Whitecaps season. As you can see, the majority are clustered around the bottom of section 251, which is in the corner. They are two sections from the area that was designated as a supporter's section by the Whitecaps front office.
The price of the seats that the Southsiders are mostly in is almost $200 cheaper than the seats behind the goal. However, the Southsiders say that their complaints have little to do with the costs.
I believe them. And, so should you.
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Yes, the costs of the tickets is a concern. A survey done by the Southsiders clearly indicated that the group expected season seats around $300-$350. When they came out at almost $500 it was a bit surprising to the Southsiders, to say the least. Still, the issue at play here is a lot more nuanced than a simple case of costs.
The Whitecaps have suggested that they want to create an atmosphere that will make Seattle seem like "a tea party." If that's the case, the 'Caps have an odd strategy to create that. It's taken the one group of fans that they know will bring that type of energy and have alienated them by pricing their designated section higher than sections immediately beside them that actually have better sightlines. Southsiders president John Knox says that he was directly told by Whitecaps staffers that the pricing was decided because of a perceived value of being in a supporter's section.
I wonder then what type of perceived value there will be once those outside of the current Southsiders that bought tickets behind the goal find out that they are in a supporter's section in name only? Who will these new fans look to when it comes time to lead chants and songs? The scoreboard? The mascot? Go 'Caps Go.
From an outside perspective, the backlash against the Southsiders has been surprising. The casual Vancouver fan comes off as almost proud that they are paying the highest price for low-end seats in MLS. They take Southsiders complaints as being entitlement, rather than concern for what the ticket pricing will mean to the overall atmosphere.
Part of that is defensive. "Where do they get off thinking they are better fans than me" is the cry. They don't. But, what they know to be true is that they are different fans than the casual fans. Since they've been putting themselves out there for years, you know that they will be in full voice for 90 minutes every game. Newer fans won't necessarily do that. Knox said to me that he feared a crowd that looked a bit like a Canucks game now. If you step 10 feet outside of the supporter's section in Toronto you'll find a lot of people too embarrassed/cool for school to sign along with the antics in the supporter's sections. I just don't see how it will be much different in Vancouver.
The issue isn’t just about the Southsiders either. Typically a supporter’s section has different rules than non-supporter’s sections. Fans can bring drums, banners and other displays into the section that they can’t elsewhere in the stadium. The understanding is that the people in those sections understand what’s up and are OK with certain things that may impact their ability to see the pitch from time to time. If the Southsiders hold up a large banner in the 80th minute of a game, thus blocking the sightlines to the pitch, is that fair to the folks that bought seats right behind them without knowing that it was going to become a de facto supporter’s section?
TFC fans have long complained about “tourists” in the supporter’s section causing problems and making issue with the things that the section is designated to host. Many of those “tourists” are actually season ticket holders that managed to get seats because the Toronto front office did not give the supporter’s groups any distribution power. They are trying to change that situation a bit now because they realize the problems that have happened. It seems to me that Vancouver is setting itself up for the same issues.
For Vancouver's sake I hope the front office knows what it's doing.