Timmothy Jewett
History 231
12/02/11
Research Project Outline
How did the Seattle Sounders FC change Major League Soccer? The Seattle Sounders was once a struggling soccer franchise that was not popular in the great Northwest. The franchise wasn’t even a part of the Major League Soccer (MLS) because it wasn’t followed enough. Now the Seattle Sounders is one of the most popular soccer teams in America because of the loyalty of the fans in Washington. This outline will show the impact the Sounders have had on the MLS and Washington State.
Talk of Seattle having an MSL soccer team: * June 14th 1994, announcement that Seattle would not be included among the first seven cities to be awarded an MLS team. * Later that year Seattle MLS organizers began working with the University of Washington to secure use of Husky Stadium as an interim stadium while they pursued the construction of a permanent soccer-specific facility. * At the end of 1994 the first season of MLS was postponed until 1996.
In 1996 owner of the Seattle Seahawks, Paul Allen, works with the city to build a stadium: * Owner Paul Allen worked with the city of Seattle to build a new football stadium for his football team, the potential of an MLS expansion team that could be a co-tenant helped drive public support for the effort.
Problems for Seattle: * By 2000, the MLS was moving away from league-operated teams to investor-operated teams, so wealthy individuals would need to step forward for Seattle to obtain an MLS expansion team.
In 2002, Seattle once again listed as a possibility for an MSL expansion team: * Possibility of Seattle getting an MSL expansion team when ten-team league announced plans to expand into new markets.
In 2004, Seattle doesn’t receive expansion team award: * MLS commissioner Don Garber indicated that Seattle had been “very close” to receiving the expansion team award but instead was given to Salt Lake. * Adrian Hanaur, then-owner of the United Soccer League’s (USL) Sounders (formerly the APSL Sounders), was in discussions with MLS about an estimated payment of $1 million to secure rights to a Seattle franchise for 2006. * However in 2006 Seattle was passed once again on getting an expansion team. Hanuar announced that he would not be able to secure an expansion team without the help of more investors willing to help cover the increasing MLS franchise fees which had grown beyond $10 million.
Seattle Sounders FC established in 2007. MLS expansion arrives: * In 2007, Hanuar teamed up with Hollywood producer Joe Roth to make another bid for MLS expansion into Seattle, at a cost of $30 million. * Paul Allen, joins the ownership group that same year, making the bid the most promising yet for Seattle. * Rumors begin to build that Seattle would be announcing an expansion team and that the ownership group had taken on a fourth partner: TV personality Drew Carey. * In a press conference on November 13, 2007, it was announced that Seattle had been awarded an expansion team. Making it the 15th MLS expansion team. Team badge and colors unveiled: * “Seattle Sounders FC” was announced as the team name on April 7, 2007, along with the team logo, colors, and badge design, in a presentation held at the Space Needle. * The “FC” in the team stands for Football Club, but the team name is officially Seattle Sounders FC. * The badge design resembles a heraldic shield and consists of two layers which represent “the partnership between the ownership, the community, the players and the fans”. * The logo incorporated the Space Needle, an internationally recognized Seattle landmark.

* The official team colors are Sounders Blue, signifying the waters of the Puget Sound; Rave Green, representing the forests of the Pacific Northwest; and Cascade Shale, representing the Cascade Range to the east of Seattle.
Choosing of the name: * Fans chose a name for the team in an online poll held between March 27 and March 31, 2008. * Initial list of possibilities consisted of: Seattle FC, Seattle Republic and Seattle Alliance. Deliberately didn’t include Seattle Sounders in order to provide a “fresh start”. * Despite the names having been selected through fan research the internal committees, the omission of the traditional Sounders name upset many in the Seattle community. * In response to the backlash, the team added a fourth “write-in” option for the name, allowing for any name to be suggested. * Of the over 14,500 votes received for the new team name, 49% of the votes included some form of the name Sounders. * “The team playing at the highest level in our region has always been called Sounders. Starting with the NASL and the USL 1st Division, we now have the chance to create a separate and distinct identity with the new MLS team.” - Adrian Hanaur
Sounders FC jerseys and sponsors: * On May 28, 2008, team ownership revealed the first Sounders FC jersey, and announced that Microsoft would be the team’s sponsor in a five-year deal worth approximately $20 million. As part of the agreement, the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live brands appear on the front of the Sounders FC’s jerseys and throughout the stadium.
Inaugural Season: * All 22,000 season ticket packages offered by the club were sold-out, giving them the most season ticket holders in MLS. * They played their first home match on March 19, 2009, to a sold-out crowd of 32,523, defeating the New York Red Bulls 3-0. * Seattle was the first MLS expansion team to win their first three games, and they did so with a shutout in each. * The club set a state record for attendance at a soccer match on August 5, 2009, when 66,848 attended a friendly match against FC Barcelona, a record which was later broken when they hosted Manchester United in front of 67,052 fans. * On September 2, 2009, Sounders FC became the second MLS team in league history to qualify for the playoffs in their first season. They clinched a playoff berth with a come-from-behind victory over the Kansas City Wizards 3-2. * Seattle finished their regular season with a record of 12 wins, 7 losses, and 11 ties. * The club set new MLS records for average attendance at 30,943 fans per game. * Seattle Sounders won the U.S. Open Cup in 2009. * During the 2009 season, all 15 Sounders FC MLS regular season home matches, their home playoff match, and their 4 home U.S. Open Cup matches were all sold-out.
Golden Scarf * During the pre-game ceremonies of the inaugural home match of the Sounders FC, a Golden Scarf emblazoned with the team name was awarded to MLS commissioner Don Garber. This began a tradition where, before each home game, the club likewise honors a member of the community who has contributed to soccer or the society in the Seattle area. The recipient and the fans then raise their scarves over their heads together.
The 2010 Season: * Before the first game of the second season the club increased the season ticket holder limit to 32,000. * The 2010 season began poorly for the Sounders who lost 8 of the first 15 games (30 games in the season). In the latter half of the season, Seattle was able to turn things around, winning 10 of its last 15 games, and clinching a playoff berth for the second consecutive year. * In playoffs the Sounders were eliminated by LA Galaxy. * The club broke their own single season attendance record averaging 36,173 per match and again sold out every league match. * Sounders FC also competed in two additional competitions in 2010-the CONCACAF Champions League and the U.S. Open Cup. In the * Champions League, Seattle progressed through the preliminary round but was eliminated in the group stage. * In the U.S. Open Cup, Seattle won against the Columbus Crew at Qwest Field on October 5, 2010. Seattle became the first team since 1983 to repeat as U.S. Open Cup champions. The final was played in front of a U.S. Open Cup record crowd of 31,311 and the victory ensured Seattle’s return to the Champions League in 2011.
Seattle’s 2011 Season: * Seattle had many injuries that made the fans nervous for the 2011 season, one being Steve Zakuani. * The support of Seattle’s fan base once again was outstanding and showed why Seattle was the best in the nation. When Steve Zakuani broke his leg, the Seattle fans made thousands of cards that had his jersey number written on it and every fan raised up their cards in support of Zakuani. This loyalty is not common in the MLS and was talked about across the nation. * The Sounders went 19 wins, 8 losses, and 9 ties in the regular season. In the overall season they went 32 wins, 16 losses and 12 ties and once again clinching a playoff berth. * Seattle lost in the playoffs to Real Salt Lake. This made it the third consecutive year Seattle has made it to playoffs which is another record for the MLS. * Seattle had another sold-out stadium for the fair well match to Casey Keller on October 15, 2011, which sold 64,140 tickets. * Once again Seattle made it to the U.S. Open Cup and for the third year in a row won. This broke the previous record already made by the Seattle Sounders FC. No other franchise has been able to win the U.S. Open Cup three consecutive years.
Conclusion:
Seattle was once an over looked and doubted possibility that many people thought would never be able to support an MLS team. Since the Seattle Sounders FC was announced the state of Washington has been right behind them supporting every move the franchise had made. The loyalty of the fans has been over welling and has had more support than any other major league team in Seattle. The Seattle Sounders has not only brought the highest level of soccer to the Northwest but also jobs, and plenty of money that Seattle hasn’t had before.
The average ticket sales for a Seattle Sounders FC game is approximately $30, which the sold out amount is 36,000 for the 2011 season. This ticket revenue for 18 games comes out to a staggering $19 million for just season tickets. The
Seattle Sounders FC has brought not only money, jobs, and success to Seattle, but also pride and bragging rights. No other state has our fan base and every player in the MLS dreams of playing for a franchise like ours. Even though it took a while for this franchise to be built, this was an amazing business decision by the ownership group.

Sources
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^ a b Farrey, Tom (January 28, 1994). "Big Soccer Surprise: 38,000 To See Match". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^ Farrey, Tom (February 4, 1994). "Key Need For Soccer: A Stadium". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^ "Soccer Ticket Pledges Exceed 1,300". The Seattle Times. June 4, 1994. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
^ Farrey, Tom (February 24, 1994). "Soccer League Rejects Sounders' Plan; Two Will Compete To Sell Season Tickets". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
^ Farrey, Tom (July 17, 1994). "Seattle Gets Boost In Bid For Team—Husky Stadium Might Be Mls Site". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
^ "Major League Soccer Postponed Until 1996". The Seattle Times. November 16, 1994. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
^ "U.S. Pro Soccer To Become Reality In March Of '96". Deseret News. June 7, 1995. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
^ Almond, Elliott (May 11, 1996). "Want A Stadium For Football? Try A Little Soccer". The Seattle Times. November 20, 2011.
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^ "Garber says MLS plans to add teams". The Seattle Times. October 19, 2002. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
^ Romero, José Miguel (July 15, 2004). "Seattle at "top of list" for MLS team in 2006". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
^ Massey, Matt (April 16, 2005). "Seattle's chances for MLS team take a hit". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
^ Mahoney, Ridge (July 28, 2009). "Sounders bring MLS success in Seattle". USA Today. Retrieved November 20, 2011.