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Army Of Support: In Portland And MLS Venues The Value Of Fan-Led Engagement

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Tim Newcomb

Look around the North American stadium and arena landscape and you’ll see an ever-growing trend toward experience. Atlanta has set the pace in the NBA with a courtside club, Topgolf Swing Suite and more. The NFL has ever-growing entertainment districts surrounding massive stadiums and baseball has long set the pace with everything from swimming pools to outfield bars.

But soccer comes a bit different, providing a unique twist on North American sports. After all, with two non-stop 45-minute halves there isn’t much time to spend wandering around a venue. Fans don’t want to miss a potential goal while having a non-soccer “experience” and the idea of standing in line for a beer and not witness a goal sure defeats the purpose of attending the game (even in-bowl hawkers are frowned upon because they can distract and block the action on the field).

If fans don’t have separate experiences to keep them engaged, it rests on the on-field action to engross soccer consumers. Of course, having a frenzy of supporters in constant voice certainly helps.

Nowhere is this more pronounced than Portland, inside the 92-year-old downtown Providence Park. Boasting an active sellout streak for its 21,144 capacity of over 125 straight games that started the day Portland entered the MLS in 2011, fans flock to the historic venue. Entertainment comes from both the on-field product, but also the thousands of supporters filling the seating bowl.

Tim Newcomb

“We have had NFL teams, NBA teams, Korean soccer teams, Australian Rules football teams, teams in sports all over the world come and spend time with us on the subject of supporters and the kind of environment they create,” said Mike Golub, Timbers president of business. “I find other sports teams can fall into a routine of this is how it is done in our sport and you see the same things in every venue and there is a certain commonality that may or may not be a good thing. I think regardless of the sport, you can cultivate a sort of supporters’ energy we have here and trust them enough to let them define the experience and have it be less top-down.”

For Portland, that means letting the self-named Timbers Army supporters group take the lead. Sitting in the north end of the stadium, directly behind one of the goals, the group has turned chanting, singing and general noise-making into an art form.

The group’s tifo displays take weeks of design and rigging and the environment created by the section permeates throughout a venue located in the heart of downtown. “I think one of the strengths of our game experience is it really is in the hands of our supporters,” Golub said. “We are smart enough to not legislate that and let them be who they are, which in our view is the best supporters in the league.”

The team and the supporters work together. Ahead of big games, the Timbers Army leadership consults with the team to clear tifo designs. The team lets the group in days early to rig and test the creation. Throughout the season, the team offers space for supports to store drums and flags. The Timbers worked with supporters on the designs of the section during renovations and on how to safely let the smoke off after goals. “We have a collaborative relationship with them and an ongoing dialogue,” Golub said, “but we are not in the business of legislating what they do, sing or chant. One of the really powerful things about our game experience is it is truly supporter driven and organic.”

Tim Newcomb

Portland isn’t the only team in the league with a robust following, but it is the combination of the Timbers Army and the rest of the stadium that have created the atmosphere in Portland, whether Timber Joey cutting pieces of a log after a goal, the constant chanting and singing (which does come with some potential vulgarities, so not every single fan has found it appealing) and even the true Portland-like experience nestled downtown with local food experiences.

Golub says the role of the team comes in creating the perfect setting for the most authentic soccer experience. The club can focus on making the day easier, seamless, safe, secure and friendly through transportation (light rail stops outside Providence Park), partnerships with parking garages, onsite bike parking, partnerships with local pubs, simple ingress and egress with ticketing systems and a locally fueled food and beverage experience.

When it comes time for the first 45 minutes to start, though, the Timbers have the luxury of stepping back and letting an organic mix of diverse fans take the lead. This homegrown fandom isn’t exclusive to Portland, with Kansas City, Orlando, Seattle, Sacramento and more all giving North American sports a different in-stadium look, one where the heavy lifting of creating an ultimate experience rests on the fans.

In Portland, though, the mantra of “Rose City ‘Till I Die” gives Providence Park a fresh perspective on in-stadium experiences.

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