Season tickets are the life blood of virtually every professional sports team. That’s especially true in MLS, where ticket revenue is by far the largest source of income for teams and season tickets comprise the vast majority of tickets sold.
Historically, this has been a particular area of strength for the Seattle Sounders. Ever since they entered MLS in 2009, they’ve ranked among the leaders in both attendance and season-ticket members, while usually boasting a renewal rate of more than 90%.
While every renewal period has some level of drama, this year’s has already been the most conflicted ever. Not only is MLS in the midst of a calendar change that has prompted teams to effectively offer two seasons worth of packages at once, but there’s also a new ticketing platform. That’s all playing out in the midst of a newfound level of frustration with the front office that seems destined to culminate with the most contentious GM retention vote in club history, during which Alliance Members — a.k.a. season-ticket holders — will decide the fate of Craig Waibel.
There’s a lot to unpack and the deadline to choose is on Friday, so I figured it was time for a FAQ…
They’re selling two seasons at once?
As you’re hopefully aware by now, there will be a so-called "Sprint" season to start 2027 as a way to bridge the current calendar to the summer-to-spring season that will broadly mimic how they do things in most of Europe (no, I won’t be getting into the pros and cons of that right now). The "Sprint" season will be just 14 games – seven at home – and feature one game against each Western Conference opponent.
Jeremiah Oshan
The Sounders are offering two packages. One they’re calling the "Sprint" package, which is just those seven tickets. It includes all the normal benefits that come with membership like the AppleTV subscription, the member scarf and voting rights in the upcoming GM election.
The other option is the "Evergreen" package. That's the seven games from the Sprint season plus another 18 games – 17 regular-season games and one "bonus" match – for the 2027–28 season. In addition to everything you get with the Sprint package, you’ll get a custom Rains jacket with each seat, a flat price that is the cheapest per-ticket option, and a "life happens" opt-out if you feel like canceling after the Sprint season.
Does that mean I can get a full refund on the 2027–28 season?
No, you’d only get a 90% refund. It’s not exactly risk-free and the club hasn’t fully articulated who is eligible – the way it’s written implies some sort qualifying life event like a new baby or job status. I’d recommend choosing the Sprint package if you’re really worried about that.
What is a Rains jacket?
That's the brand name. They seem nice. They retail for like $170. I assume they work well.
Explain this "flat price" thing. Does that imply the shorter option is more expensive?
Yeah, you pay a bit of a premium if you choose the Sprint season option, but if you renew for 2027–28 the per-ticket price reverts to what you’d have paid if you purchased the Evergreen option, which is the same price per ticket that you were charged in 2026.
What if I don’t do anything?
Your tickets are automatically renewed with the Evergreen package.
Am I going to get charged for 25 games all at once?
One of the new features being offered this year is an 11-month payment plan if you choose the Evergreen package.
How does the return-ticket credit work?
The way it works now is that you’re allowed to return tickets for up to seven (or eight if you have club seats) games per year for full credit, as long as you return them at least four days before the game. (You get 75% credit if you return them two or three days beforehand.) For the "Sprint" season, you’ll be allowed to make two such returns and you’ll be able to make seven (or eight) returns for the 2027–28 season.
Any sense of how renewals are going so far?
Nothing but anecdotes, but I will say that I’ve had more people tell me they’re not renewing this year than in any previous season I can remember. What I’ve been hearing from fans is that they’re obviously frustrated with the current five-game losing streak, but are more broadly losing patience with a front office that hasn’t been able to make a significant signing in any of the previous four summers and has been the least active team on the transfer market since 2021.
Can the FO do anything about that before the deadline?
They could certainly try! Not to get too sidetracked, but the sense I get is more that the lack of a communicated plan is arguably more of a problem than the lack of action itself. Yes, fans want the Sounders to win things and they also want them to make some exciting signings, but they also want to get a sense of where this is all going.
Jeremiah Oshan
What does any of this have to do with the recall vote?
I suppose nothing entirely directly. By my reading of the Sounders’ Alliance Council Constitution, any current season-ticket holder has as many votes as they have seats even if they don’t renew for next year. But at some point in the fall, the Sounders are scheduled to hold a retention vote for Waibel and I think it’s going to be a temperature on just about everything that's going on with the league and the club.
This will be the fourth such vote in Sounders history, but those others honestly felt like they had much more pre-determined results in large part because people genuinely seemed a bit happier with the overall state of the club. Then-GM Adrian Hanauer sailed to victory in 2012, garnering 96.3% of the vote with nearly 14,000 ballots cast. Garth Lagerwey won re-election in 2018 with 87.3% of the vote, although it fell short of the necessary 40% quorum to be considered binding. Lagerwey won a second election in 2022 with 90%, but this time with 31.7% casting ballots.
What’s it take to oust the GM?
It would take a lot. Not only do 40% of eligible voters need to cast ballots, but it requires a super-majority of 67% to vote "no confidence" in order for the GM to be ousted.
Is Waibel actually in any danger?
As mentioned above it's obviously a high bar, but for the same reasons that season-ticket renewals might not be going as well as in years past, I think fans are generally pretty unhappy. It probably isn’t entirely fair to take that out on Waibel, but the GM vote is one of the few clear ways for fans to send a message to ownership that the current approach isn’t satisfactory.
