It has been a rough few months for the Seattle Sounders. On the field, they only recently ended one of the longest losing streaks in league history and they still haven’t actually won a game in more than 100 days. Off the field, they just closed the books on what is apparently one of their toughest season-ticket renewals campaigns in club history.
At least some of that seems to be turning around. Not only did the Sounders score a come-from-behind point against FC Cincinnati on Saturday, but they also made arguably their most significant signing since Raúl Ruidíaz when they completed the transfer for Dejan Joveljić on Tuesday.
Likely hoping to ride that momentum, Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer released an “open letter” to the community on Wednesday:
Among the highlights:
- Hanauer acknowledged that they’ve heard from all sorts of fans who have expressed frustrations with the direction of the club: "You’ve challenged us about the team, our ambition, your connection to the club and whether we’re listening. We are. But listening only matters if we do something with what we hear."
- An announcement that the Annual Business Meeting will take place on Sept. 26 from 2–4 PM, a few hours before they are slated to host Minnesota United. Hanauer said they are doing this to facilitate as many fans as possible.
- A promise to begin "monthly opportunities for Alliance Members to connect directly with Sounders players" in September.
- They will be opening the 300-level for Saturday's match against the Chicago Fire.
- While trumpeting the signing of Joveljić, Hanauer also seemed to imply that they still intend to sign more players.
- In closes on this message: "We’re not asking you to forget the last six weeks. And we’re certainly not asking you to lower your expectations. At this point, what we do matters a lot more than what we say. Keep holding us to that standard."
It’s certainly fair to argue that all of this is a little late, and from the perspective of season-ticket renewals that is literally true. But this is exactly the kind of communication many fans have been clamoring for. Hopefully, there’s real action behind it.
