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| Timbers Army photo by Craig Mitchelldyer. |
Along with this increase in access to good soccer
matches (here and abroad) something interesting has been going on in
Portland. Three years ago, Major League Soccer (MLS) awarded an expansion team
to the city. And, a group of fans emerged that this side of the Atlantic hadn’t
seen before. They are called Timbers Army and they stand…chant…sing…the entire
time. They even sang the National anthem last year before a match.
Timbers Army has created a completely different environment and are changing
people’s thoughts about attending a soccer match, especially one at JELD-WEN
Field.
As evidence of this, it was just announced that the waiting list exceeds 7,000 for season tickets.
I talked to Mike Golub, Chief Operating Officer of
the Portland Timbers, to learn more about starting up a new team and the unique
fans.
PJ:
What was your marketing strategy in starting up this new team?
Mike: The focus for the whole business of operating
on the marketing side is to create an impactful advertising corporate
partnership—bringing on the right companies that share the right values here in
Portland. The sponsors could tell our story, as well. PR, social media—online
communication, was built aggressively. Our community outreach is recognized as
one of the most philanthropic in the state. We use the power of sports for
good. Our umbrella campaign is “Stand Together.” We have hundreds of appearances
for our players and give donations. We have meaningful broad and deep
relationships with groups doing good things in the community.
PJ:
Tell me about Portland’s soccer history.
Mike: Portland has a rich history of soccer—four
decades. Starting with the NASL in the mid-1970s through 1980s…the first
iteration of the Timbers was in 1975. We’ve had great support and many on that
original team helped grow the sport in this region. University of Portland is
coached by a former Timber and it is a national power. There was a
re-introduction of the Timbers in 2000s…a minor league team. They had great
crowds. Ultimately, we were awarded the MLS expansion team in 2009. We tap into
the history of the Timbers and it has helped define the present existence in a
unique way. The league itself thought of us as an expansion team with 35 years
of history.
We are perceived as the people’s team. Our focus has
been to be a major league team…to present ourselves and conduct ourselves
commensurate with a major league team. And, we present ourselves as
Portland—that has been our major theme.
PJ:
How did you capitalize on this fan support?
Mike: We knew we had diehard soccer fans that we
were going to capture. Then there were those people who knew the game, but
would not call themselves die-hards. We wanted to bring them into the tent.
Beyond that we brought in more general sports fans and casual fans who caught
the excitement in the process. We have a great core of existing soccer fanatics
and knew it had grown. We knew those with a passing interest would catch the
bug and we think we’ve done it.
PJ:
You have a unique atmosphere. Tell me about how you created this.
Mike: We had a supporters group that started on a small
scale 10 years ago. Timbers Army has helped cultivate the conditions to
flourish. We work with them and meet with them. We keep 5,000 seats for
supporters who stand/chant all game. We embraced their growth, which is a big
part of this.
PJ:
Do other teams find it intimidating coming to play at your field? Do you
consider this a home-field advantage?
Mike: Big Time! To a person the players say this is
one of the best environments in North America. It reminds them of Europe. A TV
sports executive who was here recently said he’s been to all the big sports
events around the world and this is the best atmosphere he’s seen. We think we
have something special here. We think the culture around the club and the city
is great. Players love being part of it. When the city embraced the Timbers it
make it that much more fun for the players to be here. They enjoy being here.
PJ:
What’s next?
Mike: We’re obviously proud of what we’ve done so
far. We need to stay hungry and keep at it every day. We want to do right by
our fans and our corporate partners. We still have folks who are on the waiting
list for season tickets. It’s a hard ticket to get and there are still a lot of
folks who have not experienced it. We’d like to invest more in the community.
We’re not taking success for granted and we are helping the sport grow. 
