Leadership from Dallas Beer Guardians, El Matador, Lone Star Legion, and representatives from the FC Dallas Membership Services and Operations departments are meeting throughout the season for to discuss various issues or concerns via the official Supporters’ Forum in 2017.
At the April meeting, the topics below were brought up by the respective supporters’ groups, and the solution or discussion of each followed:
Dallas Beer Guardians
- Drum Line - giving a voice to our fans from both sides of the debate as well as a statement from our leadership. DBG Leadership made the statement that while they do not support the Drumline being in the Beer Garden during an FC Dallas match, they will not tolerate anyone verbally abusing the Drumline and they will deal with that person directly. The Front Office has decided to allow the North End the ability to produce their own noise without the support of the Drumline. This temporary decision will be effective beginning on Saturday, April 22nd when FC Dallas takes on SKC.
- Ticketing Resale Policy- A member of DBG was concerned about the ticket resale policy. As part of a Frisco city ordinance, reselling tickets on the Toyota Stadium premises is prohibited. Reselling ticket electronically is not prohibited.
- Safety Concerns in the Garden (bleachers and bathrooms) - A DBG member has brought to the attention of the Front Office the need to inspect the bleachers and make any necessary repairs. The solution will be that should a member have a concern about the bleachers, they will need to contact their Supporters’ Group Leadership. The Supporters’ Group Leadership will contact the Front Office and find a time to come out and inspect the bleachers. From there, the Front Office will work on any necessary repairs. El Matador and Lone Star Legion have requested that the backs of the bleachers in section 120/121 be removed. Based on a liability issue, the backs of the bleachers in 120/121 cannot be removed. However, maintenance will look at and fix any repairs to the bleachers in 120/121. Another issue was a sewage leakage in the port-a-potties. The Operations department is aware of this issue and new port-a-potties are being ordered.
El Matador
- Allowing smoke inside the stadium/coming up with some sort of solution- Because of the lengthy disposal process of the devices as well as the warning labels on the smoke bombs themselves warning people of not deploying the device in a sports stadium, smoke bombs have been determined to be prohibited from being used inside Toyota Stadium. These devices can be used outside of Toyota Stadium but not near other patrons and must not go beyond the sidewalk by the administrative building located in the northeast corner. All Supporters’ Groups have asked that because of the decision to not allow smoke bombs that all images that have Supporters using such devices be removed as the advertising is misleading.
- Singing Deep in the Heart of Texas once in the 36th minute rather than twice- There has been a tradition since last year’s 4th of July match that members of the Supporters’ Groups meet before the match and sing Deep in the Heart of Texas. All Supporters’ Groups agree that this is not necessary as they are all settling in for the game and they already sing this song in the 36th minute. The Front Office has removed the Supporters’ Groups from partaking in this, but the song will still be sung prior to the start of an FC Dallas match.
Lone Star Legion
- Shelving in the storage unit- The POD unit that is shared by all three Supporters’ Groups is starting to become crowded. Adding another unit was proposed but getting a bigger overall unit is what is looking like will be ideal. The Front Office will speak with the appropriate parties on this and follow up with Supporters’ Group Leadership.
- Supporter Security training. – The main issue at hand is that it seems that there is not the same security personnel at the gates at every game which means that Supporters’ Groups are sometimes denied access in the building with items that they are normally allowed in with. If the personnel in yellow shirts and white shirts tell you to do something then it is because Gina McFarlin has communicated to them to do. That being said, a solution was proposed in getting Supporters’ Leadership bag tags or some type of identification that will allow a consistent process of bringing items in each match. The Front Office is working on this matter and once a solution has been proposed, Supporters’ Leadership will be aware.
- Player interaction with the groups. (Just stopping by after the game)- Issue is that Supporters’ Groups want the players to at least stop by and clap towards them and get some sort of recognition for being there. Per league policy, after the conclusion of an MLS match, the Coach only has so long to address the squad before they have to go off and do interviews. The players do clap and acknowledge the support from afar. While this is something that cannot be forced, it has been something that will be communicated to some of the players.
Front Office
- Offensive Chant- The League has asked what we can do to get rid of the “Puto Chant” as it is starting to become even more noticeable during the FCD games. Discussions are going on internally as to what can be the proper solution to combat the abuse of using this phrase. As soon as a solution has been determined on this we will let Supporter Leadership know.
- Ways for non-members to be involved in tifo making as well as knowing the chants- We are looking to update the Supporters’ page to include ways for other fans to follow the Supporters’ Groups and learn more about opportunities to be more involved. There will also be a page dedicated to Supporters’ Groups’ chants. The Marketing department is working on getting this updated.