Union Chief Business Officer Tim McDermott hopes to "create a fan council" for the MLS club that will launch in the next few weeks, according to John George of the PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL. McDermott debuted a similar initiative while with the Eagles, and he said, "You want to have your fans be an extension of your organization and help you create solutions." McDermott: "The best ideas don't come to me. They come from the people in this building and our fans. It's my job to create an environment where those ideas bubble up and we can figure out what are the best ideas then capture them and execute on them." He said he wants to develop a "well defined youth strategy to have kids who are playing soccer today become future fans and season-ticket holders." McDermott: "We have to continue to elevate our brand awareness in the marketplace, and we need to share the stories of our players. Fans identify with the stories of players and the personalities. ... The identification of our brand and brand strategy will be a big project this year." Meanwhile, McDermott does not believe expanding Talen Energy Stadium is "in the right-now phase." He said, "We are focused on building the brand and making this the hot ticket in town that everybody wants" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/4).
