DC United has been in a standoff with two of its most well-known supporters groupsDC UNITED
DC United's new Audi Field was "finally delivered on Saturday, and it was supposed to be a celebratory day," but there "was as much to rue about the situation in which DC United finds itself -- has created for itself -- as there is to celebrate," according to Paul Tenorio of THE ATHLETIC. The crowd was "maddeningly quiet for much of the game." People "filled the seats, but they were not filling the beautiful new building with noise." DC United has "been in a standoff with two of its most well-known supporters' groups -- the Barra Brava and the District Ultras -- and the reality is that it's a fight the club can't really win." In February, the club "designated a supporters group called the Screaming Eagles as the team's official supporters group, stripping" the two other major groups of the "right to resell tickets to their members." The dispute has since "devolved into a very public he-said-she-said that has resulted" in the groups "opting to protest the club's new stadium until the groups find a resolution." Saturday's protest included a "one-mile march to the stadium with flags, signs and the songs for which DC United games have long been known." Looking Audi Field on Saturday, it "just didn't feel complete." It certainly was "not an atmosphere that will pull new fans back in to watch more soccer." A sales plan that "revolves around" F Wayne Rooney bringing in curious people "may work once or twice." However, those fans will "only keep coming back if the experience is different and better than what they can get at other sporting events" (THEATHLETIC.com, 7/16).
HOME SWEET HOME: PRO SOCCER USA's Arman Kafai noted the supporters' section at Audi Field is "steep," which makes the area "very imposing." Fans are "almost directly standing above the players on the pitch as the game plays." With the new soccer-specific stadium standard of "having a safe-standing section, Audi Field's section does the job" that Orlando City and LAFC "first implemented in their homes" (PROSOCCERUSA.com, 7/16). Kafai wrote Audi Field's debut "was a dream for DC United fans." The trip to the stadium was "very easy, even with the lack of parking spaces," as many fans "hopped off the metro and toward their new stadium." Kafai: "Stadium entry was not an issue for me, but I heard of issues from fans who could not get their mobile tickets to work." Some fans were "stuck waiting outside the stadium due to ticketing problems," but that seems like a typical first-game issue that "should be resolved moving forward" (PROSOCCERUSA.com, 7/16).
