TORONTO – On Wednesday night Toronto FC concluded two of its four town hall sessions this year with Season Seat Holders and Supporters’ Groups.
The club held several of these engagement forums last year to assure fans that TFC would be heading in a new direction in its fifth season, and that the team would revisit town halls in its ongoing commitment to feedback in 2011.
This was the first time the architects of that new direction, Aron Winter, Bob de Klerk and Paul Mariner, were able to answer questions from seat holders in such a direct and interactive setting.
The two-way dialogue sessions in 2010 also produced a pledge from the club to not raise season ticket prices for 2012 and the 2011 home opener was made free to season seat holders.
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Tom Anselmi, kicked off Wednesday’s sessions by thanking those in attendance for their continued support this season and saying “we learned last year communication was important and this forum provided plenty of it.”
Anselmi accepted that he viewed this season as one with two halves. Toronto’s improved performance since the midseason trades and signings by head coach and technical director Winter has put the Reds within one win of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in club history.
RELATED: Toronto gains CCL momentum
“I believe we have one of the best management teams in the league now,” Anselmi added, noting that allowing Winter his first full off-season to work with the club will help Toronto to get off to a better start in 2012.
Not surprisingly the audience focused most of their questions on team performance, to which Winter and first assistant coach de Klerk were readily available.
The pair stressed that they were balancing short term vision – big midseason signings of Torsten Frings and Danny Koevermans – with longer goals of producing viable local Canadian talent that will make the hometown proud.
“I like it here,” Winter said as he thanked fans for backing his vision. “From January we came here to build TFC. For me and my management team, it’s important to get results both in short term and long.” Winter fielded questions about the many differences between Europe and North America. The coach confessed that several MLS rules and long travel schedules can be daunting, but he was thrilled to make Toronto his new home.
De Klerk revealed a couple of nuggets about the future, including an aggressive scouting program and calling the youth sides “Young TFC” to help instill the mentality with which local players are grown in Europe. He also spilled that Academy graduate and first team regular Ashtone Morgan is about to earn his first Canadian national team call.
RELATED: Hart impressed by Morgan
RELATED: Morgan, JDG & Dunfield receive the call
Business questions were fewer but received equal attention. Fans pointed out that an increase in Saturday evening home games have made it difficult for those bringing children to the park, and that traveling support has been discouraged by midweek matches against nearby rivals. The club pledged to address these and other similar concerns with the league and broadcasters.
Attendance in Champions League matches and getting the greatest use of tickets were also touched on by seat holders. Senior Director of Business Operations, Paul Beirne, was sensitive to these matters. He promised that he was “listening to these concerns” and the team would be looking to as many alternatives as feasible.
Matters on the pitch mixed with business that transpires in the front office, inevitably, and questions were asked about the status of Richard Eckersley and Joao Plata, the popular, energetic pair on-loan to Toronto from respective parent clubs.
“We are going to try to keep Eckersley and Plata,” Winter vowed. “But a lot of it has to do with their clubs.”
The two Wednesday sessions attracted nearly 200 season seat holders at the Rogers VIP Club inside BMO Field. All seat holders were solicited via email and attendance was on a registration basis. The town hall meetings conclude with two more assemblies on Thursday, the final session exclusively with Toronto FC Supporters’ Groups.
