By @SAdyson

Response via e-mail to Ben and Bobby from Jason Kutney, CEO of the Riverhounds, himself:

“I want to get the truth out and put it in black and white

We approached last home game, 1 week before that game, with over 380 tickets remaining in the Supporters Section. In assessing the previous games, we entered the final days before each match with just over 300 tickets available in the Supporter’s Section. With a Diocese Soccer League program kicking into full-swing, we determined it was best to offer a ticketing program for all participants in the DSL Championships. At that time, the grandstand was nearly sold out. This meant we would need to examine Supporters Section and Standing Room Only. I made the call that we should not turn away interested fans – we are not in the business of turning away business, of course. That’s why we have a stadium.

One game prior, we saw a fantastic goal from Matt Dallman and had awesome replay views of this finish, which we were set to crop and use for marketing purposes. However, in looking at the video, I saw a very sparsely filled Supporters Section behind the goal, making the video much less powerful of a statement. This weighed on my mind following that game and thus, an opportunity to fill the section was (and still is) very appealing.

We opened up the Supporters Section seats for the Diocese code (which was ‘DIOCESE’) and blocked off (ie. Ticketmaster ‘grayed out’) these seats for a matter of just 3 days. We would, ultimately, remove the hold and return these tickets to the general public sales if seats remained available following those days. However, they ended up being purchased over that 3 days and we then opened up Standing Room Only tickets for their group, selling even more there. As a result, that section was sold out.

On the day of game, through communication with their group, we were informed that 30 tickets in the Supporters Section would actually be put back on the market. This is not an easy thing to do, and we scrambled internally to make it happen, recognizing people would be looking to purchase online to sit with the Army. Of course, day-of-game tickets are more expensive than tickets purchased in advance. This is the reality of any stadium, as NO ONE wants to wait for a walk-up crowd to sell tickets.

The Supporter’s Section is something I want to build. I’m currently working on two promotions that I feel will help the cause, hopefully significantly. I understand my role puts me in the position of being praised or blamed, depending on the day. I have thick skin and I move forward, relentlessly, so the blame game is something I’ve learned to deal with. In this case, squashing the rumors was important to me because those rumors hinted at me losing faith in, or respect for, the Steel Army. That’s something I will not accept without a fight and I mean that.

So, I kindly asked for 2 hours of no cursing. I knew it sucked to do so, but I did it. The response was great, and I thought it was one of the best Army performances of the year, despite the frustrations amongst the Army. The smoke bombs – we’re trying to work through that situation. If there are issues that we cannot answer, through the City of Pittsburgh, then we’ll go down swinging. That started today with Ben’s demonstrational video. Wheels are in motion.

As for “TicketGate” and the awesome picture of my face over Nixon’s head, I’ll deal with that as long as everyone knows the truth. My hair is much better than that [edit] anyway.”

There you have it, folks. Case closed.

Now let’s stop dicking around and start getting ready to give the Toronto scrubs hell at the Highmark tomorrow.

#UNLEASH