Colorado Rapids supporters group C38 will move from the North Terrace to Section 117 in the South Endline for three matches this season. C38 member Dave Wegner explains the move.

Why has C38 decided to make this move?

DW: Well, we’re quite isolated right now. We’ve been doing some open houses so people can come down on their own but it’s a bit out of the way. People don’t really gravitate to us because of the geography of the stadium. We just figured ‘Okay, let’s fix that. We’ll come to you’. Hopefully it will continue to be a positive thing and people will start to embrace it. Maybe they will learn a song or two, and be able to sing it with us.

What was the process of the move?

DW: We had an experiment of moving for the Chivas game last season and we felt it created a little more unity in the stadium. People gravitated towards us, they did not go the other way. It made us a lot more visible and a lot more audible. One of our ultimate goals is to grow the culture and expand the experience. We wanted to reach out and step outside of our comfort zone in the terrace and share that with more people in the stadium.

At the end of every season we do a poll of our members and ask for their feedback on things. This is one of the things we put out there - would you be interested in doing a couple of field trips to the South Standthis year to try and grow our presence and culture? We wanted to get more people involved. Just under 80% of the people who responded were all for it. We are just following through on what our membership is showing interest in, and trying to build on that momentum from some of those games that were in sections that weren’t the terrace. There was a lot of fresh energy and we just want to explore that. Hopefully we can get people to embrace it.

So this is C38's own initiative?

DW: Yes, this is ours. [Rapids president] Tim Hinchey has been an amazing supporter of what we’re doing. He has said that it is our decision. We have talked about it. There were talks about the South Standway back. There’s always been a ‘what-if’ to it. That’s part of the reason we went and tried it last year, just to get rid of the mystery and see what it’s like for an actual game. After all of the positive feedback, we thought we would try it again and pair it up with the Rapids outreach marketing campaigns. Everybody is trying to extract the most from the event. This is something that the Front Office has supported us on but have not initiated or pushed for it. They are definitely doing what they can to support the culture.

Finally, will this move be permanent?

DW: I think we will revisit it in the offseason and ask what people think. I know there are a lot of people that are interested in making it a permanent move. I think there are also a lot of people that are really committed to the Terrace because it really feels like home for a lot of people. There are pros and cons to both.

I think it is easier to grow on the South Stand, but as far as the North End on the terrace you get an unprecedented access to players that you just can’t replicate. We get to support the boys when they’re coming off of the pitch. There is closeness with them that a lot of people would miss.

But the sightlines are a little bit better on the South Stand. You are so much closer that growth would probably be a lot more simple and organic. I think it is going to be something that the group is going to have to consider. But it’s something that would be considered by the group, not a select few making a decision. It would be a full on vote for our membership.