2009 MLS franchise gets its members associated...and Drew Carey's in charge !

Those who join a new fan-based association with the Seattle Sounders FC will get to vote every four years on whether the club retains its general manager.

Seattle Sounders FC, the city's forthcoming Major League Soccer franchise, announced the formation of its fan group.

The club did so with the help of comedian and minority owner Drew Carey, who appeared at Kell's Irish Restaurant and Pub near Pike Place Market on Friday afternoon. Carey delivered on his pledge to involve fans in the decision-making process of Sounders FC.

"Where else can the fans fire the general manager?" Carey, who will serve as association chairman, said in a statement from the team. "I hope this becomes a model for every professional sports organization in America."

The first GM vote — ostensibly on current GM Adrian Hanauer — is set for November 2012 as soon as that MLS season ends.

Members can be nominated and selected to the Sounders FC Association Council on a yearly basis. Those interested must receive at least 25 nominations from other association members, with the first nominations accepted next month.

Association membership is free for all season-ticket holders. Non-season-ticket holders can join beginning in June for an annual fee of $125. Benefits include voting privilege, a membership pin and card, a discount at team shops and an invitation to the annual meeting — which Carey himself will host beginning later this year.

Carey was in Seattle for a Monday night Seahawks game Nov. 12 of last year, and said that night that he wanted a fan membership program like the one he saw for European club giant FC Barcelona. That was one of his conditions for signing on as an ownership partner with Sounders FC majority owner Joe Roth, an entertainment executive.

Carey's other condition was the formation of a marching band. To that end, auditions for the Sounders FC marching band will be June 1 at Qwest Field.

The band won't exactly be a synchronized, tight-formation unit, according to the team Web site. It will consist of 50 members and include full sections of brass and percussion instruments.

by José Miguel Romero for The Seattle Times  ( read the team's official release AT THIS LINK )