RENTON — The Sounders haven’t suffered financially in releasing their first merchandise with their new sponsor’s branding displayed across the chest.
The club’s secondary jersey, inspired by martial arts icon Bruce Lee, hit stores Wednesday and sales are outpacing the Jimi Hendrix-inspired kits, unveiled in 2021. The latter’s Day 1 sales were the best in club history, reaching a targeted $50,000 threshold within the week to donate to charities. The “Bruce Lee Kit” met the $50,000 mark within two hours, according to Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer, and those proceeds will be split between the Bruce Lee Foundation and Seattle’s Wing Luke Museum.
There was question of how the gear would sell with Providence Swedish replacing Zulily as the marquee sponsor. The club’s largest supporters’ groups issued statements after the announcement in January expressing disappointment and anger in the team aligning with a company that doesn’t share similar values in abortion rights, advocating for trans people and fairness in the treatment of low-income people.
Addressing the criticism for the first time publicly Thursday, Hanauer explained there were four factors that led to Providence being the right fit, the first being the nonprofit health care company’s ability to support the team mentally and physically. Hanauer also said he valued relationships with those who work for Providence Swedish and expressed enthusiasm in linking to raise awareness and provide mental health services for youths, beginning with the Renton School District.
“The overall value that we can bring to our community together far overrides the negative,” said Hanauer, whose club will net more than $75 million through the course of the partnership. “And there is certainly an economic reality to partnerships. We do run a business and we have to balance all of the different pieces to make sure that we can continue to try to challenge for championships while also delivering to the best of our abilities in our community.”
Hanauer joined Hugh Weber, the new president of business operations, and other top Sounders executives in talking with leadership for the supporters’ groups and fans last month to reaffirm the team’s values. Weber was formally introduced to media Thursday at the club’s headquarters in Renton and said the “job is 100% mine to activate that [Providence] partnership in a way that brings integrity to the values that we’re talking about.”
Weber is a former track standout at the University of Puget Sound in his native Tacoma. He grew up a Sonics and Sounders fan and most recently was the force behind building the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center into powerhouse brands as president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.
The Sounders unveiled a six-year plan to grow the club, which includes doubling the approximate 30,000 season-ticket holders. Weber acknowledged it starts with the relationship between the sides and admiring the positive bond the team had before the Providence announcement.
“I was moved by the personal stories of the people who were hurt by this,” Weber said of meeting with fans. “Who felt the brand and the team alienated them. In fact, their personal stories were gut-wrenching and it’s hard. But I will say it added to the motivation of our team to make sure that in fact the value of this partnership will be judged over time. We need to go get active and do the things we believe, maybe even lean into some of the communities that felt most hurt.”
Hanauer, a University of Washington alum, met Weber when they were 19-year-olds and said he’s worked the past 15 years to coax his friend to take a leadership position with the Sounders. Weber will replace Peter Tomozawa, who is leading the executive committee behind Seattle being one of 16 host cities for the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup in North America.
Meanwhile, Weber will oversee Sounders’ initiatives including the completion of the team’s headquarters at Longacres, a celebration of the club’s 50th anniversary in 2024, maximizing proximity to the World Cup and growing the business operations structure with emphasis on community and fan-centric initiatives.
“I love big, complicated puzzles and right now this feels like a lot,” said Weber, whose mother and two sisters still live in the Gig Harbor area. “Building high-performance teams who tackle big, [wild] ideas is what I love and what I hope we can do here.”
Breaking ground
The Sounders’ plans for the training facility and corporate offices with additions for retail, housing and recreational sports were approved by the city of Renton. Final permits are being issued and the club expects to break ground to build the fields by April. The target opening is January 2024.
One piece that likely won’t be part of the project is a soccer-specific stadium. Hanauer didn’t outright dismiss the idea, but there’s 10 years remaining on the lease with First & Goal Inc. to compete at Lumen Field.
“We’re definitely looking at this as a blank canvas,” Weber said of the overall 140-acre footprint. “We’re formulating what are the most, highest priority targets that we should be focused on and right now it’s about getting the team here.”