The Seattle Sounders revealed on Tuesday the arrival of 11 new families to the club’s ownership group, a star-studded group that includes Microsoft executive Terry Myerson and his wife Katie Myerson along with several other prominent figures from the city’s large tech sector, Grammy-winning musician Ciara and her husband, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, Seattle hip-hop artist Macklemore and his wife Tricia Davis and others. Read a full rundown of the new investors here.
The Sounders also announced that founding owner Joe Roth is departing the club. The leader of Seattle’s MLS expansion bid and game-changing launch in 2009, the Hollywood producer laid the groundwork for SSFC’s ambitious approach and the club has won six major trophies – and more MLS matches than anyone in MLS – over the past decade.
“When MLS gave me permission to look at the Pacific Northwest to start a soccer franchise, there was no question that Seattle was the place,” said Roth in a statement. “The last 10 years watching our Sounders grow with their incredible fan support beat any hit movie I ever created. I love the team, from the players to the staff, and most of all I love the fans.
“When they write the history book of soccer in America, it was Seattle that propelled our game into being perceived as a first-tier sport. You did that! I’ll be a Sounder until I die. Thank you Adrian, Drew, Paul and Jody Allen, as well as the new partners. The club is just getting started.”
Meanwhile Seattle’s existing ownership contingent of Hanauer, Drew Carey and Jody Allen remains, and Hanauer Fútbol, a group comprised of Hanauer, Paul Barry and Lenore Hanauer, has increased its overall investment in the club.
“Today we begin another chapter in the story of Seattle Sounders FC, this proud club that means so much to so many people,” said Hanauer.
“We are doubling down on this community and growing our local roots even deeper. Sounders FC was born right here in Seattle, and for more than 40 years, the club has forged a meaningful legacy that is deep and far-reaching. Today’s news is a testament to what our community has accomplished, as 11 new families have joined with the broader Sounders family as fans and invested stewards of our club.”
