There’s a big change coming to the top of the Seattle Sounders’ organization chart. Sounders President of Business Operations Hugh Weber will be leaving in order to assume the CEO role with the OEG Sports and Entertainment, effective Aug. 15. OEG most prominently owns the NHL's Edmonton Oilers, but Weber will also oversee Rogers Place, some minor-league hockey teams and an Edmonton entertainment district.
Weber, a Tacoma native who had previously served as an executive for both NBA and NHL teams, joined the Sounders in 2023 with what was billed as a "six-year growth strategy" that was largely built around the impending completion of the Longacres training facility in Renton. It has been a somewhat tumultuous period on the business side of the team, which has included some significant turnover at the director level and a significant expansion of the C-suite.
It was not immediately clear whether a direct replacement will eventually be hired, but for the time being Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer is expected to take on more of a day-to-day role on the business side of the operation. Weber is also expected to remain on in an advisory role, while the executive team he helped hire will also assume a larger share of the responsibilities.
