News from the San Jose Sports Authority
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The San Jose Sports Authority is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the City of San Jose’s economic development, visibility and civic pride through sports.
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CHAIRMAN'S CORNER
What a special year 2019 has started out to be!
San Jose and the San Jose Sports Authority hosted THREE MAJOR events in the first quarter. Starting with the Fifth installment of the College Football Playoff Championship at Levi’s Stadium the week of January 4-7. Only three-weeks later we welcomed the hockey world for the NHL All-Star Weekend January 24-27 starting with the first Media Day open to public at the City National Civic Center followed by the NHL Skills Competition and the Honda All-Star Game at the SAP Center and who can forget our own Jack Benjamin Stone (Carrie’s little boy), hanging-out in the Stanley Cup! Then in March, again at the SAP Center, we hosted the NCAA Men’s Basketball First and Second Round captivating the basketball world with three upsets in the First Round!
These events were well executed, well attended and showcased our great city and venues. This is the ONLY TIME any city sports commission has pulled off hosting these three in the same year. Kudos to John, Dave and Carrie for their efforts. Our partners at Levi’s Stadium and the SAP Center were fantastic hosts and Team San Jose and our hotels performed at the highest level.
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Anne Cribs and I were with the Sports Authority, back in 1999 when we hosted the Women’s Final Four and several other great women’s events. Twenty years later, we surpassed the substantial economic impact from 1999, in the first three months of 2019. Amazing!
The San Jose Sports Authority continues to be one of the top performing sports commissions in the United States, year in, year out. I am very proud to be a part of this amazing team. Thank you for supporting our efforts. We continue to bring the champions to you!
Charlie Faas
Charirman of the Board
SJSU VP Finance/Admin
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NHL All-Star Game Nominated for Sports Event of the Year
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We are thrilled to receive notification that the
2019 NHL All-Star Game in San Jose
is among the nominees for the 12th annual Sports Business Awards, which recognize excellence over the past year.
Launched in 2008, the Sports Business Awards were established by Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily to celebrate and recognize the leaders, visionaries and day-to-day practitioners who personify excellence in the business of sports. The 2019 nominees and winners will be recognized for excellence and outstanding achievement in the business of sports for the period from March 1, 2018 – February 28, 2019.
The NHL All-Star Game is among the five nominees selected for the Sports Event of the Year. Joining the NHL All-Star Game are the 100th PGA Championship, Bank of America Roval 400, Super Bowl LIII and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships.
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The Sports Business Awards Ceremony, a night celebrating excellence in sports business, will be held on Wednesday, May 22, 2019
, at the New York Marriott Marquis at Time Square in New York City. The winners are announced LIVE at this event.
All of us with the Sports Authority, the San Jose Sharks and the NHL are thankful for the tremendous support we received from our partners to make this event so special for so many.
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Stanley Cup Playoffs - Go Sharks!
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The San Jose Sharks kept their hopes for a long playoff run alive with a 5-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at SAP Center on Thursday.
The Golden Knights
who lost for the first time with a chance to win a Stanley Cup Playoff series; they were 3-0 in their inaugural season in 2017-18.
Joe Thornton had an assist on Hertl's second goal, and now needs only one more for to reach the 100 NHL playoff assists milestone.
Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round is Sunday at T-Mobile Arena (time yet to be announced).
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NCAA Basketball First & Second Round
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In partnership with the West Coast Conference and SAP Center at San Jose, the Sports Authority welcomed eight of the nations top men's Division I basketball programs to the Silicon Valley for the First and Second Rounds of "March Madness".
San Jose's first round games on March 22 produced some of the tournaments most exciting games and unexpected results, as 13-seed UC Irvine defeated #4 Kansas State, #12 Liberty beat #5 Mississippi State, #12 Oregon topped #5 Wisconsin and #4 Virginia Tech defeated #13 Saint Louis. Ultimately, Oregon and Virginia Tech punched their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen and Virginia Tech nearly knocked-off the tournament's top seed Duke in the Elite Eight.
San Jose will welcome the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship back to SAP Center again in 2021.
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REACH Youth Scholarship Breakfast
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The 2019 REACH Youth Scholarship Awards Breakfast, presented by Qualcomm is taking place on Friday, May 3. The program will honor a total of 34 local students who overcame adversity to excel in both academics and athletics. The breakfast will be hosted for the sixteenth consecutive year by the San Jose Marriott.
NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and FIFA World Cup Champion Brandi Chastain, serve as honorary co-chairs and will distribute more than $20,000 in scholarship awards on behalf of presenting sponsor Qualcomm, with support from Berliner & Cohen, Intero Foundation, Mike Bruner, Ron Olander & Steve Hallgrimson, Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area, and the San Jose Marriott. REACH, an acronym for
R
ecognizing
E
xcellence,
A
dversity,
C
ourage and
H
ard work, is in its 23rd year as a program of the San Jose Sports Authority.
“As an avid supporter of youth sports in our community, the Sports Authority is proud to partner with Qualcomm to honor the achievements of these outstanding young citizens.” Said San Jose Sports Authority Executive Director John Poch.
Teachers, counselors and coaches from each high school in Santa Clara County are asked to nominate students who they felt matched the scholarship criteria. Students submitted essays detailing how they were able to overcome adversity and the role that sports played in helping them do so. A panel of local community leaders reviewed the essays, interviewed candidates and selected the scholarship recipients.
For more information on sponsorship opportunities or how to attend the event, please contact Carrie Benjamin, Director of Events at
carrie@sjsa.org
.
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The 2019 Amgen Tour of California will be the longest and most challenging in its 14-year history. Throughout seven stages over seven days (May 12-18, 2019), the world’s elite professional cyclists will contest mountain roads, highways and coastlines from Sacramento to Pasadena. The 777.6-mile course through 13 Host Cities will ante up 14 Sprints, more than 68,000 feet of elevation gain and 25 King of the Mountain (KOM) climbs, the most in race history, and a fan-favorite Mt. Baldy summit finish. More than half of the seven stages feature 120+-mile courses.
Stage 3 will begin in Stockton and end in Morgan Hill at the Morgan Hill Outdoor Sports Center on Tuesday May 14. The Amgen Tour of California is accompanied by a cycling lifestyle festival where thousands of fans will have the opportunity to be treated like VIPs. Designed to provide healthy lifestyle and cycling-related experiences, the Lifestyle Festival is a great event that provides a day of entertainment for fans of all ages.
The Lifestyle Festival serves as the central hub for fans to interact with exhibitors and other enthusiasts as they wait for the cyclists to cross the finish line. The festival will feature cycling products and demos, cancer awareness education, family activities, food, and entertainment.
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Annual Bocce Battle Fundraiser
We are thrilled to announce our annual Bocce Battle has sold-out! A special THANK YOU to our supporters for your generous support of our exclusive “bocce mixer” that will unite the friends of the Sports Authority on the fun-filled courts at the Poch Family home on Sunday, May 19 in an event dedicated to support our REACH Scholarship Program and the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame while enjoying the old-world game of bocce!
The field is limited to eight of most faithful fiercely loyal wine & food loving combatants. The winning team of the Bocce Battle will receive the Golden Chalice, a Table for Ten at the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame as well as their very own private Bocce Battle for 25 including food & beverages!
Each team consists of six-players with a three-game minimum in the qualifying round. You may also bring up to six additional guests for a total of twelve.
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Proceeds from the event benefit the REACH Youth Scholarship Program and the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame. The REACH (Recognizing Excellence, Adversity, Courage and Hard work) Youth Scholarship Program is designed for high school seniors who have overcome adversity and excelled in both academics and athletics. The San Jose Sports Hall of Fame will induct its 25
th Class of legends that played in our own backyard as well as recognizing our high school, college and Special Olympian of the Year.
One of the highlights of the Bocce Battle is our spirited Live & Silent Auction that feature unique food, wine and sporting items. If you have an item you would like to contribute or would like more information on the Bocce Battle, contact John at 408-288-2935 or
john@sjsa.org.
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USA Basketball Women in the Game - Bay Area Conference
Interested in pursuing a career in sports or furthering your development in the industry?
The Women in the Game conference will educate high school girls, college women and young professionals about career paths that exist in the sports industry and how to turn a passion into an opportunity. Guest speakers from a variety of sport business fields will share their personal career journey, essential characteristics to succeed in their role, practical application strategies to get started in the industry and how to sustain their position in a highly competitive sports society.
Learn more about the conference - May 18 & 19 at Las Positas College - and register
here.
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USA Rugby D1A National Championship
The D1A National Championship will return to Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University, home to the 2018 National Championship, on May 4. With the change in playoff format, to Eastern and Western brackets, D1A has also secured sites for the national quarterfinals and semifinals. The national Round of 16 will be hosted by the highest seed in each matchup.
“We are excited to return to Stevens Stadium for this year’s championship,” said D1A Commissioner Kevin Battle. “They were fantastic hosts last year and have a first-class facility. We very happy to be playing here once again.”
Stevens Stadium proved to be the perfect location for the National Championship last year, with fans flocking to watch Life University win their second championship in three years and third in five. This year could see a repeat of the match, with the national championship to be played between Eastern and Western champions.
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Mubadala Silicon Valley Tennis Classic;
The Women’s US Open Starts in San Jose!
The Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic will once again host the biggest women’s tennis stars as two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza, two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka and young American Amanda Anisimova have committed to play in the 2019 event, July 29-August 4, on the campus of San José State University.
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Entering its second year in San José, the heart of Silicon Valley, the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic is a weeklong WTA tennis event that features a 28-player singles draw as well as a 16-team doubles draw. Owned and operated by IMG, the tournament also serves as the opening women's event of the US Open Series. Weeklong and Finals Weekend ticket packages for the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic are on-sale now.
To purchase tickets go to
www.MubadalaSVC.com or call 1-866-982-8497. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.
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SJSA Board Members Named SVO Business Woman & Business Man of the Year
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In case you missed it on Thursday, April 4
th
, the Silicon Valley Organization hosted their largest networking event of the year with over 800 people in attendance for their Annual Member Celebration! It's always a favorite time of year to pause and celebrate the SVO members as well as recognize individuals and businesses that have made an impact in business, and in our community.
The Sports Authority were well represented with two of our Board Members among the
SVO 2019 Distinguished Business Award winners! Congratulations to John Southwell, General Manager of the San Jose Marriott and Karolyn Kirchgesler, CEO of Team San Jose for receiving the prestigious Business Man and Business Women of the Year awards!
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Karolyn Kirchgelser, Team San Jose
Karolyn was honored at the SVO Annual Member Celebration as an inspirational leader to drive visitation, entertainment, and destination development to San Jose. Her leadership of Team San Jose in all lines of business is impressive.
“She is responsible for the management of our Convention Center, the Center for Performing Arts, The California Theater, the Montgomery Theater, and the San Jose Civic…As well as management of all external marketing, and the food and beverage service for all [those] buildings,” says Matt Manhood, President & CEO of SVO. “Collectively Team San Jose now generates over 50 million dollars per year in revenue. This unique business model is now being copied all over the country due to her leadership.”
Aside from leading “one of the most unique and innovative organizations in the country,” says Manhood, “she serves on several community boards and has been integrally involved in facilitating San Jose as an attraction for major sporting events – such as The Super Bowl, WrestleMania and the most recent […] College Football Championships.”
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John Southwell, San Jose Marriott
Born and raised in Canada, John moved to San Jose at the request of legendary developer, Lew Wolff, to become the General Manager of the San Jose Hilton in 1995. Unlike most hoteliers, who advance their careers by moving to various destinations, John stayed. He raised his family here and became a leader in the revitalization of San Jose.
As one of the founding fathers of modern San Jose, John has worked hand-in-hand with Team San Jose, SPUR, the San Jose Downtown Association, the former San Jose Redevelopment Agency and business improvement districts to refocus city growth and investments back to downtown San Jose.
Today, downtown San Jose has reclaimed its role as the cultural, civic and business hub of Silicon Valley, thanks to leaders like John who continue to guide its balanced and thoughtful growth. In fact, the Brookings Institute named San Jose as the city with the second fastest growing economy in the world from 2014 to 2016.
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Gloria Nevarez featured in Sports Business Journal
Congratulations to Sports Authority Board Member Gloria Nevarez, featured in the Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal’s March 25th edition on her first year as the Commissioner of the West Coast Conference.
The SBJ recognizes Gloria as the first Latin American woman to lead an NCAA Division I league and speaks of her incredible accomplishments in her first year as commissioner of the West Coast Conference.
Gloria convinced Gonzaga to stay in the WCC, extended the conference’s TV deal with ESPN, launched a branding campaign and sold title sponsorship to the WCC basketball tournament. Well worth going online to read the well-deserved article on her terrific leadership.
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Al Guido named in Sports Business Journal “40 under 40”
For the past twenty-years, the Sports Business Journal has recognized forty sports executives under the age of 40 who are making an impact and shaping our industry. Among the leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators and groundbreakers of their 20th class is Sports Authority Board Member Al Guido. Al, President of the San Francisco 49ers and CEO of Elevate Sports Ventures, joins a respected and accomplished group of sports industry executives. An honor deserving of his incredible energy and commitment to the entire San Francisco 49ers community. A truly well-deserved honor!
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San Jose Sports Authority | info@sjsa.org | www.sjsa.org
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