Adrian Hanauer discusses Sounders’ off-field struggles and his budgetary philosophy

Adrian Hanauer first became formally involved in the Seattle Sounders when he became the managing partner of the USL team in 2002. One of the first big hires he made was appointing Brian Schmetzer to be the head coach. While steering the ship on the business side, he also served as the team’s general manager, a role he maintained for the first five years of the Sounders’ MLS existence.

I first met Hanauer in 2010, shortly after I started writing for Sounder at Heart. At the time, I was struck by how eager he was to share his thoughts on both the business and sporting aspects of the team.

He stepped down as the GM following the 2014 season and has been the majority owner since 2015. As the Sounders and his role within the team have evolved, I’ve also had fewer interactions with him.

Behind the scenes, though, he remains as active as ever. Hanauer is a near daily fixture at the team’s new Longacres training facility, where his office overlooks the pitch.

That’s where Hanauer and I met about 10 days ago to broadly discuss the state of the franchise. My intention was to get a sense of where he sees the Sounders within the broader MLS landscape; what kind of preparations are in order for the 2025 Club World Cup; how he perceives the Sounders’ handling of various off-field issues; and his vision for Longacres that goes beyond the training facility.

You can listen to the entire interview here:

If you’re not inclined to listen to the entire hour-long interview, Sounder at Heart subscribers can read some of the more notable excerpts here: