Bay Area Billionaire John Fisher to Sell San José Earthquakes

John Fisher, the billionaire owner of the San José Earthquakes, is looking to sell the MLS club, the team said Wednesday.

The Earthquakes announced in a press release that Fisher’s ownership group has started a process “to sell a controlling interest in the club,” and has hired investment firm Moelis & Company to head up the effort.

“The San Jose Earthquakes and PayPal Park have been an important part of our lives for nearly two decades,” Fisher said in the press release. “We are proud of the role the Quakes have played in the growth of soccer throughout Silicon Valley. The Bay Area is a special place, and we’re deeply grateful to the fans, players and staff who’ve been with us on this journey.”

Fisher, who also owns MLB’s Athletics, has served as the majority owner of the Earthquakes since 2008, after he and partner Lew Wolff paid $20 million to buy the rights for an expansion club in San José. That came after the Earthquakes’ former owner, AEG, moved their team to Houston to become the Dynamo at the end of 2005, and there was no professional soccer in San José during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

Fisher’s group could see a significant profit on the sale, with the club valued at $540 million by Forbes, which is below the league average of $690 million.

The team’s press release did not offer a reason for the sale. Team officials declined an interview request from KQED on Wednesday. The news of the potential sale was first reported late Tuesday night by Sportico.

It’s not clear if Fisher is selling to help finance his $1.75 billion, 33,000 capacity stadium project in Las Vegas, where the former Oakland baseball team would play, which is scheduled to break ground next week.

Fisher uprooted the Athletics from Oakland at the end of the 2024 season, much to the chagrin of untold numbers of A’s fans in the Bay Area. The team is currently playing the first of at least three seasons in a Minor League Baseball park in West Sacramento, sharing it with the River Cats before the planned move to Sin City.

Fisher’s family has said it plans to contribute $1 billion toward the project, and Nevada lawmakers pledged up to $380 million in public funds.

In 2015, Fisher’s group opened what was then called Avaya Stadium, a privately financed, $100 million soccer-specific stadium next to San José Mineta International Airport, as the team’s new home facility.

The stadium is currently named PayPal Park, and last year also became the home field of Bay FC, of the National Women’s Soccer League, which will host its championship at PayPal Park this season.

The stadium has also played host to several major events, including US National Women’s Team matches, several 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup matches, and earlier this year, a sold-out Liga MX friendly between Chivas de Guadalajara and Atlas FC.

Even with a modern stadium, attendance for Quakes games in the 2024 season was fourth-lowest in the league of what was then 29 teams, according to Transfermarkt.

However, the club has made some significant signings in the last year, including paying a club record of roughly $7 million for Argentine midfielder Hernán López, and bringing on five-time MLS Cup champion Bruce Arena as its new head coach. The league has since added a 30th team.

San José Mayor Matt Mahan told KQED he views the potential sale as an opportunity for the team and the city.

“An opportunity for more investment, new energy, an opportunity to take the team to the next level,” he said. “The hope with any new ownership group is that they’ll come in with some fresh energy and extra resources to put into the team and that will help the team compete for a championship.”

Mahan added that city leaders are laying out a vision to create a future sports entertainment district in the western portion of downtown, near the SAP Center where the San Jose Sharks have long played, and thinks the area could be a future home for the Earthquakes and Bay FC.

“When they’re looking at their future home, I want them to think first and foremost of downtown San José as the place to put down roots,” he said. “We’re a soccer city. We love our Quakes and we love Bay FC.”

It’s unclear whether a potential new owner would keep the Earthquakes’ previous $50 million commitment for a potential eight-field public-private soccer training facility at the Santa Clara County fairgrounds.

A preliminary deal between San José, the county and the team was struck in late 2023 to explore creating such a facility that would be partially open to youth soccer teams and the public, but Mahan said the county has stalled the effort.

The team is also investing in creating a second training facility on the site of a parking lot and tailgate area behind PayPal Park, and is updating some team facilities, including dining rooms and coaches’ meeting rooms.