Controlling share in San Jose Earthquakes up for sale

The San Jose Earthquakes are for sale.

The MLS club announced Wednesday that the ownership group has put controlling interest in the franchise on the market, with investment bank Moelis & Co. hired to guide any potential sale.

The Earthquakes have been owned by John Fisher since 2008. In that time, the club has made five MLS Cup playoff appearances and won the 2012 Supporters’ Shield.

Fisher is better known in the Bay Area for his tenure as the owner of Major League Baseball’s Athletics.

A’s fans, for years, begged Fisher to sell the team as it floundered in the standings and failed to secure a new ballpark to replace the outdated Oakland Coliseum. Instead, he intends to move the franchise to Las Vegas beginning with the 2028 season. The A’s currently are playing at temporary grounds in West Sacramento, Calif., since leaving Oakland after the 2024 season.

Speculation ran rampant Wednesday that Fisher is selling the majority stake in the Earthquakes to help fund his portion of the $1.75 billion estimated cost of the planned A’s ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip. Fisher oversaw the creation of soccer-specific stadium PayPal Park a decade ago.

The statement from Fisher on Wednesday made no mention of how he intended to spend his proceeds. In January, Sportico ranked the franchise 20th in its MLS team valuations at $600 million.

“The San Jose Earthquakes and PayPal Park have been an important part of our lives for nearly two decades,” Fisher said. “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.”

MLS commissioner Don Garber had nice words to say about Fisher.

“On behalf of Major League Soccer, I want to thank the Fisher family for their longstanding commitment to the Earthquakes and the San Jose community,” Garber said. “Under their leadership, the club invested in world-class facilities like PayPal Park, built a highly respected youth academy and helped grow the game in one of the nation’s most dynamic markets. We look forward to identifying new ownership that can build on this strong foundation and continue to elevate soccer in the Bay Area, and throughout Northern California.”

Fisher, 64, has a net worth of $3 billion, according to Forbes. While he is a founding partner of investment firm Sansome Partners, he served on the board of directors of the Gap until May 2022. He is the youngest of three sons born to Doris and Donald Fisher, founders of the Gap, according to Forbes.

The Earthquakes — currently eighth in the 15-team Western Conference after finishing last in 2024 — aren’t the only MLS franchise on the market. The Vancouver Whitecaps’ majority owner hired Goldman Sachs last December to assist with the sale.

–Field Level Media