On Tuesday, the Chicago Fire made a pair of executive moves to fill in the void left by former Chief Operating Officer Atul Khosla when he left last August for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. General manager Nelson Rodriguez will also serve at club president while John Urban, formerly of Legends (a partnership of the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys), has been named Chief Operating Officer to oversee the club’s business operations.
Urban was most recently vice president of the attractions division at Legends and oversaw the successful launch of the One World Observatory atop One World Trade Center in New York City. He also has help positions with Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, and with the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
“John brings significant experience including revenue generation, branding, marketing, and infrastructure development, and is the ideal partner for Nelson in further strengthening our club,” said Fire owner Andrew Hauptman.
“I am excited to join Chicago Fire Soccer Club and Major League Soccer,” said Urban. “I was immediately attracted by ownership’s vision of the club, commitment to winning and to my family’s own affinity for the city. I look forward to working with Nelson, the staff, our partners and fans, adding to the rich tradition and success of the club.”
Rodriguez joined the Fire at the end of the 2015 as general manager and has helped propelled the Fire up from the league basement to a third place finish overall in 2017.
“I am grateful to Andrew for his continued trust and support as we grow a world-class organization,” stated Rodríguez. “Serving as president and general manager of this club is a great honor and privilege and I will do my very best to continue building a sustainable, championship program for our city.”
Rodríguez’s promotion takes immediate effect, with Urban scheduled to begin in February.
“After a thorough review of our operations and completing a comprehensive search process, we believe Nelson and John are the perfect duo to lead our club,” said Chicago Fire Owner and Chairman Andrew Hauptman. “From the moment I met Nelson, I knew he was the right leader for the club. Over the past several years, he has created an exceptional foundation and culture for a top-tier club, on and off the field. I am delighted that he is taking on this expanded role, and am equally thrilled that John is joining as our chief operating officer.”
These moves smooth things out as it related to the front office structure. For the first time in nearly five seasons, the Fire have a club president while the soccer operations and business operations remain separate. Rodriguez has made more good moves (hiring Paunovic, signing Schweinsteiger and Dax McCarty, and collecting allocation money) than bad (signing David Arshakyan and Jorge Bava). Tuesday’s moves are to build upon the success of last season as the Fire look to move up to the next level.
Chicago Fire
MLS
