Events & Media Archive

Browse by Year:

The business of the NHL Global Series and the league’s push for international brand recognition

Published April 22, 2022 by The Athletic

It’s why NHL teams line up and aggressively pursue opportunities to play internationally, like the Colorado AvalancheColumbus Blue JacketsSan Jose Sharks and Predators will next season. The Avalanche and Blue Jackets will play in Tampere, Finland, while the Sharks and Predators will play a pair of regular-season games in Prague, Czechia after holding preseason games in Germany and Switzerland, respectively.

“As much as the benefit is talked about for players and teams on the ice, there is an equally or even more important impact of getting selected for these games for the business,” said Jonathan Becher, the president of Sharks Sports & Entertainment. “And I mean that in a good way.”

While Sharks players will be using a preseason tour of Germany and Czechia as a team-building activity and a chance to open the season with a pair of wins in Prague, Becher and his staff will be boosting the Sharks’ business efforts in Europe.

Some of the Sharks’ largest and closest corporate partners, a group called the Teal Inner Circle, will be making the trip to Europe. The Sharks are also an extension of owner Hasso Plattner’s larger technology business — he’s the chairman of SAP — and a hockey game turns into an entry point into Silicon Valley.

“A lot of companies are not based here and would love to have relationships with firms and some of the most iconic technology companies headquarter within a few miles of our building,” Becher said. “So this is an opportunity for us to reconnect or detect for the first time with international brands that know about the valley and embrace technology, but don’t have those relationships. So you should expect us to be the matchmaker if you will.”

Read the full article here. (subscription required)

What Sharks are seeking in new GM role after Wilson steps down

Published April 7, 2022 by NBC Sports

Sharks president Jonathan Becher and interim GM Joe Will spoke to the media following the announcement.

“Obviously this is a sad day and the end of a milestone,” Becher said. “But it’s also a chance to acknowledge and celebrate Doug Wilson’s incredible legacy. That legacy is probably most obvious on the ice. A period of almost 19 years of sustained success.”

But Becher said they aren’t rushing the process.

“We’re starting immediately a search for the next general manager of the franchise,” Becher told reporters. “At this point, that search is for external candidates. We don’t have a defined timeline. We care more about the person than when exactly it happens. If it works out and takes us a small amount of months, that’s great. If it takes a bit longer than that, we’ll wait for the right person.”

Read the full article here.

Takeaways from Doug Wilson stepping down as Sharks’ GM

Published April 6, 2022 by NBC Sports

“Since Doug’s been out, there’s always that question of when will he be ready to come back? It was always when will he be ready, not if,” Becher said. “Doug has definitely improved over the last couple of months. But he took the decision that he needs to concentrate on his health full time. So it’s really only in the last couple of days. This is late-breaking more than anything else.”

“Whoever that GM is, we’ll build on the incredible legacy that Doug has built over the last 19 years. Clearly, we want to get back to repeatable playoff hockey. That’s the goal of this franchise,” Becher said. “You’ve seen over the season, we have some world-class players and some incredible talent in this organization. But openly, we do need a few more pieces which will be part of both Joe’s job and the GM’s as well.”

Read the full article here.

San Jose Sharks dropping vaccine, testing requirements for fans at SAP Center

Published March 28, 2022 by The Mercury News

Responding to updated health guidelines from the state, Sharks Sports & Entertainment announced Monday that starting this weekend, fans attending hockey games at SAP Center will no longer be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for entry.

In February, SSE president Jonathan Becher said the pandemic is the biggest reason why attendance for NHL games this season has dropped so dramatically.

“Some people are not comfortable coming back to mega-events, 5,000-to-10,000 or more people,” Becher said. “Frankly, some people are comfortable, but they don’t want to deal with (vaccinations), boosters, masks, etc.”

Read the full article here.

As Sharks face franchise-defining on-ice decisions, business realities become increasingly relevant

Published Feb 24, 2022 by The Athletic

Sharks president Jonathan Becher addressed a number of topics during a midseason meeting with the media Wednesday, including the recent drop in attendance, plans for next season and owner Hasso Plattner’s thoughts on the state of the franchise.

Becher’s message about the short-term future of the Sharks from a business perspective was mostly positive, with the usual COVID-19 related caveats, and he announced some intriguing new plans to try to improve the fan experience. He also touched on some of the long-term concerns for the Sharks at SAP Center.

Read the full article here.

SJ mayor wants to drop COVID booster mandate at city-owned venues, Sharks say rules are bad for biz

Published Feb 24,2022 by ABC 7 News

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo wants to drop the city’s COVID-19 booster requirement to get into city-owned facilities.

Doing so would impact venues like the SAP Center- home of the Sharks. Team President Jonathan Becher told reporters on Wednesday, mandates and the on-going pandemic are the reason for low-attendance at the SAP Center.

“The drive to get actual people in becomes much more difficult when you have to vax, boost, test, mask, etc.,” he said.

At city-owned facilities across San Jose, visitors have gotten used to following signs for vaccine verification. Earlier this month, COVID-19 boosters were added to the list of requirements at city-owned venues.

Read the full article here.

Sharks president: COVID-19 concerns, vax mandates have hurt attendance

Published Feb 23, 2022 by The Mercury News

Jonathan Becher, president of Sharks Sports & Entertainment, listed the pandemic as the biggest reason why attendance for NHL games at the downtown arena has cratered this season, even though it appears the Sharks will miss the playoffs for a third straight year.

Becher attributed some of that to the surge of the Omicron variant, adding with cases receding, over 15,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday’s home game with the Boston Bruins. Santa Clara County, as of Wednesday, had a seven-day rolling average of 555 new cases of COVID, down from around 5,000 in early January.

“So that’s evidence that people will come back as restrictions ease and as they feel safer,” Becher said. “There’s no guarantee in life but it does seem that way.”

Becher said the team has sold about 9,500 season tickets for next season, which is down from around 11,000 two years ago, with a renewal rate of about 85 percent.

Read the full article here.

The number of content creators is closing in on the number of content consumers

Published Sept 24, 2021 by Small Business Trends

Before he became the President of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, Jonathan Becher was one of the premiere marketing executives in the technology industry.  And it’s safe to say he brought the visionary approach he developed at companies like SAP with him to the Sharks – which has paid off during the past 18 months as the pandemic disrupted the traditional fan experience.

Becher and the Sharks have been one of the more innovative teams in all of sports, which is why my CRM Playaz co-host Paul Greenberg and I were excited to catch up with Becher via LinkedIn Live to see what he and the Sharks have been up to, how they’ve been exploring ways to create more aligned fan experiences to the current situation with the pandemic, how lessons learned during the pandemic are being implemented in preparation for life after Covid, and to get his perspective on where he sees the puck going – so to speak – with how fans will experience content in the coming years, including how they become collaborators and creators with their favorite sports franchises.

Read the full article here.