Seattle fans vote overwhelmingly to retain Hanauer as GM

seattle sounders owner adrian hanauer, manager sigi schmid and general manager chris henderson

Sounders fans spoke, and boy did they ever want to see Adrian Hanauer get four more years.


The club on Thursday night announced the voting of 13,775 season-ticket holders and alliance members as to whether to retain the Sounders general manager, and 13,271 of them ­– 96 percent of the turnout – went in Hanauer’s favor.


Seattle’s unique club structure provides fans the opportunity to vote on the club’s management every four years, inspired by the set-up of FC Barcelona.


"We've been committed from Day 1 to engage our fans in the direction of the club," Hanauer (above left) said in a statement. "The first four years have been remarkable, and I look forward to continuing the growth and progress over the next four years."


READ: 2012 in Review: Q&A with Sigi Schmid

In four years as an MLS club with minority owner Hanauer as GM, the Sounders have a combined 59-32-37 record in league play, three US Open Cup trophies and four MLS Cup playoff appearances – though their Western Conference Championship run this year is the closest they’ve come to the MLS Cup.


Voting began on Oct. 7 and concluded on Dec. 7. More than 85 percent of the total votes were cast before the end of the season.