John Furlong, Executive Chair, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

John Furlong, Executive Chair, Vancouver Whitecaps | BCBusiness

As the new Executive Chair, John Furlong looks to build the Vancouver Whitecaps FC into a winning organization, both on and off the field.

In April, after a brief hiatus from the spotlight, John Furlong, former CEO of VANOC and the face of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, stepped into the role of executive chair of the Whitecaps Football Club Ltd. A long-time lover of athletics, Furlong has joined the franchise at a time of transition, its first season at the recently renovated BC Place already well underway. Can the man whom Sport BC honoured as “Sportsman of the Decade” bring success to the newly minted MLS club, both on and off the field?

What does the role of executive chair of the Whitecaps entail?
Well, I’m the senior executive with the club, so my responsibility is broad. I work inside the organization, trying to help us improve in every area. I’m trying to build a winning organization, and I work directly with the owners and the community. We have a pretty broad mandate: we are trying to build a very successful small-market jewel of a franchise and at the same time we are trying to be a significant community asset.

Does that mean you have a direct hand in day-to-day things like administration and marketing?
I work directly in everything, depending on what the issues are. I haven’t been here that long so I would say that for the most part I’m trying to assess and understand how the organization functions and how it got where it is. Our goal is to build a winner here in every way – not just on the field, but in everything that we’re doing.

What does it mean to win off the field?
Well, it means to win at everything that you are doing. First of all, we have owners who obviously want our team to be strong. But at the same time, they want to be a team that is growing its relationship to the community and inspiring young kids to play soccer.

What are your biggest challenges going forward in the immediate and long-term future?
We had a very difficult year last year. We’re slowly building a strong unit on the field and, if the team plays well, then that affects absolutely everything. The second thing is that, like in every organization, you want to be as good as you possibly can at everything you’re doing. You want to be good at marketing, you want to be good at ticketing, you want to be good at communications, you want to be good at all of the programs that you’re running and you want to make sure you have the best management staff.

The team has recently moved into the revamped BC Place. How do you anticipate that bigger venue will affect ticket sales?
The goal, obviously, is to put as many fans in the building as we can. There was a time many, many years ago when that stadium would be full on both levels for the soccer game. Today we use the lower bowl, so for now our goal is to fill that lower bowl. Obviously the more pressure we put on the lower bowl, the sooner the day will come when the upper bowl will be open.

Right now the Whitecaps are in the middle of a three-year deal with Rogers Media to broadcast 24 regular season games a year. How important is a media partnership like that to the organization?
Our relationship with the media is huge. We have a pretty good situation right now: all of the games are on television. That’s huge, but we need to grow that. When you open up the paper every day, you need to read about the team and you need to hear about it on the radio every day. It’s a completely different kind of environment than hockey or football, so we have to build that, but we need the media to do it.

What strengths do you bring to the Whitecaps?
First of all, I believe in the sport. The reason I took the job is it’s a way to touch kids and families. My job here is to try to build on what’s been started, and to try and turn this organization into the highest-performing one in the league. In my years at the Olympics we had a decade to build the biggest event in human history, and I’m hoping that what we can do here, over a period of time, is to build a highly consistent, highly performing franchise that is fun to be around and very inspiring to be near.

As CEO of VANOC, you were with the Olympics from the initial bid through to the closing ceremonies. Do you anticipate a similar long-term commitment with the Whitecaps?
Absolutely. I’m here to help the organization grow, and I think we all look forward to the day that we win our first championship and represent Canada in the Champions League. My job in the organization is to get us there. After the Olympic Games it was not easy to make choices on what to do next, but this fits very nicely.

Last year, you were part of a team that put together a report on the 2011 Stanley Cup riots. What made you a good fit for that high-profile project?
That was largely because, I think, people felt that during the Olympics we managed lots of crowds, and managed to do it peacefully and happily. I think that people thought that I may have something to say that would help prevent this from happening again, but I would not say that is something that I would typically be doing.

You’ve spoken a lot about the various ways you want this team to “win.” Is achieving this simultaneous success – both on the score sheet and in the community – your ultimate goal?
What we want to do is build an organization that is rock solid and firmly grounded and performs at a high level every year. We want to regularly find our way into the Champions League to represent Canada and to be seen everywhere as the model for what a professional sports organization should be about. We want to not only put a good team on the field and create a great fan experience, but also be a huge influencer for the community and help grow the sport.