San Jose Tabs Tommy O’Hare as Sports and Special Events Director

The city of San Jose, California, has hired former Olympic speed skater Tommy O’Hare as its new temporary sports and special events director to oversee the coordination efforts related to the massive sporting events taking place in 2026.

O’Hara will assume the director role on February 3. The San Jose region will host Super Bowl LX, NCAA Men’s West Regional Basketball Tournament and the FIFA World Cup in 2026. O’Hare will work on city-specific programming and coordinate with external partners such as the Bay Area Host Committee, San Jose Sports Authority, Sharks Sports and Entertainment, San Jose Earthquakes, Team San Jose and others on strategic initiatives.

“Tommy has both personal — as an Olympian — and professional experience in the world of sports and special events,” said City Manager Jennifer Maguire. “I am certain that he will create lasting civic pride and economic impact as we welcome people from all over the world to fly into San Jose Mineta International Airport — next door to PayPal Park and just 10 minutes away from the Levi’s Stadium ­— stay and play in our vibrant and diverse city.”

O’Hare skated the short-track relay for the United States at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano and was a two-time medalist at the Winter Universiade in the short-track relay, winning bronze in 1997 and silver in 1999.

He most recently was the general manager of ClipperVision for the LA Clippers and helped manage over 300 sports and music events across the Intuit Dome, Kia Forum and Frontwave Arena. Prior to that, O’Hare had stints at Google, the United States Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee and Outside Interactive in San Francisco. He worked as the associate director of strategic planning for the USOC in 2006 and with the IOC in 2015, he was the head of digital strategy.

“I’m thrilled to join the team at the city of San Jose and be part of making all the amazing events coming to the city a success and help create a lasting positive legacy for the community,” said O’Hare.