HOUSTON SABERCATS NAME NEW PRESIDENT

HOUSTON SABERCATS NAME NEW PRESIDENT

The Houston SaberCats are pleased to announce JT Onyett as President of the organization effective June 1, 2019. 

JT joins the SaberCats from the Texas AirHogs Baseball organization where he was President and General Manager with oversight responsibility for all business areas including sales, marketing, finance and facility operations.  Prior to his position with the AirHogs, Onyett was Assistant General Manager of the Sugar Land Skeeters based in Sugar Land Texas from 2013-2016 so even though he is from California, this is a homecoming of sorts for JT and especially his wife, Molly,  who has long time roots to the Houston area. Prior to his time in Sugar Land, JT began his career with the San Diego Padres minor league affiliate, the Lake Elsinore Storm. Spending five seasons there, he rose from intern to Assistant GM before moving to the Skeeters. JT is an Eagle Scout and was active in both the Chamber of Commerce as the Chairman Elect and the Rotary Club in Grand Prairie.

JT replaces the current president, Brian Colona. In January 2018, Colona joined the SaberCats organization to help launch the new team as well as coordinate the construction of the new stadium.  With the recently named, AVEVA Stadium nearing completion, and as part of the long term plan to build an organization with talented individuals experienced in sports and stadium management, Brian will pass the ball to JT for the next phase of the Cats’ life. Colona will remain part of the ownership team and remain involved in various projects currently in the planning stage.

Colona comments on his past 17 months, “Having never seen a minute of rugby in my life until the first SaberCats’ exhibition match, I clearly did not qualify as a ‘Rugby Guy’ but all it took was that first match at Constellation Field to tell me that this sport has a future in Houston. I knew then that I wanted to play a part in making it happen. My time with the Cats has been exhilarating and I’m proud to have been part of getting the team off-the-ground and providing the team and its supporters a beautiful, permanent home – the new AVEVA Stadium.  I can’t wait to see and be a part of the amazing memories that will be made at this new facility.  Our team, fans, sponsors and the entire City, all of us, can be proud to have joined forces to help to make Houston the site of the only multi-field, world class rugby complex in the U.S.  Houston is steadily making itself a destination of choice for many reasons and AVEVA Stadium is an important addition to that list. We are already seeing interest in AVEVA Stadium as a place to hold a number of events in this city that otherwise would go elsewhere. That is really exciting. ” 

JT is eager to return to Houston and be a part of the SaberCats pride. He comments,  “I look forward to building on what the great SaberCats staff and players have already started as we look toward the future. Sport is about bringing people together and AVEVA Stadium will be a community stage year-round. We will work hard to not only make SaberCats matches exciting events but also fully utilize AVEVA stadium 365 days a year to bring more sports and entertainment to Houston.” 

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About Houston SaberCats: The Houston SaberCats are a professional Rugby team based in Houston, Texas.  The SaberCats are one of seven original teams of Major League Rugby  (MLR)  which played its first season 2018.  The League has expanded to nine teams in 2019 and will expand again in 2020 to 12 teams – or more. The team features players from the U.S. and around the world – reflecting the international face of the City itself. The ownership group made-up of Houston and London-based business leaders and headed by majority owner, Miguel Loya, have joined forces with the City of Houston to build a multi-sport complex in the Houston Sports Park which includes three fields large enough for Rugby, soccer, football, lacrosse and field hockey.  One of the fields is within AVEVA Stadium and boasts seating for 3,200 fans with standing-room for another 800 patrons, parking for 1,200 vehicles, locker room facilities, and concessions. AVEVA is the Principal Partner of the SaberCats and holds the naming right to the stadium and the SaberCats’ player proudly display the AVEVA logo across the chest of their game jerseys. For more information about the SaberCats, please visit www.HoustonSaberCats.com.

About AVEVA: AVEVA is a global leader in engineering and industrial software driving digital transformation across the entire asset and operational life cycle of capital-intensive industries. The company’s engineering, planning and operations, asset performance, and monitoring and control solutions deliver proven results to over 16,000 customers across the globe. Its customers are supported by the largest industrial software ecosystem, including 4,200 partners and 5,700 certified developers. AVEVA is headquartered in Cambridge, U.K., with over 4,400 employees at 80 locations in over 40 countries.

Connect with AVEVA:

@avevagroup

www.linkedin.com/company/aveva

www.youtube.com/avevagroup

www.aveva.com

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SaberCats Media Contact:          Anna Munoz, Public Relations :    [email protected]       +832.265.8157