Onyx Co-founder and Managing Partner John Saraceno is quick to admit that becoming the first local supporter of the NY/NJ Host Committee wasn’t about generating leads or solidifying business opportunities.
It was about supporting the state, backing a big event, and adding to a culture at the real estate firm that makes every employee feel special — and part of a special team.
The day before the final, he acknowledged the sponsorship accomplished that, and more.
It wasn’t just that team members got to attend matches — multiple matches, for the most fervent fans. It was about building pride. And putting Onyx’s name in a room with the biggest companies in the state.
“I think our firm loved the idea that when they looked at those billboards and they were driving around the city, and they’re out in Queens and Citi Field, and our name is all over the place,” Saraceno said. “I think there’s a certain amount of pride that you want to create in your own company.”
Onyx, he pointed out more than once, is by far the smallest name on the host committee’s sponsor list. That, to him, is its own kind of win.
“Of every company on that list, we’re by far the smallest,” he said. “But being named with companies like that — how could you be anything other than proud that you actually had a seat at that table?”
Sometimes, Saraceno said, that’s the whole point. “Sometimes it’s just about building a culture.”
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Saraceno is quick to admit that he likes soccer. More than that, he likes big events.
He traces his love of the sport back to 1994, the last time the World Cup came through the region. He saw that the World Cup was more than a series of matches, it was a series of moments.
“I’m an event guy,” he said. “We’re on this earth for a period of time and you’re collecting events in every single part of your life. To me, the guy who collects the most moments is the guy who wins.
“This was my moment to be a part of something that was going to be bigger than anything the United States has ever seen. If it happens again in 20 years, so be it — I’ll be 80, and I won’t be at that event.”
He made sure to use it. Onyx’s sponsorship came with somewhere around 40 tickets a game, spread across different sections of MetLife Stadium — lower bowl, mezzanine, upper bowl — and for most of the tournament, Saraceno moved freely between them.
“I was able to walk around, say hello to my guests,” he said, using the access to spend time with clients, employees, friends and business connections scattered throughout the stadium. It wasn’t cheap — “it’s real money,” he admitted — but the return was never meant to be measured that way.
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Saraceno is quick to admit that he had some second thoughts along the way.
His expectations swung over the course of the year — from believing the tournament would be the single greatest event in history, to worrying it would end up being, “Super Bowl Part Two,” unable to live up to the buildup.
By the time it counted, he said, it had exceeded what he’d hoped for. He credited two people in particular: Gov. Mikie Sherrill and NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri.
“The second (Sherrill) came in, her number one priority was to make sure that the World Cup came off as everybody wanted it to,” he said — noting her fandom (she was at almost every match) and noting how she used the N.J. Economic Development Authority and Choose New Jersey to create fan festivals around the state.
Of Kolluri, and his efforts to handle the transportation logistics, he was even more direct.: “They need to figure out how to make 10 of him.”
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Saraceno is quick to admit that New Jersey got plenty of branding – but perhaps not as much as it hoped.
He saw that in Scotland, where he was the week before the final. He wore his FIFA gear around just to see what kind of reaction he’d get. It was positive. Even if many people thought it was in New York not New Jersey.
Saraceno didn’t care about the confusion.
“I think we’ll always be in the shadow of New York,” he said. “And look, if you’re going to be in the shadow of something, being in the shadow of New York is not so bad.”
The only thing that really mattered was that he got home in time to see the match.
This is where the story turns.
The Saturday storms — and resulted flight cancellations — put Saraceno on a return flight Sunday morning to Boston.
There was a happy ending. Just not for Saraceno, he joked.
“Missing the final was crushing,” he said, “but I know I made (Onyx’s CIO) Steve Sullivan’s year when he got the phone call to fill in for me.
“There’s a bit of solace that my replacement was a huge soccer fan.”
