The San Francisco 49ers have hired Patricia Ernstrom as Vice President of Special Events and Executive Director of the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship Host Committee. Patricia joins the 49ers from the San Jose Sports Authority where she had served as the Executive Director of the City of San Jose’s sports marketing agency and sports commission since 2007. In her new role, Ernstrom will be responsible for ensuring the CFP National Championship is an overwhelming success for the Bay Area and Levi’s Stadium on January 7, 2019.

“Patricia brings a wealth of experience handling large-scale events, and we will be in great hands with her as our primary liaison with management at the CFP and the numerous event organizers we’ll be working with to bring great events to Levi’s Stadium in the future,” said 49ers President Al Guido. “Considering her significant experience running big sports and entertainment events in the Bay Area and her strong familiarity with people throughout the 49ers organization, we couldn’t have imagined a person better suited to take on this role.”

“We are delighted that Patricia will be assuming this role,” said College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock. “She was integral to the bid process because of her vast knowledge of the local community and because she understood our needs. We look forward to watching the host committee succeed under her leadership.”

Working for the San Jose Sports Authority, Ernstrom has been the key point person for Levi’s Stadium and Forty Niners Stadium Management Company representatives throughout the history of the building. She played a pivotal role during the bid process for Super Bowl 50, WrestleMania 31, the NHL Stadium Series, the Copa America Centenario, and the upcoming Gold Cup Final and 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Originally joining the Sports Authority in 1997, she will finish up her duties and join the 49ers full-time in May.

“I am incredibly excited to accept this new position with the 49ers that allows me to build on the work from my previous position, working to bring world-class sports and entertainment events to Silicon Valley,” said Ernstrom. “The construction of Levi’s Stadium ushered in a new era for the events we are able to bring to the South Bay and I look forward working even more closely with everyone at the 49ers and the College Football Playoff.”

In her role as Executive Director, Ernstrom oversaw all aspects of the Sports Authority’s operations, including organizational goals, strategic planning, and partnership development as well as the year-round and annual programs operated by the Sports Authority, including the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame and the REACH Youth Scholarship Program.

Ernstrom has helped bring a diverse and successful set of events to San Jose, including the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championships, NHL All-Star Game, NCAA Women’s Final Four, FIFA Women’s World Cup, dozens of USA governing body championships, NBC’s Dew Action Sports Tour, MLS All-Star Game, NCAA Women’s College Cup, Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, Amgen Tour of California, U.S. Figure Skating Championships and the U.S. Olympic Trials in Gymnastics. In addition to her work at the Sports Authority, Ernstrom served as director of Silicon Valley’s Senior PGA Tour event and has also worked on a Bay Area bid for the Olympic Summer Games.  Collectively, these events have delivered hundreds of millions of dollars of economic impact to the local economy, generated significant national and international exposure and created civic pride through sports.

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