MLS: Crew have no choice but to consider relocation options, Garber says
The potential relocation of the Columbus Crew was at the top of the agenda when Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber met the media Friday afternoon.
While no decision had been made to relocate the Crew, Garber said the MLS was supportive of Columbus chairman Anthony Precourt and his company, Precourt Sports Ventures, exploring their options in Austin, Texas.
But Garber added the team, one of the league’s original clubs, could stay in Ohio if long-standing issues like poor attendance and local television ratings can be rectified.
Precourt, who announced the possible move in October, has said he plans to go through with the reloca- tion barring the construction of a downtown stadium in Columbus. Garber said discussions with their mayor and city leaders had broken down.
“The mayor and city leaders have said to us they will only engage in those discussions if the club’s ownership discontinues any ongoing discussions in the city of Austin,” Garber said.
“That’s just not possible at this point, so the ball is in the city’s court.”
Leagues don’t like to move teams, Garber said, calling relocation a “last-resort decision” and “not fun.” He said he understands the disappointment for fans in Columbus, but that teams need to operate in a market where it can be viable.
“It’s a legacy team and it’s traumatic when an owner and a league is willing to move a team, whether it’s a legacy team for 20 years or in other leagues where they’ve been around or 50,” Garber said.
Here’s what else Garber touched on Friday in the rare moments he wasn’t fielding questions about the Crew’s future:
Gross viewership in Canada in 2017 was up 35 per cent, compared to 41 per cent in the United States
Garber remains confident the league will get a deal done with soccer star David Beckham and the group proposing a franchise in Miami, but called the deal “the most complicated situation in any market that we’ve experienced” thanks in part to real estate costs and the local political structure.
Garber said f he could “wave a magic wand” he would try to ensure that MLS’s playoffs, which span about six weeks, end before the two-week FIFA break in November. But he said attendance and television ratings for this year’s post-season were up over last year.
JAVA ON THE LINE: As Toronto and Seattle prepared to face each other Saturday, their mayors made a friendly wager on who will take home the MLS Cup.
If Toronto FC wins the championship, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said she will send over a basket of treats including Starbucks coffee, cheese, jerky, and smoked salmon. She also vowed to light Seattle City Hall in red and wear a Toronto FC scarf on Monday.
If Sounders FC comes out on top, Toronto Mayor John Tory said he wil send over a basket with Tim Hortons coffee, a peameal bacon sandwich and maple syrup. And he’ll light the Toronto sign in front of city hall in green and wear a Sounders FC scarf.
Both mayors say they’ll donate $100 for every goal scored by their respective teams to a local non-profit.
Tory’s money would go to the Daily Bread Food Bank and Durkan’s would go to Seattle Shares, an organization that allows municipal employees to contribute to non-profits across the city.