MLS working on sale of Crew SC to Haslams
Browns owners and Columbus family hope to save team.
COLUMBUS — Columbus Crew SC has not yet been saved, but on Friday the team’s future in Ohio’s capital city took a significant step toward permanence.
Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam and the Edwards family of Columbus are part of a prospective ownership group seeking to purchase Crew SC and keep it in Columbus, Major League Soccer announced.
“Major League Soccer and the Columbus Partnership have been working together for several months on a plan to keep Crew SC in Columbus and we have made significant progress,” the statement read. “Recently, the Haslam Family — along with the Columbus-based Edwards Family — have joined the effort to keep Crew SC in Columbus.
“MLS is committed to keeping Crew SC in Columbus should we continue to make progress on these critical components and agree to key terms with the investor group.”
There is no set deadline by which MLS and the Columbus buyer group need to complete a sale in order for the team to remain in town — and not be moved to Austin, Texas — nor is there a deadline by which the Crew needs to be playing in a new stadium near downtown, a source with knowledge of the situation said.
The source said that while nothing has been finalized, the most likely purchase scenario involves the local investors purchasing the Columbus MLS rights from the league and current Crew operator Precourt Sports Ventures transferring its equity interest in the league to an Austin franchise, presumably an expansion team.
A final site for a new stadium in Columbus has not been selected, the source said, but MLS officials have seen the plot west of Nationwide Arena in the Arena District during previous visits. The site has long been viewed as a top choice for a new soccer stadium. Until such a stadium is built, Crew SC would continue to play at Mapfre Stadium.
Meanwhile, the league said there is a “clear path forward” for Precourt Sports Ventures to begin play in Austin as Austin FC no later than 2021. PSV and Crew investor-operator Anthony Precourt had announced their plan to explore relocation of Crew SC to Austin, Texas, last October.
“While timing for Austin FC is still to be finalized, we are confident that the team will begin play no later than 2021 at the new, privately financed stadium and soccer park at McKalla Place,” the MLS statement read. “We applaud the Austin community, city leaders and Precourt Sports Ventures for their commitment to making this happen.”
A statement from PSV acknowledged the potential sale of the Crew and echoed the league on its commitment to building a stadium and fielding a team in Austin.
City of Austin spokesman David Green said the announcement does not change the terms of the negotiations between PSV and Austin. Austin City Council voted in August to approve a term sheet between PSV and MLS for a stadium on cityowned land in north Austin. The final lease and development agreement between the two parties is on track to be completed between mid-November and mid-December.
“We look forward to bringing Major League Soccer and the community benefits that come with it to Austin and working with PSV on making that a reality,” Green said in a statement.
Austin City Council representative Leslie Pool, who was a strong critic of PSV throughout its efforts to secure a stadium site in Austin, called the news “a big win for Columbus.”
The announcement Friday broke months of silence regarding a potential new ownership group and followed several meetings between MLS leadership, including MLS deputy commissioner Mark Abbott, Columbus Partnership CEO Alex Fischer and prospective owners in Columbus in recent months.
Fischer first told The Dispatch in June that he had signed a nondisclosure agreement and was participating in a valuation of Crew SC with a local ownership group.
“I am energized by the willingness of MLS to collaborate with us over the past several months,” Fischer said in a statement. “I appreciate Commissioner Garber’s personal involvement with the Columbus Partnership, the Haslams and the Edwardses. Having community-oriented owners ready to purchase the team is a significant step forward in achieving our goal to keep Crew SC in Columbus.”
Jimmy and Dee Haslam have owned the Browns since 2012, when they purchased the team from Randy Lerner for a reported $1.05 billion.
The Edwards family runs the Edwards Cos., a real estate and construction company. Dr. Pete Edwards Jr. has been the Crew’s team physician since the team’s founding in 1996.
“While there are many details to be worked out, our alliance is working diligently and collaboratively with the League to keep the Crew in its community,” the Columbus Partnership, the Haslams and Edwards Jr. said in a statement. “We are very excited about the quiet but deliberate progress that has been made to date and will keep the community updated as this process moves forward.”