Crew to Austin in 2019..(Maybe)

I think we’ve seen this movie before but don’t think the ending will be the same. Wild Thing, I think I love you

 

Ohio has the worst pro team owners
Art Modell
Marge Schott
Mike Brown
Dan Gilbert
Rachel Phelps
Anthony precourt


List goes on and on

 

Like scrubbing dog shit stains off the astroturf.....

 

If this move comes to pass, what happens with Frankie?

 

I know this is a joke. But look at the reaction from people like Dunseth and Dante Washington on twitter. They knew. If guys like Dunseth and Dante knew, than Frankie knew too.

And sadly, we don't know how long he was lying to us either.

 

Saw Dante's tweet. Doesn't leave much hope.

 

Major League.
Shit.

 

Jesus. MLS can buy land and build housing in freaking Detroit for the chance of an expansion team but they won't step in to help build a stadium for Columbus? ******** this league. ******** everybody.

 

There isn’t any land available in downtown for a stadium. Mapfre is only 3 miles outside of downtown, his excuse for moving is shit and he’s just trying to cover his ass.

 

EVERYBODY in MLS knew!!!! When we were playing hardball with SKC on the Nemeth allocation, they got pissed at us because they worked really hard with Precourt to help him get the Austin deal done.

EVERYONE KNEW. ******** DUDE.... I KNEW!!! And I was too chickenshit to yell it and scream it out loud. I alluded to it here and there on twitter.... but I had all the pieces put together in mid August. I feel like a total piece of shit. I know logically that it wouldn't have mattered.... I tried to get Andrew Erickson on the story in June. And just told him in a DM that I was pretty pissed at him that he didn't at least look into it.

 

Mapfre is in a bad location. Everyone knows it. Even the people who say it isn't; they're suffering from delusion.

I have a hard time believing they couldn't have incorporated a stadium into the Franklinton development plans. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even try.

 

The team is gone. The mayor of Austin said a plan is in place and no city money would be used for a stadium.

 

Bingo

Plenty of land and space was available a few years ago when Precourt started the “search” and put out the feelers for a new stadium. It was all a front and part of his long con.

 

As it turns out, I'm learning that in Precourt's contract with HSG/MLS (not sure who exactly), he was forbidden to relocate the team within the first 10 years. Unless he was going to Austin.
It was always the plan. Everything was a smoke screen waiting for the chips and dominos to line up just right to knock them all over.

 

That this news has been received on par with that of Art Modell moving the Browns is good. Sadly there are a lot of MLS fans who view Columbus as the inevitable next Chivas that must be culled.

The only potential bright spot is the apparent tension between Precourt and the local business community. If the local business community has legitimately attempted to buy the franchise or buy into the franchise, and has actual money behind it, then an avalanche of bad publicity could force Precourt to sell the team and keep it here. There's also the (likely) possibility the local leaders are just covering their asses. The political establishment at the state level has refused again and again to get behind pro soccer, and I don't see it happening now.

But if the deal for the local bigwigs is, let us in on the profits and we'll help make the stadium happen, but Precourt's saying no, I want *all* the money from the new stadium, then there may be some hope that this gets resolved by the team staying. Get out there and protest! Complain! Call your congressman or woman. Call Precourt! Call MLS! Now's the chance. Tomorrow has to be hell for Garber, Precourt, Austin City officials, and anyone else trying to push a move through.

The bizarre success of Cincinnati has made the Crew's inability to get things going pretty glaring. I personally don't think the problem is with the market, or with CCS, but I do think there there has been pretty bad management in the team for a lot of years. To me there is no reason that should be Cincy doing gangbusters but Columbus is not.

Adam Jardy's blog post about Clark Hunt having serious reservations about Precourt is very interesting reading. It appears Clark and Dan may have allowed themselves to be taken in, and sold the team to the wrong person. Precourt appears to have confirmed Clark's initial impressions. (Ed: Although, the reports that the sale/lease had an out clause for moving to Austin suggest that Clark knew what was up.)

Anyway...I've followed this team since the start. The last few years have been dreadful in a number of ways (and some things like the tv deal were so bad some people wonder if Precourt intentionally tried to kill interest in the team) but this is my team. I can't imagine them up and disappearing. I went through this with the Browns, and can't believe it's happening again.

To me the Crew are more important than whatever number they draw or how many prawns are in the CCS luxury boxes. 1st SSS, USA-Mexico, charter member of the league, near the top for total wins, and so much more. The Hunts and the team were pioneers and set the stage for the league's later successes.

If MLS has any sort of sense of history they won't let this happen. The Crew are MLS's history. They should stay in Columbus.

 

If there is an out-pour of local interest in the team, maybe MLS handles it like the NFL handled Modell ********ing over Cleveland. Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise. MLS' struggling teams are all from MLS v. 1.0. A complete reboot may be what is needed. I have absolutely no doubt Columbus can support a team given its treated as more than a stepping stone.

 

The Quakes got their team back two years after they went to Texas too (and that team won the SS in their last season and then immediately won two Cups in Houston). Do what you can on the stadium front and try to find a local owner.

 

Re: getting a replacement team: If MLS is as eager to get out of Columbus as they seem, what makes you think Columbus isn't on a permanent MLS blacklist?

Given Columbus' reluctance to spend tax money on stadiums, this move was probably inevitable eventually. Given the prevalence of tax funding in the financing of modern stadiums, cities as reluctant as Columbus to spend tax money on stadiums may not be able to remain in the big leagues for long.

 

This guy is a weasel, plain and simple. He always wanted out. And now he's going to say he gave it the old college try with 5 years, and well hey, you've got FCC down the road just rearing to go, so no hard feelings, you can just support them Columbus. It's been fun, gotta run. Oh, and to cement things, apparently he is one of the 5 owners on the expansion board. Thus why we've not seen bids from Austin, and guaranteeing Cincy gets in to "replace" us, and smooth over the market. And Garber wins in the end as the 2008 MLS Cup Champion Columbus SCrew play their final season, ironically enough, in the 10th anniversary on that great season. One can only hope that in the dead man walking season, they close up the Circle of Honor by inducting GBS and doing it right. And let's hope we can get an ownership group here to take back the name. Because I'm afraid that even if, by some miracle, this isn't set in stone, and somehow a stadium comes through, I don't think I will be able to watch games by a Precourt owned team.

Also, an aside - does anyone else envision Wil Trapp literally playing until the very last Columbus home game and then asking for a trade? Cause given his history with the city, I would want to play here as much as possible until I can't anymore. And then be as far away from that douchenozzle as possible.

 

Columbus will never NEVER BUILD A STADIUM FOR AN OUT OF TOWN OWNER EVER.

too bad the crew was not owned by a local owner.. Precourt can go to hell.

 

That's why I wanted Eric Clapton to buy the team. It would have been so bad ass.

 

"He fooled lots and lots of people."


You knew, folks. You knew.

 

The only silver lining I see here is that there is a local ownership group that could have bought out Precourt for 100% of the team's value. If he leaves, the Columbus Crew will come back. We know he hates the colors, the name, and the stadium, so all can be lying in wait a la San Jose.

 

I will support Cincinnati if they get a MLS team and we lose ours but I won't go to many gms and certainly won't get season tickets. I love Columbus & Cincinnati teams and dislike All other teams from America.