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Columbus residents and Anthony Precourt could both succeed. New buyers are in place to maintain the crew, while their current owner is still on the verge of bringing an MLS franchise to Austin.
The Columbus crew seems ready to stay in central Ohio.
After an uncertain year as to whether owner Anthony Precourt would move the crew from Columbus to Austin, Texas, MLS issued a statement Friday in which he announced that Cleveland Browns' owner's family, based at Knoxville, and the Columbus-based investor group led by Pete Edwards, Jr., joined forces to buy the crew and keep it in Columbus.
Plans also include the construction of a football stadium in downtown Columbus and potential sites have already been discussed, according to a knowledgeable source of the situation that allegedly spoke to SI.com.
"MLS is determined to keep Crew SC in Columbus," MLS announced, "if we continue to progress on these critical components and if we agree on key terms with the investor group."
The news of the participation of the Haslam family was reported for the first time by Ian Thomas of the Journal of Sports Affairs.
At the same time, MLS said it remained committed to Precourt's plan to launch Austin FC as an MLS team in Texas.
"Major League Soccer is thrilled to go forward in Austin with Precourt Sports Ventures and its vision of Austin FC." Whatever the scenario envisioned in Columbus, PSV clearly has a way forward to manage Austin FC as a Major League Soccer club "the league said in a statement. "The strong support from businesses, government officials and Austin football fans is impressive, Austin is a thriving and dynamic city that represents a great opportunity for MLS and we look forward to finalizing the project to become the premier first major league team in the capital of Texas.
"Although the schedule for Austin FC is not yet set, we are certain that the team will start playing by the new stadium and football stadium at McKalla Place, funded by private funds, by 2021." Congratulate the Austin community, municipal leaders and Precourt Sports Ventures for their commitment to achieving this. "
The source who spoke to SI.com said that the most likely scenario for the imminent sale of the crew would involve the league selling its rights of exploitation to the new group of investors, while Mr. Precourt would maintain his participation in the league and Soccer United Marketing.
The new group of investors for Columbus, which does not include Columbus Partnership, a civic organization headed by Alex Fischer, said in a statement: "We are optimistic about our recent conversations with Major League Soccer regarding the potential sale of the company's rights of exploitation. " Columbus Crew SC. Although many details remain to be settled, our alliance works diligently and in collaboration with the league to maintain Crew SC in its community. We are very excited about the unobtrusive but deliberate progress that has been made to date and will keep you informed of the community's evolution as the process progresses.
"MLS's willingness to work with us over the last few months motivates me. I appreciate Commissioner Garber's personal commitment to the Columbus, Haslams and Edwards partnerships. Having community-oriented owners ready to buy the team is an important step forward in achieving our goal of keeping Crew SC in Columbus. "
In addition to being the owner of the NFL Browns, Jimmy Haslam is the brother of Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam. An informed source told SI.com that Governor Haslam was close to John Ingram, the billionaire owner of Nashville's recently-awarded MLS expansion team. On September 10, the night before the US National Team game in Nashville against Mexico, MLS Commissioner Don Garber had dinner with Governor Haslam.
"Both [Haslam] the brothers are talking to each other a lot, "said the source.
It remains to be seen how the Columbus and Austin teams will affect MLS expansion plans. With Cincinnati (2019), Nashville (2020) and Miami (2020) already announced officially, this would leave room for the league to reach its stated goal of 28 teams. The main candidate cities for this position are Sacramento, San Diego, Detroit, Phoenix and St. Louis, the latter having revived its offer with a new investment group and planning this week.
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