If anyone is down because of the Wednesday meeting between Precourt/Garber (PSV/MLS) and Ginther/Fischer (City/Partnership), don't be.  This ain't over.  Here are two explanations why.  First from Tim Myers, author of the 'What's The Truth' report on Crew management that was posted previously at https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php?topic=13478.msg880459#msg880459:

 

From

 

And from Morgan Hughes, one of the leaders of the #SaveTheCrew movement:

 

From

 

Still no Eastern Conference Finals game this weekend!  But the Crew TIFOSWEAT squad are preparing a new tifo for Tuesday's Massive game at Mapfre.  I wonder what it will be?

 

However, if the TIFOSWEAT squad wanted to bring back this blast from the past - it would be appropriate!!!

 

Today's not Thanksgiving Day.  But there are still a few things that I'm thankful for on this Sunday before Thanksgiving (and the Sunday before Tuesday's home playoff game in Columbus).  Namely, that some of U.S. Soccer's biggest names are speaking out about the #SaveTheCrew movement:

 

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-- Christian Pulisic in his Players Tribune piece: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/

 

"You look at ... what’s happening with the movement to try to save soccer in Columbus — and it’s inspiring."

 

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-- Landon Donovan on his twitter feed: https://twitter.com/landondonovan/status/927331404697911297

 

 

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-- Grant Wahl in the Sports Illustrated print edition:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20171120/columbus-foundation-ceo-pitching-stadium-plan-to-keep-crew

 

The Columbus Foundation is making its pitch to #SaveTheCrew by proposing a plan for a new downtown stadium.

 

http://radio.wosu.org/post/new-columbus-crew-stadium-proposal-draws-immediate-skepticism#stream/0

 

Some of the ideas in the proposal about how to raise the funds drew immediate skepticism.  Still, the CEO of The Columbus Foundation said the goal of putting the proposal out there now is to get the dialogue going and to show the national media at today's playoff game that there are ideas out there to save the team.

New Soccer Stadium Proposed in Downtown Columbus

 

While talks between City leaders and Columbus Crew SC ownership have stalled out, leadership at The Columbus Foundation has reignited efforts to keep the soccer team playing in Columbus for years to come. A preliminary plan to develop “Spirit Park” was unveiled yesterday, which outlines a multipurpose facility that would bring a new soccer arena (and more) to Downtown Columbus.

 

“We are a smart and open community, and, when challenged, it is best if we show ourselves at our best, our most creative, our most understanding,” stated Columbus Foundation CEO Doug Kridler in an open letter published yesterday. “In addition to the necessary frank and tough talk that is happening right now, I believe progress on this issue will be aided through positive idea generation and the invitation for many hands to help build a sustainable solution.”

 

More below:

http://www.columbusunderground.com/new-soccer-stadium-proposed-in-downtown-columbus-we1

 

Well it would take a lot to get this going, but I am not against the idea of it. It would only involve the extension of an existing tax and not a new one. But of course the county commissioners have to immediately say 'no' to that. This would be good for activating that area of downtown and drawing the Neighborhood Launch node(which is already creeping north)farther up to this area. The commissioner could have at least kept his damn mouth shut for now given the timing and all IMO.

 

It would just be a lot easier to sell to the public with the extension of something that is already in effect rather than 'brand new taxes'.  The city and the business community should be coming together to fight for the Crew along with the fans. I have never been a supporter of teams holding cities hostage over new stadiums, but this seems to be a reasonable accommodation(realizing that it is all just a thrown together idea that has not been properly fleshed out yet).

 

Ideally the city or some other entities should try to buy the team and pry it out of the hands of the lying scheming plotting Precourt.

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20171120/columbus-foundation-ceo-pitching-stadium-plan-to-keep-crew

 

The Columbus Foundation is making its pitch to #SaveTheCrew by proposing a plan for a new downtown stadium.

 

http://radio.wosu.org/post/new-columbus-crew-stadium-proposal-draws-immediate-skepticism#stream/0

 

Some of the ideas in the proposal about how to raise the funds drew immediate skepticism.  Still, the CEO of The Columbus Foundation said the goal of putting the proposal out there now is to get the dialogue going and to show the national media at today's playoff game that there are ideas out there to save the team.

 

I still think the 560 W. Nationwide Boulevard site - detailed at https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,7699.msg824545.html#msg824545 - is the more likely downtown location for a new Crew Stadium.  Mostly because the site is prepped for development and owner by NRI, who should be a willing seller/partner.

 

But I've heard about this Abbott-owned location before.  And I'd love to see exactly what the Columbus Foundation has proposed there, planning-wise.  In many ways, this site would be a greater improvement and would have more spin-off developments then NRI's 560 W. Nationwide Boulevard site.  Ultimately, even if this Abbott site doesn't go forward, I agree that its well-timed for today's playoff game to get a dialogue going and show the national media that Columbus does want to save the Crew - even beyond the amazing #SaveTheCrew movement.

-- The Columbus Foundation's twitter post about this downtown stadium proposal: 

 

-- PDF of the Columbus Foundation proposal:  https://www.columbusfoundation.org/umbraco-media/4184/spirit-park-proposal.pdf

 

 

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20171120/columbus-foundation-ceo-pitching-stadium-plan-to-keep-crew

 

The Columbus Foundation is making its pitch to #SaveTheCrew by proposing a plan for a new downtown stadium.

 

http://radio.wosu.org/post/new-columbus-crew-stadium-proposal-draws-immediate-skepticism#stream/0

 

Some of the ideas in the proposal about how to raise the funds drew immediate skepticism.  Still, the CEO of The Columbus Foundation said the goal of putting the proposal out there now is to get the dialogue going and to show the national media at today's playoff game that there are ideas out there to save the team.

 

I still think the 560 W. Nationwide Boulevard site - detailed at https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,7699.msg824545.html#msg824545 - is the more likely downtown location for a new Crew Stadium.  Mostly because the site is prepped for development and owner by NRI, who should be a willing seller/partner.

 

But I've heard about this Abbott-owned location before.  And I'd love to see exactly what the Columbus Foundation has proposed there, planning-wise.  In many ways, this site would be a greater improvement and would have more spin-off developments then NRI's 560 W. Nationwide Boulevard site.  Ultimately, even if this Abbott site doesn't go forward, I agree that its well-timed for today's playoff game to get a dialogue going and show the national media that Columbus does want to save the Crew - even beyond the amazing #SaveTheCrew movement.

 

I would be thrilled with either site, but I think this site has a couple positives that the W. Nationwide site doesn't have.

 

This site seems like it would be much more accessible from the highways given it's proximity to 3rd, 4th, and Spring Streets. Pregame and Postgame traffic would probably flow much better with this location. The W. Nationwide site is located at a dead and would probably take much more infrastructure work to make feasible than this location would.

 

Also, as you mentioned, this could also be a great way to encourage more development in this area of downtown. Being able to connect Columbus State to the Arena District would be great for the CSCC and the city.

 

I think this current plan, as it stands, is a long shot but the fact that we have powerful people willing to step out with a plan like this is a promising sign.

Whether it was intentional or not, I think including Columbus State and a Children's Theatre and cultural center in the 'Abbot-Ross' proposal was a good move-opposition can be made to seem like they are not only anti-Crew and anti-Education, but also 'anti children' as well lol.

So now it is a 'mistake' for a number of reasons.

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/downtown-soccer-arena-proposal-labeled-a-mistake

 

Well we know about the tax part, but what are the other reasons? Will be interesting to know-if we find out. What a sense of resignation to defeat in that response. :(

There must have been some shitkiller provision in it that messed everything up.

There must have been some shitkiller provision in it that messed everything up.

Apparently Abbot 'needs' that nearly vacant land and will not sell.

Crew came really close to winning last night.

 

Aw well.....next week they get another shot.

Sellout crowd provides raucous atmosphere for Crew SC playoffs at Mapfre Stadium

 

Columbus got a look at what a sellout crowd can bring to the atmosphere of a soccer match on Tuesday as Columbus Crew SC hosted Toronto FC during the opening leg of the Eastern Conference Championship at Mapfre Stadium.

 

The official attendance was 21,289 for the game, which finished in a 0-0 tie, sending the two-leg championship series to Toronto's BMO Field for the deciding contest next Wednesday, Nov. 29.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/11/22/photos-sellout-crowd-provides-raucous-atmosphere.html

Crew came really close to winning last night.

 

Aw well.....next week they get another shot.

 

It would have been better if the Crew could've gotten one of those second half chances into the back of the net.  But on the other hand, they didn't have any defensive mess-ups and prevented Toronto from getting a road goal.  So the Crew aren't in a bad position going up to Toronto.  Below is the scoring chart for game #2.  If game #2 ends 0-0, then its extra time.  If the Crew win or tie (other than 0-0), they advance to MLS Cup.  If Toronto wins, they advance to MLS Cup.

 

The most difficult part of next week's game is that Toronto gets Giovinco and Altidore back from their suspensions and the Crew lost Artur to a yellow-card suspension for the match.  However, its likely to be a more open-style match, since Toronto won't be defensively "parking the bus" like they did in Columbus.  And the Crew tend to play better when its an open-style match.  So it's a fairly equal chance with a slight edge to Toronto next week.

 

Crew came really close to winning last night.

 

Aw well.....next week they get another shot.

 

It would have been better if the Crew could've gotten one of those second half chances into the back of the net.  But on the other hand, they didn't have any defensive mess-ups and prevented Toronto from getting a road goal.  So the Crew aren't in a bad position going up to Toronto.  Below is the scoring chart for game #2.  If game #2 ends 0-0, then its extra time.  If the Crew win or tie (other than 0-0), they advance to MLS Cup.  If Toronto wins, they advance to MLS Cup.

 

The most difficult part of next week's game is that Toronto gets Giovinco and Altidore back from their suspensions and the Crew lost Artur to a yellow-card suspension for the match.  However, its likely to be a more open-style match, since Toronto won't be defensively "parking the bus" like they did in Columbus.  And the Crew tend to play better when its an open-style match.  So it's a fairly equal chance with a slight edge to Toronto next week.

 

 

The next game should much more exciting for neutrals watching game, and very nerve-wracking for the fans of either game.

 

It's definitely going to be an open game. Toronto is going to be much more comfortable going forward which should open them up at the back. Keeping Giovinco and Altidore scoreless will be next to impossible, but I'm fairly confident we can manage at least one goal.

Heartbreaking 1-0 loss in the second game of the Eastern Conference Final at Toronto last night.  The Crew came mere inches short of getting a late game goal that would have advanced them into another MLS Cup.  Here's the late game chance they had in the 87th minute:

 

Justin Meram drives a crossing pass from the corner.  The three Crew players lined up at the edge of the 6-yard box are Ola Kamara, Josh Williams and Adam Jahn (left to right):

 

Adam Jahn makes a diving stab at a header, but instead it goes through the box:

 

The ball looks like it will land at the feet of Ola Kamara (our leading goal scorer!)

 

But instead it goes through the legs of Kamara!!!!!

 

 

Here is another angle of just how close it was for the Crew.  That miss was the difference between Columbus advancing to the MLS Cup and Toronto advancing to the MLS Cup!!!

That was such a missed opportunity. Unbelievable! We had a good crowd watching up in Cleveland, all understandably down after this close game.

State legislator to ask Ohio Attorney General to sue to keep Crew SC in town

 

State Rep. Mike Duffey says he plans to ask Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine to consider legal action to keep Columbus Crew SC from leaving town.

 

Duffey, a Republican from Worthington, said there's a case to be made based on Ohio Revised Code 9.67 that came about after Art Modell moved the Cleveland National Football League franchise to Baltimore.

 

The law stipulates that the owner of any professional sports team using a tax-supported facility and receiving public financial assistance can't relocate without approval from the public entity giving it support or without giving six months' notice to give investors a chance to buy the team.

 

In essence, Duffey said the Columbus Crew has been the beneficiary of taxpayer money, including that the facility is located on state land that's been leased below market rate.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/12/06/state-legislator-to-ask-ohioattorney-general-to.html

^The problem, is that Crew could likely announce the move with more than 6 months before the official move, decline all offers to buy the team, and then they would have satisfied the requirements. Though I'm not a lawyer, this seems like a pretty easy law to get out of.

Lawyers say untested 'Browns' law could hinder Crew SC move

 

 

Legal action based on an obscure Ohio law to keep Columbus Crew SC from leaving town would be unprecedented but could deal a blow to Precourt Sports Ventures' Texas two-step.

 

I reached to some local attorneys Wednesday after state Rep. Mike Duffey, R-Worthington, said he planned to ask Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine to see if a section of the Ohio Revised Code dealing with sports franchise moves could be used to stop Precourt from moving the team to Austin, Texas.

 

Gerrod Bede, an attorney and litigator with James E. Arnold & Associates LPA in Columbus, said the request could throw a curveball into the onging saga surrounding the team.

 

"The statute has never been interpreted," Bede said. "It might actually allow the city or 'political subdivision' to pursue an injunction to prevent the team from moving."

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/12/06/lawyers-say-untested-browns-law-could-hinder-crew.html

But wasn't the stadium built with private money and isn't it owned by Precourt?

Privately owned structure on leased, public land.

Interesting: 

 

^ This seems like a poor case to test this law. Compare with Browns or Bengals where both clubs lease the publicly owned stadium that was constructed primarily with public dolllars and the teams had very limited skin in the game.

 

In CBUS, the city gave a ground lease for the stadium that was built privately. Not much different than an office tower in the CBD.

^ This seems like a poor case to test this law. Compare with Browns or Bengals where both clubs lease the publicly owned stadium that was constructed primarily with public dolllars and the teams had very limited skin in the game.

 

In CBUS, the city gave a ground lease for the stadium that was built privately. Not much different than an office tower in the CBD.

 

Should be a good test case for the state - which is what State Rep. Duffey is asking for - because it is State of Ohio owned land, not city-owned land.  Crew/Mapfre Stadium was built on excess State Fairgrounds land.

^ I think the Bengals and Browns and Reds and Tribe have a stronger case

^ I think the Bengals and Browns and Reds and Tribe have a stronger case

 

Were the Bengals and Browns and Reds and Tribe stadiums built on state-owned land?

I was told the Tribe is on leased land, which could become a problem down the line.

Report from the Dispatch's Crew reporter: 

 

DeWine to Precourt: 'My office [glow=red,2,300]will[/glow] enforce' law to keep Crew in Columbus

 

 

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has sent a note to Anthony Precourt about unprecedented potential legal action to keep the Columbus Crew SC from leaving town.

 

"The Columbus Crew is a valued part of the Central Ohio community, and I join with those asking you to keep the Crew in Columbus," DeWine wrote. "However, in light of continued accounts that you are 'exploring ... potentially relocating the club to the city of Austin, Texas' I write to reiterate your obligations under Ohio law."

 

Possible legal action comes from what's known as the Browns' rule, meant to keep taxpayer supported teams from packing up and moving.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/12/08/dewine-to-precourt-my-office-will-enforce-law-to.html

From the interview with Don Garber during halftime today, looks like he is continuing the narrative that the Crew haven't been "profitable". Looks like instead of promotion relegation, we just have termination in MLS. Loved what Alejandro Merano said "You Have to respect your roots."  Its insane. What would Spanish soccer be like if Real Madrid moved to Seville because they had a few seasons where fans didn't show up? Or if Man U moved to Yorkshire? It just doesn't make sense.  The American sports model of moving teams doesn't work for soccer.

And how do they know the team will be profitable in Austin? Poor-mouthing is one of a businesspersons favorite techniques. Hell, I do it!

Given the franchise setup with MLS being different than MLB and NFL, this law may not apply as well as could when it was originally adopted to cover those other sports. Also, I can see how this would be unenforceable since it effectively diminishes the value of the team compared to other cities and states.

And how do they know the team will be profitable in Austin? Poor-mouthing is one of a businesspersons favorite techniques. Hell, I do it!

 

Exactly. Going to Austin is a lateral move, Columbus and Austin are very similar size-wise. Demographics are similar too - Austin's median age is 34.4 and Columbus' is 35.6. The only big difference I see is Austin is more Hispanic and less white than Columbus.

Austin has no other competing teams in the market whereas Columbus has the Jackets and Buckeyes to share the corporate dollars with.

The Hartford Whalers also had none of that type of competition.

Austin has no other competing teams in the market whereas Columbus has the Jackets and Buckeyes to share the corporate dollars with.

 

Ya know there's a little college located in Austin too!

yea, but they are the equivalent to a MAC school. :)

Austin has no other competing teams in the market whereas Columbus has the Jackets and Buckeyes to share the corporate dollars with.

 

I take it you've never been to Austin.

 

yea, but they are the equivalent to a MAC school. :)

 

Okay man, you're digging yourself deeper lol.

 

#gozips #maction

Austin has no other competing teams in the market whereas Columbus has the Jackets and Buckeyes to share the corporate dollars with.

 

I take it you've never been to Austin.

 

 

Nice town, not much of a football team though

So here is the MLS narrative on Columbus and their fans:

 

"The level of public support is significant," he said of the four expansion candidates. "We haven’t seen that in Columbus. Maybe Columbus should look at what Detroit and Nashville and Cincinnati and Sacramento are doing and think, maybe if this thing is turned from where it was to where it needs to be, that the Crew might have been more successful."

 

The MLS is effing stupid.

 

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/12/11/mls-cup-2017-television-ratings-espn-rise-75-percent-over-2015-edition

 

Seattle was the top local market with a 7.0 rating, the second-highest local market rating for MLS Cup on ESPN networks since 2006 (Portland’s 7.3 rating in 2015 remains tops). The rest of the top 10:

 

Louisville (3.2)

Columbus (1.7)

Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News (1.1)

Raleigh-Durham (1.1)

Atlanta (1.0)

Indianapolis (1.0)

Portland (1.0)

Austin (0.9)

Birmingham (0.9)

Memphis (0.9)

Philadelphia (0.9)

 

There's your "metrics."

The MLS is effing stupid.

 

And yet, Cincy is all in on getting into this league  :-X

 

So here is the MLS narrative on Columbus and their fans:

 

"The level of public support is significant," he said of the four expansion candidates. "We haven’t seen that in Columbus. Maybe Columbus should look at what Detroit and Nashville and Cincinnati and Sacramento are doing and think, maybe if this thing is turned from where it was to where it needs to be, that the Crew might have been more successful."

 

 

What does this even mean? Look at what Detroit and Nashville are doing? What are they doing? Nashville doesn't even have a USL team.

 

Sadly, the use of past tense (might have been more successful) seems like a bad omen for the Crew. If the MLS wanted to keep Columbus as a viable market, why would they have not worked with the city and team owners to counsel them on how things could be improved? You know, share some of that knowledge of success in Sacramento and Nashville and what not.

 

It's my understanding that the movement to move the team didn't stem from a single issue like a stadium, but rather a lot of different factors loosely tied to attendance, corporate support (?), aging and poorly located stadium, etc. Obviously the biggest reason for the potential departure of the Crew is the ownership group, but I do wonder why the MLS is so complicit. Maybe they just want to be in a city with better name recognition, as sad as that is. I wonder if things would be different if they were named the Ohio Crew. Columbus still is relatively unknown to people on the coasts (even moreso than Cincinnati), so I could see the MLS wanting to ditch it in favor of cities that have more 'major league' reputations, or that are more widely recognized nationally. Either way, this whole situation has really sucked for Cbus, and I think it's foolish for Cincy to be so eager to join a league that is majorly screwing over a city 1.5 hours away up 71.

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/12/12/mls-commissioner-expansion-teams-timetable-could.html

 

 

Here is the link to the article.

Essentially, Garber laments the lack of local ownership as key reason why Columbus is not serious about supporting the Crew. Also, he essentially pokes them for being outdrawn by a USL team. Finally, he said that the fans and city leaders in Columbus need to look at what Cincy, Det, Sac and Nashville are doing as how to support a team.

 

The ironic thing is outside of Cincy and Sac, the other 2 cities have no team or history.

 

Metrics do not matter. This is the narrative from the front office and ultimately, their opinion matters more than the facts.

Article was behind a paywall.  Are the references to Detroit and Nashville then references to incentive packages put forth by those municipalities?  (In other words, just trying to hype up a bidding war?)

 

Either way, I supported public incentives for the Arena District because (a) it was a new arena for a new team, (b) it was to replace a dilapidated jail that was an active liability for a part of downtown ripe for development, and © it came with a major commitment of corporate support for redevelopment of the entire area, not just the stadium itself (so the promise of follow-on private capital was a lot more real, a lot less speculative, than in many stadium hope-and-pray deals).  Almost nothing that the Crew owners could be demanding from Columbus has much chance of offering comparable upside (or the elimination of comparable downsides).  There's nothing wrong with playing in an old venue; it's not like the place is about to collapse.  (How long did the Clippers play on the West Side, again?)

 

If Columbus and Franklin County "lose" the crew in the sense of not being able to sell out the public purse enough to keep them, I'll consider that a loss worth losing.  Especially because, given the current ownership group, you have to assume that they wouldn't accept a deal that would keep them here for the truly long term.  (By contrast, I think the Blue Jackets now have a deal that will keep them here for something like 20 or even 30 years.)