May 10, 20187 yr GAME #11: https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2018-05-09-columbus-crew-sc-vs-philadelphia-union/recap #SaveTheCrew won in the court Tuesday. How about a Crew win on the field Wednesday? With the Crew playing the second of a 3-games-in-8-days stretch (and Santos serving a red-card suspension) the starting lineup got jumbled up some. Rookie draft pick Luis Argudo made his first MLS appearance in place of Higuain (who was on the bench and used as a 2nd-half sub). Zardes, Martinez and Hansen filled out the offensive front - Trapp and Artur (who didn't play last Saturday) paired at midfield - while on the defensive side Valenzuela and Abubakar were reunited with Mensah and Afful (who didn't play last Saturday). The offensively challenged Philadelphia Union had scored zero goals in their three road games prior to this one - and in the first half it looked like they were tying to recreate the 0-0 result from March. They ceded possession to the Crew and tried to keep our offense away from any dangerous scoring chances. The best scoring chance of the first half was an Afful blast in the 41st minute from the edge of the 18-yard box that hit the left post. The Philly defense continued to cede long-range shots and some half-chances in the second half. But it was a couple of keeper miscues that led to the game-winning Crew goal in the 53rd minute. -- Afful launched a cross into the 6-yard box that the ticked off the Philly keeper's fingertips. Martinez beat a Philly defender to the ball and returned it back in front of goal, again ticking off the Philly keeper's hands. That deflected the ball softly to Gyasi Zardes who was left wide open right in front of the net for an easy tap in. Steffen didn't get overly-pressured by the Philly offense, but he did need to make a nifty save in the 90th minute to preserve the 1-0 victory. The Crew rise to 5-3-3 and 4th in East with the win.
May 13, 20187 yr GAME #12: https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2018-05-12-columbus-crew-sc-vs-chicago-fire/recap The Crew finished up their 3-games-in-8-days stretch with a dominating 3-0 win over the visiting Chicago Fire. Both teams were saved an early deficit by shots that hit posts (Afful at 10' and Chicago at 21') before Columbus opened in the scoring in the 28th minute. Zardes made a well-timed run into the Chicago box to head on an Afful cross and was pulled down by a Chicago defender. Columbus was awarded a PK, which was converted by Higuain. Columbus doubled the lead early in the second half on a really nice sideline run by Niko Hansen in the 50th minute. Hansen (who subbed in for Santos after he suffered a first half injury) beat two defenders to race into the 6-yard box. Drawing the keeper and the last defender over the him, he passed the ball to a wide-open Zardes who tapped it in for the Crew's second goal. The Crew's third goal came in the 70th minute off some nifty Berhalter-style interplay. Jimenez found Clark in space near the edge of the 18-yard box. Clark advanced it and passed the ball toward Grella in a center position. Then Grella makes a smart dummy play to let the ball pass between his legs and onto Zardes, who was unmarked. Zardes blasted it into the net for his 2nd goal of the game. With the game decided, Zardes nearly got a hat-trick in the 75th minute on a header off a corner kick - but the header ticked off the left post. Instead, Zardes would be satisfied with the brace and the top spot in MLS with 8 goals on the season.
May 13, 20187 yr That 3-0 win wrapped up an amazing 3-games-in-8-days stretch for the Crew. They got three consecutive shut-outs to capture 7 of a possible 9 points in this difficult week. Last night's win vaulted Columbus (at least temporarily) into 2nd-place in the East. And they might have gotten 9 of 9 points (and vaulted into 1st) if not for the 15th minute Santos red-card in Seattle. As good as this past week was for the Crew, it was an awful week for Santos. First he gets that red-card and must sit out the second mid-week game. Then in last night's game, Santos appeared to pull something in his right leg after the opening kickoff. He tried to limp on but needed to be replaced in the 10th minute. Although Santos was not going to play a full-90 in these three games, he ended up only playing 25 minutes of the 270+ minutes of game play in this past week! No word yet on the severity of Santos' injury. The team will go back to a more normal schedule now, traveling to Boston to take on the Revs next Saturday night - followed by a nationally broadcast game the following Sunday at Kansas City.
May 18, 20187 yr #SaveTheCrew starting bigger push to keep the team in Columbus This week marked the kickoff of a three-, possibly four-phase campaign to push for local ownership and community support of the Crew SC, led by #SaveTheCrew. The first phase of the campaign, dubbed Project 2019, started at noon Thursday with a community pledge, where fans promise to buy season tickets or a "multiple match plan" in 2019 if local buyers take over the team. So far, the free effort has received around 4,000 pledges, which people can back out of at anytime. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/05/18/savethecrew-starting-bigger-push-to-keep-the-team.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 20, 20187 yr GAME #13: https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2018-05-19-new-england-revolution-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap The Crew traveled to rainy New England in the first part of an Ohio/Massachusetts doubleheader derby on Saturday night. The first half started well for the Crew. But despite their 11 first-half shots, the match was scoreless at halftime. The second half play seemed to get as soggy as the rain-soaked turf and if looked like the Crew might have to be content with a road draw point. But in the 85th minute, the Crew got a moment of magic off a corner kick. The Higuain-kicked ball found Lalas Abubakar's unruly mane for a game-winning header and a 1-0 road victory! If you look at that game-winning goal, it was set up with some good pre-kick movement between Abubakar and Zardes (who the Revs were double-marking all game long) and some bad switch-off defending from the Revs. --- Abubakar lined up behind Zardes. As Zardes drives forward and to the right, Abubakar swings left and into the open. The Revs defender marking Abubakar gets blocked by Zardes and the Revs defender marking him. The Revs defender marking Zardes then realizes too late that Abubakar is wide open for the game-winning header. It was a nice bit of interplay from the Crew - and a welcome change from previous Berhalter teams that seemed to struggle on set plays. This was the fourth consecutive shutout for the Crew. Previous Berhalter teams struggled on the defensive side, but the 2018 Crew have given up the least goals in MLS so far. Columbus is now 7-3-3 and tied for 2nd in points in the East with NYCFC and only one point behind first-place Atlanta. The Crew will travel to KC next Sunday to face the top team in the Western Conference on national TV.
May 24, 20187 yr #SaveTheCrew Pens Open Letter to Future Columbus Crew SC Owners Dear Future Owner of Columbus Crew SC, We’d like to start by saying thank you. Thank you for standing up for our city. Thank you for believing, and investing, in the future of our soccer club. We will always and forever be grateful. Over the last seven months our group has worked tirelessly with Crew fans everywhere to reach this pivotal moment. We’ve spread the message worldwide, rallied the local community together, and have actively worked on marketing promotions and brand building designed to strengthen the deep roots of our city’s team. In short, we’ve created the most effective grassroots movement in U.S. sports history. Time after time, we’ve heard from the dedicated Crew fanbase, who feel they’ve been abandoned. Their voices ignored. Their community forgotten. Columbus Crew SC has never had majority local ownership, and thus has never fulfilled its true and glorious potential. It all changes with you. After you invest in this team, Save The Crew pledges to place the full might of this movement squarely behind you. We promise to support you completely. We will use every strategic tool at our disposal to ensure that the Crew is a massively successful franchise, on and off the field, in Columbus for generations to come. To that end we recently announced an initiative to collect season ticket pledges for the 2019 season (savethecrew.com/project2019/pledge). More than 5,000 season tickets were pledged to a new, local, investor/operator within the first 48-hours. This list is part of our commitment to help you hit the ground running. The shadow cast by history is a long one. When the book is written about how our entire community rallied to save this team, the final chapter will be about the local Columbus leaders who stepped in and Saved The Crew. Respectfully, Your friends at Save The Crew https://www.columbusunderground.com/savethecrew-pens-open-letter-to-future-columbus-crew-sc-owners-ls1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 27, 20187 yr The 'best in the west' hosts the 'next best in the east'. KC is 1st in the West with 24 points in 12 games, while Columbus is 2nd in the East with 24 points in 13 games. Hope tonight's match can live up to its hype. And if it doesn't, at least I've killed two hours before the Cavs game 7 tonight. GO CREW! GO CAVS! #OHIOPROUD
May 28, 20187 yr GAME #14: https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2018-05-27-sporting-kansas-city-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap Well, last night's game didn't really live up to the hype of having two top MLS teams facing each other on national TV. But you can't blame the Crew for that. First, it was a broiling 95 degrees in full sun that required two hydration breaks at 30' and 75' marks. Those conditions had to have weighed on the players. But the second reason, really hamstrung the Crew. At the end of the first half, Higuain made a slide for a loose ball. It was 50-50 chance against a KC player who was running to the ball. The KC player got to the ball a split-second before Pipa's foot could reach the ball and the KC player got tripped up. No foul was called by the ref - but when he went to video-review, the ref gave Pipa a red card. IMO, it was definitely a foul, possibly a yellow card, but a very harsh red card for Higuain. Prior to the Higuain red card, Columbus had the better chances in the first half. A Zardes header at 24' from 6-yards out was saved by the KC keeper. A Zardes run into the box at 39' could have been a foul and a PK. Then, only 2 minutes later at 41', another Zardes run in the box did get called a foul and a PK. Unfortunately, the penalty-kick taken by Zardes got stopped by the KC keeper to keep the game at 0-0. Even with the Crew down one man for the entire second half, Columbus had nearly as many decent scoring chances as KC did. KC's best chances occurring at 51' (when a shot hit the post) and at 63' (when Steffen made smart save on a hard KC shot). The Crew were lucky to not be down an additional man at 55' when Martinez took a swing at a KC player's head. It was unclear whether Martinez's hand actually made contact with the KC player's head and he wasn't given a red card (or even a yellow). But it was reckless play, probably much more deserving of a red than Pipa's play. But the Crew hung on for a 0-0 road draw while down a player for at least half the game. The second such 0-0 draw this month (they also did it on 5/5 at Seattle). The draw point moved Columbus into a points-tie for 1st-place in the East.
May 28, 20187 yr Yesterday, the Columbus Crew became the focus of a major BBC sports story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44259849
May 29, 20187 yr Yesterday, the Columbus Crew became the focus of a major BBC sports story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44259849 No fake news there! The Beeb did a great job covering all the angles of this situation.
May 29, 20187 yr There was a cool moment in the KC game when defender Gaston Sauro came in the game in the 75th minute. It was a defensive replacement that helped the Crew see out a road draw while down a player. But that wasn't what was great about it. What was great about it was this was Sauro's first time back for the Crew since he went down with a knee injury in October 2016. (More about this at https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,13478.msg910052.html#msg9100520 Doctors gave him a 50 percent chance of ever playing again. But after a total cartilage replacement in his left knee and 18 months of rehab, Sauro made it back to the field. And with this being the only MLS game on Sunday, lots of Sauro's former teammates took to twitter to congratulate him: https://www.massivereport.com/2018/5/28/17402018/twitter-reacts-gaston-sauro-returns-for-columbus-crew-sc-mls-2018
May 29, 20187 yr One more look back at the KC game - this time in praise of the KC fans. They were more than welcoming to the Crew fans that made the long trip to Kansas City (as seen on TV during the national anthem): And the KC fans have been more than supportive of the #SaveTheCrew movement: Maybe the KC fans understand more than most how Crew fans feel. Less than a decade ago, KC was a struggling MLS franchise playing at a converted minor league ballpark and drawing low attendance. But now, after rebranding and moving into a beautiful soccer specific stadium, the KC franchise is healthy and strong. It shows what good local ownership committed to improving a soccer club can do, as opposed to the absentee disengaged ownership the Crew are currently suffering under. KC's wonderful support almost makes me regret liking this Nordecke tifo from a few years back that takes a gentle jab at the Sporting KC (Wizards) - almost:
May 29, 20187 yr Having the defending Memorial champion wear a #SaveTheCrew hat would be a good way to promote sales of that hat. If only Columbus was a good soccer market that supported business metrics. Well, look at that!
May 30, 20187 yr Interesting Garber's view on the Crew situation. Think things are not looking well. Need local owners to step up. https://www.wcpo.com/sports/fc-cincinnati/mls-commissioner-don-garber-tells-wcpo-what-held-up-fc-cincinnati-franchise-for-so-long?page=2
May 30, 20187 yr Thanks for your concern B_b. Rest assured that Cincinnati and Columbus will #KeepHellReal.
May 30, 20187 yr It sounds like the key is having someone with the deep pockets in Columbus to buy the team and provide the needed sponsorship. Are there key people in Columbus willing to take this on?
May 30, 20187 yr ^ can you speculate on anyone? I am not in the market so I don't hear the rumors. What do you hear? To me, the only thing I have heard is the local brewery guy wants to buy them but that does not seem feasible. Do you have any reasonable leads you may be willing to share?
May 30, 20187 yr Look B_b, I get that you have a deep concern for keeping the Crew in Columbus, keeping Hell Real and for all things Columbus - but you asked these questions before in this thread. And they have been addressed previously in this thread: https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,13478.msg897945.html#msg897945 https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,13478.msg906633.html#msg906633 https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,13478.msg906933.html#msg906933 Beyond that, there is no further public information on local buyers of the Crew - other than the #SaveTheCrew Modell Law lawsuit against PSV/MLS. In that lawsuit, the judge granted a 90-day toll (pause) to allow for PSV/MLS to open its books to unnamed potential local investors in a process that would be overseen by the judge: https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,13478.msg912080.html#msg912080 Or this Dispatch article about MLS officials meeting with unnamed potential local investors back in April: http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180419/crew-sc--major-league-soccer-officials-have-met-with-potential-local-investors
May 30, 20187 yr Interesting Garber's view on the Crew situation. Think things are not looking well. Need local owners to step up. https://www.wcpo.com/sports/fc-cincinnati/mls-commissioner-don-garber-tells-wcpo-what-held-up-fc-cincinnati-franchise-for-so-long?page=2 I wouldn't say "things are not looking well," if anything his comments are fairly vague and ambiguous. There is this key quote, though: Is there a way the partnership can deliver the kind of corporate support that this team (FC Cincinnati) has playing in a lower division?” This seems to be one of the Crew's main stumbling blocks/areas where "business metrics" could be improved. The Jackets, OSU, and even the Clippers enjoy strong corporate support and sponsorship throughout their stadiums and marketing efforts. Hutnington, Value City, etc. Meanwhile, over at Crew Stadium, you can see that the corporate support is a bit lacking or driven from smaller businesses. I've heard speculation that a lot of this ties back to Hunt's efforts to lure an NHL team with John H. McConnel. When McConnel and Hunt had a falling out and Hunt established the Crew as another project (while JHM went on to secure the Blue Jackets himself), supposedly corporate bridges were burned and very minimally repaired over the Hunt family's ownership. When J. Anthony Precourt entered the scene, there was a chance to do more. Yet, it's been clear he was never really interested in making an effort. Hopefully the STC movement shows that there isn't just great and vocal fan support, but that business community can step up too. I think the more pressing thing to watch for now is Austin and how/if they approve a stadium site. So far, PSV's overtures have been less than stellar and not very well received.
May 30, 20187 yr Didn't Brew Dog step up and say they'd buy the team if it was for sale? Seems like one interested investor at least. Very Stable Genius
May 30, 20187 yr Hopefully the STC movement shows that there isn't just great and vocal fan support, but that business community can step up too. I think the more pressing thing to watch for now is Austin and how/if they approve a stadium site. So far, PSV's overtures have been less than stellar and not very well received. Well said. And I agree that the Precourt/MLS stadium situation in Austin will likely determine if its #MLS2ATX or #SaveTheCrew. There's supposed to some PSV/City of Austin stadium analysis plan presented on June 1. That could bring some clarity to the stadium situation in Austin - or possibly not. If the past can inform the future of the Austin stadium situation, its that there haven't been any "done deals" in Austin yet. When PSV made his Austin announcement some 7 months, "everyone" assumed this was a done deal. Then PSV pushed for a stadium site announcement "by the end of 2017". Then it was "by the beginning of the 2018 MLS season". Now its "before city council's July recess". All the while going from PSV saying "Butler Shores Park across from DT Austin is the best choice - all other choices are inferior" to "Guerrero Park a little further away from DT is the best choice - all other choices are inferior" to "this former chemical dumping ground 10 miles away from DT at McKella Place is now the best choice"(!) -- And now PSV is going to try and get every red cent (and then some) from Austin for the privilege of partnering with PSV. PSV might still get their stadium built in Austin, but their own incompetence has been as much of an ally to the #SaveTheCrew movement as anything Columbus and Crew fans have done. Basically, what this adds up to, is that this "done deal" move to Austin is still very "not done".
May 31, 20187 yr I hate to do this but... Precourt unveils renderings of proposed Austin soccer stadium for Crew SC Precourt Sports Ventures has released conceptual renderings for a potential soccer stadium at McKalla Place in Austin, Texas. PSV wants to move the Columbus Crew SC of Major League Soccer from Ohio to Austin. The company is focusing on McKalla Place, a 24-acre city-owned tract in north Austin. The conceptual development renderings released Thursday from Gensler, TBG and CAA ICON include a southwest aerial view, a northwest entry gate view and a view of the stadium interior. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/05/31/precourt-unveils-renderings-of-proposed-austin.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 31, 20187 yr Interesting Garber's view on the Crew situation. Think things are not looking well. Need local owners to step up. https://www.wcpo.com/sports/fc-cincinnati/mls-commissioner-don-garber-tells-wcpo-what-held-up-fc-cincinnati-franchise-for-so-long?page=2 I wouldn't say "things are not looking well," if anything his comments are fairly vague and ambiguous. There is this key quote, though: Is there a way the partnership can deliver the kind of corporate support that this team (FC Cincinnati) has playing in a lower division? This seems to be one of the Crew's main stumbling blocks/areas where "business metrics" could be improved. The Jackets, OSU, and even the Clippers enjoy strong corporate support and sponsorship throughout their stadiums and marketing efforts. Hutnington, Value City, etc. Meanwhile, over at Crew Stadium, you can see that the corporate support is a bit lacking or driven from smaller businesses. I've heard speculation that a lot of this ties back to Hunt's efforts to lure an NHL team with John H. McConnel. When McConnel and Hunt had a falling out and Hunt established the Crew as another project (while JHM went on to secure the Blue Jackets himself), supposedly corporate bridges were burned and very minimally repaired over the Hunt family's ownership. When J. Anthony Precourt entered the scene, there was a chance to do more. Yet, it's been clear he was never really interested in making an effort. Hopefully the STC movement shows that there isn't just great and vocal fan support, but that business community can step up too. I think the more pressing thing to watch for now is Austin and how/if they approve a stadium site. So far, PSV's overtures have been less than stellar and not very well received. It just seems like the lack of a local ownership for over 23 years has not allowed the team to connect with the corporate community the way the Clippers and Jackets do. Also, it seems from what I see posted and read that ultimately, the hope to save the crew rests on whether Austin decides to move ahead with the stadium. If they don't, the Crew stays. I don't see this as a powerful position to be in. Now again, I am not in the local market, so I don't know the rumors in the Columbus corp community which was why I asked.
May 31, 20187 yr Think if someone was rubbing elbows with the ~10-15 people (I'm guessing) in Columbus with enough disposable income to buy the Crew they probably aren't breaking that news on UO, no offense. All I've seen is Brew Dog saying they'd like to buy the team and sell half of it back to the fans. It looks like they globally had ~$125m in revenue last year, so I'm sure crowdsourcing would have to be used. Other than that, I've only read about "anonymous" or "unnamed" interested parties. Very Stable Genius
May 31, 20187 yr I've heard speculation that a lot of this ties back to Hunt's efforts to lure an NHL team with John H. McConnel. When McConnel and Hunt had a falling out and Hunt established the Crew as another project (while JHM went on to secure the Blue Jackets himself), supposedly corporate bridges were burned and very minimally repaired over the Hunt family's ownership. If true, this helps explain a lot. Throughout the Crew saga, I've been wondering why the real power players in Columbus haven't stepped up to put some muscle into the the save the Crew movement. The grassroots effort has been incredible, and very impressive. But money talks, and to my knowledge, the Cbus power brokers (Les Wexners, Wolfe family, Nationwide, etc) have been pretty quiet. Brew Dog is not a viable buyer for a major league team. Not when the league is courting billionaire owners. I sincerely hope the Crew stay in Columbus, but I think the FC Cincinnati announcement all but sealed their fate to move to Austin.
May 31, 20187 yr ^ Exactly my point, beyond Brew Dog, which is doing it for publicity, and MLS would not allow them to purchase the team because of lack of adequate capital, I have not heard other viable names in the rumor mill. YOu would think Wexner or someone in the Shottenstein family would step up and talk about getting a group together.
May 31, 20187 yr ^ Exactly my point, beyond Brew Dog, which is doing it for publicity, and MLS would not allow them to purchase the team because of lack of adequate capital, I have not heard other viable names in the rumor mill. YOu would think Wexner or someone in the Shottenstein family would step up and talk about getting a group together. They might be behind closed doors. Who knows. Very Stable Genius
June 2, 20187 yr I hate to do this but... https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/05/31/precourt-unveils-renderings-of-proposed-austin.html Naw, I don't mind seeing renderings that look like Crew Stadium spraypainted green without its corners and with a roof slapped on top. I'm sure those cost PSV a pretty penny. Although they aren't nearly as inspirational as the renderings they showed for Butler Shores Park across from Downtown Austin.
June 2, 20187 yr But as awesome as those new PSV Austin Stadium renderings were, it helps to place them into the context of the proposed McKalla Place location. Here is the proposed stadium site plan released earlier in May by PSV: Here's a zoomed in version of the stadium site plan. As you can see, the stadium does indeed fit onto the nearly 25-acre city-owned site. And there's room for 1000 parking spaces (broken up into three surface parking lots), a rail station (if Austin will build one and build an additional track for the station) and a bicycle valet spot for 500 bikes(!). The site plan also shows three "access" lanes to this site, which otherwise has zero street frontage onto the two main streets, Braker Lane and Burnet Road: Here's an aerial view of the city-owned McKalla Place site (outlined in orange) with the two future access points hi-lighted in yellow). If it look like the future access point going from the site to Burnet Road passes through an existing office building - that's because it does(!?!). The reason the City of Austin owns this 25-acre site is because a chemical company went bankrupt and abandoned it. The city then took ownership and cleaned up the hazardous chemicals remaining on the site - or in the words of PSV's lobbyist in an Austin public meeting "We're reasonably certain the City removed everything that will explode from the site"(!): The on-site parking in the proposed site plan for 1000 cars and 500 bikes would only accommodate 3000 of the 20,000-seat stadium (according to PSV). A rail station (if built at this site) would also accommodate additional game-day people. But PSV estimates that at least half of the 20,000 game-day crowd would be required to use the existing parking in the nearby development called The Domain. Here's another aerial view of the McKalla Place site turned toward The Domain development: Now, it does look like there is enough parking in The Domain to accommodate game-day crowds. As long as those crowds don't mind walking at least 15 minutes during 100+ temps. And as long as they don't mind crossing this 8-lane intersection (twice!). Such an amazing MLS game-day experience! Now let's look at one of the main streets next to this proposed stadium site - Braker Lane. This is a view of Braker Lane looking west at its intersection with Burnet Road. PSV's stadium would be built behind the Discount Tire(!) Going further west, you can see more of Discount Tire and the existing sidewalk along Braker Lane: Still further west on this wonderous trek to the stadium, we find a Life Storage building (which I'm assuming is not for the storage of cryogenically frozen bodies). Across the street is something Austin is rightly famous for - authentic Tex-Mex cuisine. This authentically Austin restaurant is called Taco Bell: Just past the Life Storage building is a 24-pump Sunoco Station. The sidewalk soldiers on: Finally, we get to the future access point along Braker Lane to the proposed stadium site. Now, you might be thinking at this point that at least the stadium will have some decent visibility from the street here. Sorry to disappoint. That dirt lot in this photo is an under construction apartment development that will block that view. However, "Fresh Tacos" are available inside the Sunoco Station according to a sign there! This is a photo at the only existing access point into the McKalla Place site from Burnet Road. It can easily accommodate a single lane of traffic (two lanes if trucks are banned!): But even if that lane behind the Discount Tire is too narrow, it could always be widened. And with the amount of traffic in the area, PSV is confident that ingress/egress here will flow smoothly with minimal traffic backups! PSV estimates smooth traffic flow and minimal backups for the entirety of Burnet & Braker. See how smoothly the existing traffic flows! Adding a 20,000-seat stadium here can only make the traffic better, right? Which why PSV's stadium site plan and location seem about as serious as this parody site plan posted on twitter:
June 2, 20187 yr Getting away from Austin and back to tonight's game back in C-BUS vs Toronto: The Crew received some good news from the MLS disciplinary committee when midfielder Federico Higuain was granted a reprieve from the red card he received in Sunday’s 0-0 road draw at KC. According to article linked below, it was a unanimous decision to rescinded the one-game suspension and accompanying fine for the dismissal. So Higuain will be able to play in tonight's game against Toronto. It is a much needed reprieve because Cristian Martinez received a two-game suspension by the disciplinary committee for his slap-to-the-head incident during the KC game. (IMO - I think both Higuain's red-card reprieve and Martinez's suspension were both justified.) But also missing tonight's game will be starting goalkeeper Zach Steffen and starting midfielder Wil Trapp. Both Steffen and Trapp were called up to the USMNT and will miss this game and the next MLS game against NYRB on Saturday, June 9. https://www.massivereport.com/2018/6/1/17414236/federico-higuains-suspension-overturned-by-mls-disciplinary-committee-2018 https://www.columbuscrewsc.com/post/2018/05/29/trapp-steffen-called-usmnt-friendlies
June 3, 20187 yr GAME #15: https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2018-06-02-columbus-crew-sc-vs-toronto-fc/recap https://www.massivereport.com/2018/6/2/17421360/crew-sc-complete-three-goal-second-half-comeback-to-tie-toronto-fc-mls-2018 What a game! Despite getting Higuain into the lineup, the Crew were severely shorthanded last night - missing starters Trapp & Steffen due to USMNT callup, missing Martinez to suspension, and missing starters Mensah & Santos to injury. And for the first 60 minutes of the match, it showed. Columbus went down 3-0 on a PK goal at 17', a run-of-play Ricketts goal at 38' and then a beautiful Giovinco free-kick goal in the 57th minute. At that point in the second half, it looked like the Crew would just close shop and move on to their next match. But Coach Berhalter wasn't ready to give up just yet. In the 63th minute, Berhalter made a triple-sub(!) - bringing in Crognale, Argudo and Eduardo Sosa (in his first action with the Crew). Zardes got the three-goal comeback started in the 67th minute with a forceful header off a Higuain corner kick. Afful nearly got Columbus' second goal at 74' but his shot rang off the crossbar. Instead, it was Crognale who got the second goal in the 81st minute from a Higuain free kick. In a set play, Higuain shot it to Williams left of goal, who headed it back to the center. The ball hits off Bradley's foot and Crognale gets to it first for a left-footed boot inside the left post. (And for local homegrown player Crognale's 1st-ever MLS goal!) The final goal in the three-goal comeback started in the 88th minute, when a terrible TFC back pass was possessed by Afful and driven forward to Zardes, who got ahead of the final TFC defender at the edge of the 18-yard box. That TFC defender managed to barely deflect the ball away. But then Zardes regaining control and drove to the baseline only a few yards from the right post. By then, Bradley made his way back to defend and tried the dispossess Zardes of the ball. But Bradley's attempt missed the ball and instead struck Zardes' right leg! Columbus was awarded a penalty kick, which was converted by Higuain in the 90th minute to complete the amazing three-goal comeback and end the game at 3-3.
June 3, 20187 yr A special shout-out is deserving to former USMNT and current TFC captain Michael Bradley. Bradley was playing at center back in this game - and also played a role in all three of the Crew's comeback goals. -- Goal #1: Bradley was marking Zardes on this header-from-the-corner-kick goal. Actually, it was theoretical marking because when Zardes jumped for his header, Bradley's feet were firmly on the turf. -- Goal #2: The ball hit off Bradley's foot - which allowed it to roll freely for Crognale to "CrogNail it" into the net. -- Goal #3: Bradley's poor attempt to try and dispossess Zardes gave the Crew a PK and the final goal of "The Comeback". There was a particular irony knowing that the Crew would be missing future-USMNT starters Steffen and Trapp for this game, while Toronto had the services of USMNT disaster artist Michael Bradley. Apparently, the Soccer Gods had a divine plan! Enjoy your future in Canada MB!
June 4, 20187 yr I thought the trend was to build urban stadiums in a walkable area. THis is a light industrial area with a Taco Bell. Maybe marginally better than the Ohio State Fair site. Don't know why MLS would approve this.
June 4, 20187 yr I thought the trend was to build urban stadiums in a walkable area. THis is a light industrial area with a Taco Bell. Maybe marginally better than the Ohio State Fair site. Don't know why MLS would approve this. Apparently the "urban stadium in a walkable area" requirement for new stadiums only applies to MLS teams in Ohio. But who are we to question the wisdom of 2018 U.S. Soccer Hall-of-Fame inductee MLS Commissioner Don Garber (aka @thesoccerdon)?
June 5, 20187 yr ^ maybe in Texas this counts as an urban area McKalla Place really isn't a very urban area - even by Texas standards. Although the PSV and MLS2ATX crowd are trying to spin it as urban by saying its adjacent to The Domain development, which they are calling "Austin's second downtown"! Some reporters have also described The Domain as "Austin's version of Easton Town Center". To me it seems like a cross between Polaris and Easton. But whatevs. I do know that nobody in Columbus has ever referred to Easton or Polaris as "Columbus' second downtown"!!!
June 7, 20187 yr U.S. Open Cup: https://www.massivereport.com/2018/6/6/17436430/columbus-crew-scs-open-cup-run-ends-in-11-round-penalty-kick-shootout-to-the-chicago-fire-mls-2018 Despite winning the U.S. Open Cup in 2002 and being runner-up in 1998 & 2010, Open Cup games haven't been sources of positivity for the Crew. (Remember Eddie Gaven's career-ending injury during an Open Cup game with Dayton in 2013?) Last year's bracket draw saw the Crew losing at FC Cincinnati in the first-ever Hell Is Real derby - which at least was an amazing experience despite the loss. This year's bracket draw saw the Crew hosting the Chicago Fire for the opener. With the Crew in the middle of a 3-MLS-games-in-12-days stretch, this Open Cup match was going to feature a reserve-heavy lineup. That makeshift lineup included third-string goalkeeper Logan Ketterer, who was drafted in 2017, and rookie 2018 draft pick winger Eduard Opoku - who were both making their Crew debuts. Columbus got the scoring started in the 10th minute when Hansen drove a nice cross-field pass to Cristian Martínez, who hit a fine finishing shot past the Chicago keeper. (Martinez was incidentally in the middle of his 2-game MLS suspension!) Chicago managed a tying goal just before halftime at 45'. Then both teams were held scoreless in the second half and the game went to a 30-minute overtime. It looked like Chicago would win it with a goal in the 109th minute. But the Crew fought back with a header goal from big Adam Jahn only 5 minutes later at 114'. The game ended 2-2 after 120 minutes and went to a penalty kick shootout. Chicago's first PK was missed high. Columbus' second PK was saved by the Chicago keeper. And then nobody else missed until, after 10 rounds, it was tied 9-9. Because all of the position players had taken their shot, the 11th-round would be taken each team's goalkeeper! The Chicago keeper shot first, and converted his PK. Then Columbus' third-string keeper, playing his first-ever game action for the Crew, took his shot - and it was saved by the Chicago keeper. So Chicago advanced in the U.S. Open Cup on a 10-9 PK shootout. This was the sixth-straight Open Cup loss to Chicago for the Crew. Which is why Crew fans will say there are only three sure things in life: Death, Taxes and losing to Chicago in the Open Cup!
June 8, 20187 yr The Austin city council member whose district includes the city-owned McKalla Place site had a few interesting things to say about the Precourt Sports Ventures stadium deal: City council member in Austin: Precourt Sports Ventures’ stadium plan ‘looks like a massive giveaway’ Leslie Pool, a city council member in Austin, Texas, whose District 7 includes the city-owned McKalla Place site eyed by Crew SC ownership group Precourt Sports Ventures as a possible stadium site, on Thursday detailed her concerns with the group’s 189-page stadium proposal issued Friday as well as its general approach to a potential move from Columbus. After a detailed review with her staff, she said, the plan “doesn’t pencil out.” “It looks like a massive giveaway,” Pool said. “Precourt Sports Ventures, they don’t want to pay property taxes but they want the city to cover most of the cost for them without any revenue to pay for it, which we could get from the property taxes.” ( . . . ) Pool has said multiple times throughout PSV’s seven-month pursuit of a stadium solution in Austin that she does not want to be rushed into a deal. She said she has heard similar concerns from her constituents. “They’ve pointed to boondoggles, that you’re being hoodwinked when people create a false sense of urgency, that you have to do it now because if you don’t do it now then this deal is going to go away,” Pool said. “That’s a time-honored approach for a used-car salesman. ‘This car isn’t going to be here at this price tomorrow.’ I’m constitutionally reluctant to be pushed like that. That’s not fair and it’s not a public process in my mind. That’s not how a governmental entity should be making policy or decisions for the taxpayers.” MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180607/city-council-member-in-austin-precourt-sports-ventures-stadium-plan-looks-like-massive-giveaway EDIT: Here's a non-paywall link to the full Dispatch article: http://www.thisweeknews.com/sports/20180607/city-council-member-in-austin-precourt-sports-ventures-stadium-plan-looks-like-massive-giveaway
June 9, 20187 yr I thought the trend was to build urban stadiums in a walkable area. THis is a light industrial area with a Taco Bell. Maybe marginally better than the Ohio State Fair site. Don't know why MLS would approve this. Yeah.....the type of development is just typical suburban light industrial mixed with offices. The Domain (kinda like Easton) is a destination and they're are several breweries in the immediate vicinity as well. What was supposed to be a big factor as well was the Metro Rail running right alongside the property with an existing station nearby to allow fans to arrive via transit. I would say it's only better than where Mapfre Stadium is now only in the sense that it has more dining and drinking amenities in close proximity but they aren't really walkable to the stadium so it's not that special. Austin City Council is starting to see Precourt for what he is, especially after all the handouts he asked for in his proposals....especially council member Leslie Pool, who's district McKalla Place is in. Another bombshell that just dropped is that there are now 2 other development groups with proposals for the same site now. And instead of asking for the site for free and tax abatements they're offering to pay 20-30 mil for the land and all the necessary taxes. Both groups have plans for mixed use developments (housing, offices, retail, entertainment, etc...you know...) as I understand it. These groups just came out of nowhere too. They are a huge threat to Precourt who is asking the city for millions in handouts while they offer the city millions in taxes and land acquisitions. The only thing PSV really offers of value is the civic amenity that is "sports"....and were talking about a city that hasn't had a top level team and has seemed to exist that way just fine up till now. Very interesting developments. Couple that with the fact that local businessman Bobby Epstein who is behind the Circuit of the Americas race track there and amphitheater (COTA) is launching his USL (2nd division) soccer team there soon. He had been holding off to see what happened with PSVs relocation....but now has asserted that they need to move forward now if they want to maintain their USL expansion team. So hes not only in direct competition with Precourt as he is offering another soccer team to the city....hes not trying to extort the city for handouts to start his team as hes building a modest size stadium at COTA. Honestly that's the team Austin fans should want anyway. Start off smaller and build the team into a successful organization....then if and when the time is right, maybe move up to MLS. Needless to say theres a lot of forces now opposing Precourt in Austin and it's awesome. And all of this is just half of the situation. We still have our Modell case here back home as well!
June 9, 20187 yr Austin City Council is starting to see Precourt for what he is, especially after all the handouts he asked for in his proposals....especially council member Leslie Pool, who's district McKalla Place is in. Another bombshell that just dropped is that there are now 2 other development groups with proposals for the same site now. And instead of asking for the site for free and tax abatements they're offering to pay 20-30 mil for the land and all the necessary taxes. Both groups have plans for mixed use developments (housing, offices, retail, entertainment, etc...you know...) as I understand it. These groups just came out of nowhere too. They are a huge threat to Precourt who is asking the city for millions in handouts while they offer the city millions in taxes and land acquisitions. The only thing PSV really offers of value is the civic amenity that is "sports"....and were talking about a city that hasn't had a top level team and has seemed to exist that way just fine up till now. Very interesting developments. The news of another development being officially in competition for PSV's stadium site at McKalla Place was a huge bombshell that dropped yesterday in Austin! Especially when that development group doesn't want to abate all property taxes, get the city to pay all infrastructure improvement costs, and keep all sources of revenue for themselves - while getting this city-owned land for free (for a $1/year lease) as PSV's stadium proposal does! Here is the story that broke yesterday from the Austin American Statesman and the wonderful twitter reactions:
June 9, 20187 yr Couple that with the fact that local businessman Bobby Epstein who is behind the Circuit of the Americas race track there and amphitheater (COTA) is launching his USL (2nd division) soccer team there soon. He had been holding off to see what happened with PSVs relocation....but now has asserted that they need to move forward now if they want to maintain their USL expansion team. So hes not only in direct competition with Precourt as he is offering another soccer team to the city....hes not trying to extort the city for handouts to start his team as hes building a modest size stadium at COTA. Honestly that's the team Austin fans should want anyway. Start off smaller and build the team into a successful organization....then if and when the time is right, maybe move up to MLS. Needless to say theres a lot of forces now opposing Precourt in Austin and it's awesome. And all of this is just half of the situation. We still have our Modell case here back home as well! There are alot of forces lining up to oppose Precourt now. In addition to those in Austin who have been less than impressed by the Precourt/Greeley charm offensive and now an actual development proposing to pay actual dollars for this city-owned land, there is #SaveTheCrew on the PR front, the Modell Law case on the legal front, and (hopefully) the behind-the-scenes work of the Columbus Partnership on the buying-the-Crew front. But it turns out there is one more group supporting #SaveTheCrew -- FC Cincinnati fans! In the wake of FCC getting their well-deserved MLS team, many are now turning toward keeping the Hell is Real / Ohio derby between FCC and the Crew alive. Below are two links and the FCC fan agenda for today when the Crew host NYRB at 5PM on ESPN. Now its not just #SaveTheCrew but also #KeepHellReal: http://thecomeback.com/soccer/fc-cincinnati-fans-will-make-the-trip-to-columbus-crew-game-to-support-savethecrew.html The visiting FCC fans will be sitting in Sections 103 & 104, just to the right of the Nordecke Crew Supporters section on your TV screen. And they plan to wear these t-shirts made for the occasion: Crew fans definitely appreciate the FCC support, whether it is a Crew fan on Twitter... ...or a former Crew player who is now a soccer analyst for ESPN:
June 10, 20187 yr GAME #16: https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2018-06-09-columbus-crew-sc-vs-new-york-red-bulls/recap https://www.massivereport.com/2018/6/9/17445288/columbus-crew-sc-tie-red-bulls-after-second-half-letdown If last Saturday's 3-3 draw against TFC felt like a win, then this Saturday's 1-1 draw against NYRB felt like a loss. The context makes the difference. In yesterday's game, Columbus had a great first half - outshooting New York 15-2 and 6-0 shots-on-goal. In the 11th minute, Clark found Zardes open upfield and then Zardes teed-up the on-rushing Artur for zinger that was barely saved by NYRB keeper Luis Robles. The rebound was gathered by Artur at the backline and crossed back to Zardes, who couldn't quite redirect it with his head into a completely vacated net. In the 15th minute, a Santos free-kick rang off the crossbar. The Crew did cash in at the 26th minute when Afful made a lofty crossing pass from backline that found Zardes in a perfect position to head the ball past Robles to put Columbus up 1-0. This was Zardes' 10th goal of the season - which tied him for the MLS lead. In the 37th minute, Afful and Zardes nearly connected again for a goal. But this time, the low cross was snuffed out by Robles as Zardes, the ball, and the keeper came together at the same time. Then Robles was tested again - this time with two long-range shots from Artur in the 40th and 41st minutes. Finally, in first half extra time at 45'+2', Zardes had a header from a Higuain corner-kick ring off the right post. That's eight great scoring chances in the first half - but only one was converted into a goal. This would come back to haunt the Crew in the second half. In the 57th minute, during a NYRB free-kick, our backup keeper Jon Kempin came off his line for the ball. But Kempin didn't reach the ball before a NYRB player headed it into the vacated open net to tie it 1-1. Which is how the game ultimately finished. If Steffen is starting (instead of making spectacular saves in France for the USMNT yesterday) he likely gets to that 57' free-kick ball. But then if the Crew converts on just one more of those great eight scoring chances in the first half, Kempin's one miscue wouldn't have mattered.
June 10, 20187 yr Saturday's game might not have worked out well on the field - but the off-the-field support from our FC Cincinnati brethren and sistren worked out very well. Before the game: In the stands: Worked out well in the broadcast booth too. Former Crew star player and current ESPN analyst Ale Moreno continuing to spread the #SaveTheCrew message: Moreno was also presented with a customized #SaveTheCrew jersey before the game - which was shown at halftime on ESPN: Even the visiting NYRB fans got into the #SaveTheCrew spirit!
June 11, 20187 yr At this point, it looks like there are 3 ways the Crew will be saved: 1. Ohio wins a lawsuit against MLS/PSV 2. Austin decides to sell the land wanted for the stadium to a developer 3. Divine intervention
June 11, 20187 yr At this point, it looks like there are 3 ways the Crew will be saved: 1. Ohio wins a lawsuit against MLS/PSV 2. Austin decides to sell the land wanted for the stadium to a developer 3. Divine intervention I wouldn't disagree with those three points. Although I would modify the third point from "divine intervention" to simply "intervention". By "intervention", I mean MLS intervention. If we assume that MLS commish Don Garber is enabling Anthony Precourt and/or propping him up to move to Austin, then what happens if Precourt/Greeley can't close the Austin deal before their city council takes their July break? Does MLS continue to back Precourt if his Austin efforts remain in limbo? Remember that 7+ months ago, this move to Austin was being talked about as a "done deal". As of now, it is still not a done deal. By the end of this month it still may not be a done deal. And consider that the forces lining up to oppose Precourt seems to be growing, instead of shrinking. In addition to those in Austin who have been less than impressed by the Precourt/Greeley charm offensive and now an actual development proposing to pay actual dollars for this city-owned land, there is #SaveTheCrew on the PR front, the Modell Law case on the legal front, and (hopefully) the behind-the-scenes work of the Columbus Partnership on the buying-the-Crew front. If a local makes a serious offer for the Crew, does MLS ignore it? Or does MLS see it as a lifeline to end this PR nightmare. There's been some reporting/gossip that MLS would be willing to move Precourt's ownership share of the Crew into the expansion efforts of Sacramento. Apparently, Sacramento has what MLS wants for an expansion bid - but the current ownership group needs more money behind it for MLS to feel comfortable in granting its bid. The reporting/gossip is that if Precourt is willing to sell the Crew to local owners, MLS would be willing to have him join the existing Sacramento ownership group. BTW, Precourt lives in central California. So that MLS "intervention" could also #SaveTheCrew.
June 11, 20187 yr Another take on this #mls2atx/#SaveTheCrew "deadline month" can be found in this twitter thread from The Fake Sigi at
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