July 15, 20186 yr GAME #21: https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2018-07-14-new-york-city-fc-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap https://www.massivereport.com/2018/7/15/17572766/crew-sc-fall-again-as-nycfc-score-two-late-goals Road woes continue. The Crew allow two late goals in the 80th and 90th minutes to fall in Yankee Stadium to NYCFC. The Crew are in a serious mid-summer funk, losing 4 of their last five games and going 1-4-3 in their last eight.
July 18, 20186 yr Precourt Sports Ventures, MLS argue to get Crew case thrown out Attorneys for Precourt Sports Ventures, Major League Soccer and Crew SC have asked the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas once again to dismiss the lawsuit filed against them by the city and state of Ohio. The reply memo filed last night comes about a month after the 10th District Court of Appeals refused to dismiss the case at this point in the process, according to court documents obtained by Columbus Business First. Columbus and the state are trying to keep the Crew from moving to Austin, Texas. The reply memo doesn't come as a surprise, as the defendants argue identical points with more pointed reasoning than their April 19 motion to dismiss. Here are their main arguments: *Revised Code 9.67 (otherwise known as the "Art Modell Law") does not apply to PSV, MLS and the Crew because the league is the "admitted owner of the Crew SC" and neither "uses a tax-supported facility for most of its home games" nor "receives financial assistance from the government." *The "Art Modell Law" is unconstitutional because it violates the Dormant Commerce Clause, the Privileges and Immunities Clause, fails the Pike balancing test and is too vague. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/07/18/precourt-sports-ventures-mls-argue-again-to-get.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 22, 20186 yr Holy crap that Will Trapp laser from wayyy out blew my mind. The players needed this win and the fans did too. So awesome. #SaveTheCrew
July 22, 20186 yr Holy crap that Will Trapp laser from wayyy out blew my mind. The players needed this win and the fans did too. So awesome. #SaveTheCrew Akron Zips represent!!
July 22, 20186 yr Holy crap that Will Trapp laser from wayyy out blew my mind. The players needed this win and the fans did too. So awesome. #SaveTheCrew Totally agree. Trapp's great goal saved what felt like a "must-win" game for the Crew. They were in a downward spiral - having lost 4 of their last 5 games. Combine that with facing a heavily struggling Orlando team that dropped nine straight(!) before firing their coach and winning in the previous weekend. Combine that with this being our only home game for the entire month of July! Combine that with only having one home game in the upcoming month of August (thank you MLS for the schedule sabotage!) and the Crew needed this home win. Last night's win boosts their record to 9-7-6 and keeps the Crew firmly 4th in the East. They face 3rd-place NYRB next Saturday with some ground to make up to rise higher in the standings. GAME #22: https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2018-07-21-columbus-crew-sc-vs-orlando-city-sc/recap https://www.massivereport.com/2018/7/21/17599184/wil-trapps-late-game-heroics-seal-columbus-crew-scs-comeback-win-mls-2018
July 25, 20186 yr Witness list in Crew SC case could include MLS, city and county officials, Columbus business leaders A list of potential witnesses filed in court Monday by Precourt Sports Ventures, Major League Soccer and Columbus Crew SC is a who's who of MLS executives, area politicians and local business leaders. In all, 32 individuals could be called to the testify if the city and state's case to keep the Crew SC in Columbus goes to trial. Precourt Sports Ventures, Major League Soccer and the Crew SC submitted the eight-page document with the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. According to the filing, the witnesses could be called for one of four reasons: knowing something about the potential purchase of the Crew SC; having knowledge about the lease of land from the state of Ohio; having knowledge of conversations about the purchase of the team; or having knowledge about the defendant and Ohio Revised Code 9.6 – the so-called Art Modell Law that the city and state are using to try and keep the team in Columbus. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/07/24/witness-list-in-crew-sc-case-could-include-mls.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 28, 20186 yr PSV held a public info session in Austin last week and continued its interesting approach of variously threatening and ridiculing Austin in the effort to build a stadium at McKalla Place. Below is what the council rep for the McKalla Place district said about the public info session: Richard Suttle is the Austin lobbyist that PSV and MLS hired to assist in the MLS2ATX relocation effort. The "Anti-$100 Bill Coalition" he is referring to is apparently an Austin reference that disparages the type of civic engagement that is questioning the rather one-sided stadium deal PSV has proposed to Austin. Council rep Leslie Pool didn't care much for that flippant attitude, and she wasn't the only one. Below are two Austin articles that also rebuke Suttle's not-so-subtle approach: http://viewpoints.blog.statesman.com/2018/07/20/grumet-dont-disparage-the-anti-100-bill-coalition-in-soccer-debate/ https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2018/07/questions-on-finances-flood-water-remain-after-stadium-info-session/
July 28, 20186 yr Before we start tonight's game at NYRB in beautiful downtown Harrison, NJ - lets look again at Wil Trapp's game-winning wonder-goal from last Saturday's win over Orlando. First, because it was an awesome goal by an awesome homegrown player for the Crew. Second, because MLS named it the "Goal of the Week": https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/07/26/trapp-game-columbus-crew-sc-captain-wins-att-goal-week Below is the video of Trapp's tremendous 35-yard game-winner. My two favorite parts are 1) Steffen was the first player to celebrate with Trapp (just how far up field was he on that play?) and 2) immediately after, the video focuses on the shocked expression of the Orlando goalkeeper. He must have been thinking "Where the F... did that come from?!?" ENJOY:
July 29, 20186 yr GAME #23: https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2018-07-28-new-york-red-bulls-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap https://www.massivereport.com/2018/7/28/17626206/columbus-crew-sc-holds-its-three-goal-lead-defeats-new-york-red-bulls-3-2-mls-2018 The Crew got their second straight 3-2 victory in a wild first-half vs second-half battle with NYRB last night. Columbus scored first and early in the 7th minute off a free-kick from the left corner and a nifty set play. The Santos kick was lofted over the clot of players in the 18-yd box to an open Mullins right of goal, who headed it back to Mensah, who had separated from the pack. Mensah's kick caught the Red Bull defense by surprise and NYRB goalkeeper Robles was unable to stop it. NYRB almost equalized off a sizzling header off a corner-kick that All-Star Crew keeper Zach Steffen made a diving save on in the 18th minute. Instead, it was C-BUS who scored next in the 23rd minute when NYRB tried to high-press the Crew. Valenzuela lofted a ball to Afful at midfield, who quickly kicked it onto a well-timed run by Mullins who caught the Red Bull back-line flat footed. Mullins was joined by Zardes on a rare 2-on-1. Zardes' run attracted the lone defender to prevent a cross-pass, while Mullins went one-on-one with the keeper - and then zinged a far-post finish to give the Crew a 2-0 lead. That two-goal lead become a three-goal lead in the 31st minute. A well-struck Santos corner kick targeted Williams at the near post. Williams barely missed the flick-on header but the defending NYRB player flicked it on instead to give the Crew a 3-0 lead. With the Crew leading 3-0 going into the second half, NYRB subbed in their leading scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips and dynamic Brazilian midfielder Kaku - who they were hoping to rest after both playing a mid-week game and this being the Red Bulls third game in eight days. The infusion of offensive talent paid quick dividends for NYRB in the second half. In the 50th minute, NYRB got their first goal off a crossing pass into the 6-yd box to Wright-Phillips that bounced off Mensah's leg. NYRB got a second goal off a Crew turnover in their own zone that Kaku lofted onto the edge of the 6-yd box that was headed in to narrow the Crew lead down to only one-goal at the 69th minute. After that the Crew regained some of the second half momentum, but still had to weather a few more NYRB storms for the victory. Most notably, an 85th minute melee in front of the Crew net. Wright-Phillips received a pass inside 18-yd box guarded by Abubakar. Steffen dove forward for the ball and made a clutch stop of BWP's shot, which then deflected to an open NYRB player while both Steffen and BWP tumbled to the turf. The NYRB shot beat Steffen, but hit BWP to prevent a tying goal(!), then Abubakar cleared the ball to safety to preserve the 3-2 road victory for the Crew.
July 29, 20186 yr Last night's road victory gives Columbus their 10th win of the season. The Crew are on a two-game winning streak upswing headed into their bye week. The next Crew game is a home match against Houston on August 11. Hopefully the break will allow Higuain's back to heal up (he missed to last two games with back spasms) and allow the Crew to focus on a stretch run for the playoffs. Below are the Eastern Conference Standings going into today's matches. Columbus is solidly in playoff position at fourth-place. Though 11 games still remain in the 2018 regular-season, barring either a massive winning streak or massive losing streak, it seems likely the Crew may stay in the four-spot for the post-season. The three teams ahead - Atlanta, NYCFC, NYRB - are either too far ahead in points and/or with multiple games-in-hand to be overtaken by the Crew. The teams behind - Montreal, New England, Philly - are too far behind in points to catch up to the Crew. Although the Revs could make a run if they can win both games-in-hand they hold over the Crew:
July 30, 20186 yr Although the Crew team won't play their next MLS game until August 11, Crew fans won't get to enjoy a bye-week because some important dates regarding the Crew franchise will occur before this next game: http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180727/crew-sc--austin-stadium-deal-now-includes-550k-year-in-rent Over the weekend, a term sheet between the City of Austin and Precourt Sports Ventures was published as part of the agenda for Austin's City Council Meeting to be held on August 9. The term sheet is the result of negotiations between PSV and Austin city officials. The above Dispatch article details this term sheet, as follows: --- PSV would enter into a 20-year lease term for the proposed McKalla Place stadium location in north Austin. Additionally, there would be three 10-year renewal options and, starting with the sixth year, PSV would pay $550,000 in rent. --- PSV would still be exempt from paying any property taxes (as was originally proposed). --- PSV would provide up to one acre of the 24-acre McKalla Place site to allow for a third party to develop up to 130 affordable housing units. --- PSV would agree to make more than $4.7 million in cash contributions to affordable housing as part of its proposed $95.8 million in community benefits over 25 years. --- Another negotiating point has been adding a rail station along the eastern edge of the property. Under this term sheet, PSV would not be obligated to pay for one, estimated at $13 million. The term sheet states that PSV and City would “work together to explore third party and other financing sources.” --- The term sheet also calls for PSV to enter into a non-relocation agreement. -- On August 1, a special meeting has been scheduled that will include a presentation regarding these potential agreements between PSV and the City. Public comment will be permitted at this meeting. -- On August 7, another discussion will take place during a council work session. -- The August 9 council agenda item currently does not include discussion of alternative redevelopment proposals for McKalla Place. None have been submitted to date, but two firms have indicated they would submit proposals before an Aug. 3 deadline. The Dispatch is reporting that these alternative proposals to redevelop McKalla Place would have an opportunity to present at the Aug. 7 council work session.
August 2, 20186 yr Austin will hold its special public meeting later tonight on the potential agreements (i.e. the term sheet) between PSV and the City. And I can't wait to see the twitter reports about it in the morning! But until then, here are some articles and analysis about the recently released term sheet: -- Massive Report has a recap - and direct link to - the new PSV/Austin term sheet, with a very detailed comparison to the previous terms between PSV and Austin about the stadium site: https://www.massivereport.com/2018/7/29/17627554/precourt-sports-venture-releases-new-term-sheet-mckalla-place-stadium-august-1-meeting-for-review -- Miki Turner (aka The Soccer Esquire) linking to a hot take from Austin attorney Bill Aleshire about the term sheet. Aleshire has a track record of suing and winning lawsuits against the City of Austin for "inappropriately using" public funds and "inappropriately giving away" tax dollars - and has said he might sue again if Austin City Council approved this sweetheart stadium deal: -- Field of Schemes delivered its customary hot take on the new term sheet. Best take: "(Precourt) would pay rent, but it’s not much: $550,000 a year, not starting until the sixth year of the lease ... but Precourt is demanding his pound of flesh in return, as he now wants the city to chip in $975,000 over years 6 and 7 of the lease, and $125,000 per year afterwards, toward a capital repair fund.": http://www.fieldofschemes.com/2018/07/30/13989/precourt-offers-to-pay-austin-more-rent-if-itll-pay-some-of-his-repair-costs-still-thinks-paying-your-property-tax-is-for-chumps/
August 2, 20186 yr Excellent back-to-back columns from the Dispatch's Michael Arace: http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180730/michael-arace--wrangling-heats-up-for-crew-stadium-deal-in-austin In any case, the game is afoot. Last week, a term sheet negotiated between the Austin city manager and PSV was released. The term sheet is the baseline of an agreement between the two parties. It’s time to make sausage. PSV sweetened its offer. Among other concessions, it is now willing to pay rent beginning in year six. PSV is employing the Overton Window, in which a radical proposal is made incrementally less crazy — and thus appears to be more palatable. That’s politics. PSV concedes to pay rent at some point. Model citizens! PSV is dead-set against paying a dime for property taxes or transportation-infrastructure upgrades. Parking? They promise to worry about that later. Model citizens! The Austin City Council, which had little or nothing to do with the drafting of the term sheet, will open their chambers for public discussion on Wednesday. The council has a work session scheduled for Aug. 7 and a vote scheduled for Aug. 9. It’s crunch time. The “Modell” lawsuit lodged by the city of Columbus and the state of Ohio remains “tolled” (paused) for at least another 10 days, or maybe longer. The suit is looming larger over everyone concerned. An injunction to halt the move, temporarily or otherwise, is now a realistic possibility. The case has the potential to drag on for years. Twenty-three years ago, Columbus was the first city in MLS history to sell 10,000 season tickets. On Monday, #SaveTheCrew announced that it had surpassed 10,000 pledges for season tickets — with the proviso that Precourt is no longer the owner. http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180731/michael-arace--columbus-has-everything-that-mls-commissioner-wants-so-why-move-crew #SaveTheCrew has lined up more than 10,500 pledges for season tickets with the proviso that Precourt be cut out of ownership; and this grassroots movement is backed by more than 450 local businesses. They even have organized to fix up and clean Mapfre Stadium, which Precourt treats like a highway underpass. Alex Fischer, president and CEO of the Columbus Partnership — which is working to line up local investors to buy the Crew and keep the team in Columbus — had a moment Tuesday. Fischer had a moment like tens of thousands of Crew fans have had tens of thousands of time since October, when Precourt first uttered the words “parallel path.” The Crew has never had local ownership, not in its 23 years. That is a problem Fischer — working closely with Garber's deputy Mark Abbott — is trying to rectify. Fischer said that the Partnership has been “abundantly and consistently clear that its sole desire is to work toward purchasing Crew SC.” Translation: Columbus already has a team, not to mention a lawsuit, and it will fight for what is right. The overarching irony is that Columbus has the money, the prospective owners and, very likely, the land for a new Downtown stadium, all lined up, ready to go. This is unlike a number of cities over which Garber swoons. This exit plan would be hilarious if it wasn’t craven.
August 2, 20186 yr Alternate development proposals for McKalla Place that can be added into the PSV stadium mix: http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180731/crew-cuts-report-austin-developer-submits-two-proposals-for-mckalla-place One Capella proposal, the Austin Business Journal reported, would call for a mixed-use development at McKalla Place with a soccer-specific stadium being built at Circuit of the Americas, the Formula One track in Austin. A United Soccer League team, which will announce its team name, coach and several player signings Aug. 3, is set to begin play at COTA next March. A second Capella proposal includes a soccer stadium at McKalla Place along with “parking, an office tower, green space and mixed-use and residential development” at the site,” according to the ABJ report. It’s not immediately clear whether PSV would be open to working with Capella on a plan for the site. The proposals are not expected to be the only ones submitted. Real estate developer Marcus Whitfield has said he and partner John Chen will submit a proposal for a mixed-use development at McKalla Place by the Aug. 3 deadline.
August 2, 20186 yr And a couple more MLS/Garber articles in the Massive Report: -- https://www.massivereport.com/2018/7/31/17633302/don-garber-reveals-ongoing-talks-to-keep-mls-in-columbus-crew-sc-2018 -- https://www.massivereport.com/2018/7/31/17636622/alex-fisher-pushes-back-at-don-garber-richard-suttle-stresses-the-aug-9-deadline-mls-save-the-crew
August 2, 20186 yr Oh, and one more item that was mentioned in some of previous articles: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/07/31/savethecrew-ticket-push-surpasses-10-000-pledges.html
August 2, 20186 yr http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180801/crew-sc--austin-council-still-has-concerns-over-stadium-plan From last night's special public meeting later tonight on the potential agreements (i.e. the term sheet) between PSV and the City of Austin: -- Some council members saw the term sheet, released Friday, as a step forward from PSV’s initial proposal in June, but most still raised issues they would like to see addressed before council has to vote Aug. 9. -- Council member Ora Houston raised concerns over whether a lawsuit brought by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein against PSV and Major League Soccer will force Austin to take on any liability. (The lawsuit was filed to ensure PSV and MLS complied with a state law requiring a team receiving public money to either receive permission or else provide six months’ notice and give locals a chance to purchase the team before leaving.) “Taking this vote on the 9th, before a decision is made (in the lawsuit), is like getting remarried before the divorce is final,” Houston said. -- Paying for a rail station near the stadium site remained an issue. Council member Delia Garza proposed that PSV (which under the term sheet would not be required to pay for the station) provide $3 million toward it and include a $1 transportation surcharge per ticket. -- Benefits to the community was questioned, too. Although the term sheet listed community benefits provided by PSV that would total an estimated $95,879,908 over 25 years, several council members noted a lack of specifics. “Some of what was most exciting to me about this potential proposal will be in the community benefit agreement,” Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo said. “As several of my colleagues noted, that’s not before it in a concrete fashion. ... I’m uncomfortable with not reviewing those final details because, to me, they’re critical elements of why I would support it.” -- Council member Leslie Pool reiterated several questions she still has for PSV. “We need extensive financial and other information (from PSV) as part of our decision-making process,” she said. “Are any of the entities that we might contract with going to be good and faithful partners for the city of Austin and its residents?”
August 2, 20186 yr obviously im not following this too closely, but i just read this on espn — made it seem like sacramento was in play for the crew to land in too? is that move off the table now? https://es.pn/2uU3omf
August 2, 20186 yr obviously im not following this too closely, but i just read this on espn — made it seem like sacramento was in play for the crew to land in too? is that move off the table now? https://es.pn/2uU3omf Please, this is complicated and unclear enough without bringing another city into this(!) But this was somewhat discussed upthread. As the ESPN article states: "...the potential relocation of Columbus Crew SC to Austin. Should that fall through, it's entirely possible that MLS will push Columbus to relocate to Sacramento." However, Precourt's lease contract with Mapfre Stadium/State of Ohio only has an out-clause to move to Austin. Otherwise, he would need to wait for the current lease to expire in 2024. Of course, he could still move or try to break that lease. But that's loads more bad PR for MLS. Another Sacramento scenario is that MLS could buy-out Precourt's Columbus Crew ownership and Precourt could then join an ownership group in Sacramento for an expansion team (apparently they need more ownership money to finalize MLS2Sac). Then local Columbus owners could purchase the Crew and keep them in Columbus. But both Sacramento scenarios are more rumor then solid reporting, as of now.
August 2, 20186 yr http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180801/crew-cuts-judge-orders-update-in-14-days-in-crew-lawsuit Update on the #SaveTheCrew lawsuit: -- An order filed late Tuesday by Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey M. Brown will require updates on the status of negotiations to purchase Crew SC jointly filed every 14 days by attorneys representing Columbus, the State of Ohio, Major League Soccer and Crew operator Precourt Sports Ventures. -- Last month, the court filed a protective order that will keep sensitive information, including information used in discovery, from public view. The status updates will continue in the spirit of that protective order and be filed under seal “unless the parties stipulate that a specific status report may be publicly filed.” The court may also unseal a status report and order it publicly filed “upon motion and for good cause shown,” the order read. -- Columbus and Ohio’s lawsuit, which is based on Ohio Revised Code 9.67, also known as the Art Modell Law, remains in a toll, or pause, until at least next week.
August 2, 20186 yr thanks for explaining colombo & sorry i did not see that link and scenario had been discussed.
August 2, 20186 yr thanks for explaining colombo & sorry i did not see that link and scenario had been discussed. No problem. Lots of stuff can get buried/missed in these lengthy threads.
August 3, 20186 yr With everything that's currently going on in the Columbus sports scene, I'm pleased to report a nice bit of good news for the Crew: https://www.massivereport.com/2018/8/2/17609222/justin-meram-returns-to-columbus-crew-sc-in-trade-with-orlando-city Attacking winger Justin Meram is returning to the Columbus Crew after spending 2018 in Orlando. Columbus traded Meram to Orlando for $750,000 in Targeted Allocation Money, $300,000 in General Allocation Money, plus a 2019 international slot before the start of the 2018 MLS season. Orlando thought that acquiring Meram would a move that would vault Orlando into the 2018 playoffs. Instead, Orlando had a mid-season 9-game losing swoon that has them at 9th-place and way below the Eastern playoff line. That 9-game losing streak got the Orlando Head Coach fired and saw Meram relegated to the bench and then completely off the gameday-18. Yesterday, Columbus reacquired Meram from Orlando in exchange for $750,000 in Targeted Allocation Money and the 2019 international slot. So, in essence, Orlando paid Columbus $300,000 to rent him for 2018! Despite his struggles in Orlando, Meram should be a welcome addition to the Crew lineup. Meram is an obvious good fit for Berhalter's attacking system. And the Crew could use Meram's production on the attacking left wing. Offensive production coming from Pedro Santos, Niko Hansen, Cristian Martinez and Mike Grella on the wings has been lacking this year. If Meram can recapture his previous goal-scoring ability for the Crew and add that to Zardes' goal-scoring production, the team will have a potent lineup for a strong 2018 late-season and playoff run.
August 6, 20186 yr Another update on the #SaveTheCrew lawsuit - aka The Modell Law - from the Dispatch's Crew beat reporter Andrew Erickson (who I am sure is writing much more Commons Pleas Court news that he ever thought he would while covering an MLS team!!): Crew SC | Judge orders another pause in lawsuit to stop move to Austin An order Monday from Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey M. Brown ensures the city of Columbus and State of Ohio lawsuit against Major League Soccer and Crew operator Precourt Sports Ventures will extend at least into September. Brown ordered the tolling period, or pause, on the case be extended 44 days. The initial toll, which came in May as a part of an order that also delayed discovery and a ruling on the constitutionality of Ohio Revised Code 9.67 — the basis of the lawsuit — lasted 90 days and expired Monday. (The 44-day extension comes after an appeal by PSV and MLS on May 14 of Brown’s May 8 order to toll the case 90 days. That appeal was dismissed by the Tenth District Court of Appeals on June 21.) Brown also scheduled oral arguments on PSV and MLS’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit for at 2 p.m. Sept. 7. Each side will have 45 minutes for arguments, Brown wrote. The hearing will be the first of its kind since Ohio and Columbus filed their lawsuit in March. It is not immediately clear how the extension of the tolling period might impact PSV’s efforts to explore relocation of Crew SC to Austin, Texas, after the 2018 season. Austin City Council is set to vote Thursday on a term sheet for a stadium at the city-owned McKalla Place parcel in north Austin. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180806/crew-sc--judge-orders-another-pause-in-lawsuit-to-stop-move-to-austin
August 6, 20186 yr Another update on the #SaveTheCrew lawsuit - aka The Modell Law - from the Dispatch's Crew beat reporter Andrew Erickson (who I am sure is writing much more Commons Pleas Court news that he ever thought he would while covering an MLS team!!): Crew SC | Judge orders another pause in lawsuit to stop move to Austin An order Monday from Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey M. Brown ensures the city of Columbus and State of Ohio lawsuit against Major League Soccer and Crew operator Precourt Sports Ventures will extend at least into September. Brown ordered the tolling period, or pause, on the case be extended 44 days. The initial toll, which came in May as a part of an order that also delayed discovery and a ruling on the constitutionality of Ohio Revised Code 9.67 — the basis of the lawsuit — lasted 90 days and expired Monday. (The 44-day extension comes after an appeal by PSV and MLS on May 14 of Brown’s May 8 order to toll the case 90 days. That appeal was dismissed by the Tenth District Court of Appeals on June 21.) Brown also scheduled oral arguments on PSV and MLS’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit for at 2 p.m. Sept. 7. Each side will have 45 minutes for arguments, Brown wrote. The hearing will be the first of its kind since Ohio and Columbus filed their lawsuit in March. It is not immediately clear how the extension of the tolling period might impact PSV’s efforts to explore relocation of Crew SC to Austin, Texas, after the 2018 season. Austin City Council is set to vote Thursday on a term sheet for a stadium at the city-owned McKalla Place parcel in north Austin. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180806/crew-sc--judge-orders-another-pause-in-lawsuit-to-stop-move-to-austin #electionSZN
August 7, 20186 yr #electionSZN Jeffrey Brown is a judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in Ohio. He won a first term in the general election on November 8, 2016 and is serving a term that ends in 2023: https://ballotpedia.org/Jeffrey_Brown_(Ohio)
August 9, 20186 yr Some updates heading into D-Day in Austin: -- The four Austin council members that have been opposed to the PSV McKalla Place stadium deal are still opposed to it - only maybe more so after last week's public meeting and council work session. -- The number of alternative development proposals submitted for McKalla Place is now up to 6! -- And the Austin council members on the fence are asking about the Ohio Modell Lawsuit, and want to know if this would hinder the Crew's move to Austin - PSV says "don't worry about it" - which has seemed less than comforting to those members. https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/08/08/austin-council-member-not-changing-stance-on-crew.html https://www.massivereport.com/2018/8/8/17664064/group-of-austin-city-council-members-offer-amendments-to-the-mckalla-place-term-sheet-mls-2018
August 9, 20186 yr Below is a recap from the Dispatch going into today's Austin council meeting. This really is a D-Day for PSV-MLS if they want MLS2ATX. Despite the announcement 10 months ago, this move to Austin is not a "done deal". Even if Austin approves this McKalla Place item tonight, it still isn't a done deal. This item is one of those "agreement to further negotiate" or "agreement to have future agreements" deals. It would be a vital step for MLS2ATX, but still not a done deal. On the other hand, if City Council doesn't approve PSV's item, then that might kill the Crew move to Austin. So PSV has almost everything on the line tonight. As it stands going into tonight's meeting, four of the 11 council members are absolutely for MLS2ATX; four council members are absolutely against MLS2ATX; and the other three are somewhere in between. It seems likely that PSV can eke out a 6-5 vote in favor of their "agreement to have future agreements" - but there's no guarantee! http://www.thisweeknews.com/sports/20180809/crew-sc--big-decisions-loom-at-austin-city-council-meeting-tonight EDIT: Just read the Soccer Esquire's council member by council member analysis of tonight's MLS2ATX vote - he predicts a shocking 5-6 defeat for PSV! God I hope he's right!! https://socceresq.com/2018/08/09/handicapping-the-mls2atx-vote-tonight/
August 10, 20186 yr Below is a recap from the Dispatch going into today's Austin council meeting. This really is a D-Day for PSV-MLS if they want MLS2ATX. Despite the announcement 10 months ago, this move to Austin is not a "done deal". Even if Austin approves this McKalla Place item tonight, it still isn't a done deal. This item is one of those "agreement to further negotiate" or "agreement to have future agreements" deals. It would be a vital step for MLS2ATX, but still not a done deal. On the other hand, if City Council doesn't approve PSV's item, then that might kill the Crew move to Austin. So PSV has almost everything on the line tonight. As it stands going into tonight's meeting, four of the 11 council members are absolutely for MLS2ATX; four council members are absolutely against MLS2ATX; and the other three are somewhere in between. It seems likely that PSV can eke out a 6-5 vote in favor of their "agreement to have future agreements" - but there's no guarantee! http://www.thisweeknews.com/sports/20180809/crew-sc--big-decisions-loom-at-austin-city-council-meeting-tonight EDIT: Just read the Soccer Esquire's council member by council member analysis of tonight's MLS2ATX vote - he predicts a shocking 5-6 defeat for PSV! God I hope he's right!! https://socceresq.com/2018/08/09/handicapping-the-mls2atx-vote-tonight/ I am not a fan of this trend of calling your city by the airport code. ATX? Just call it Austin! I saw this a lot in Portland, OR as well. It strikes me as a silly way to try to be "edgy".
August 10, 20186 yr I will continue pointing out the lack of "doneness" in this MLS2ATX "done deal" until it becomes a done deal. Guess what? After last night's Austin Council meeting, its still not done. Below is the end of an excellent Soccer Esq live blog of last night's meeting: https://socceresq.com/2018/08/09/austin-city-council-votes-on-mls2atx-live-blog/
August 10, 20186 yr Is this the 2nd or 3rd time they're going to have to postpone the MLS deadline? I mean, don't they have to have a hard deadline at some point for next season? (Or is the deadline for the 2020 season?) Very Stable Genius
August 10, 20186 yr So much enjoyment reading the twitter hot takes on PSV's performance last night in Austin:
August 10, 20186 yr However, the best may have been PSV's lobbyist Richard Suttle uttering these two words and starting a new internet meme: #WeBlundered --
August 10, 20186 yr I had a lot of fun last night following along on Twitter. Sounds like the mayor was all for approving immediately without any discussion, and council wants a lot of changes to the terms before they will consider it.
August 10, 20186 yr Below is a recap from the Dispatch going into today's Austin council meeting. This really is a D-Day for PSV-MLS if they want MLS2ATX. Despite the announcement 10 months ago, this move to Austin is not a "done deal". Even if Austin approves this McKalla Place item tonight, it still isn't a done deal. This item is one of those "agreement to further negotiate" or "agreement to have future agreements" deals. It would be a vital step for MLS2ATX, but still not a done deal. On the other hand, if City Council doesn't approve PSV's item, then that might kill the Crew move to Austin. So PSV has almost everything on the line tonight. As it stands going into tonight's meeting, four of the 11 council members are absolutely for MLS2ATX; four council members are absolutely against MLS2ATX; and the other three are somewhere in between. It seems likely that PSV can eke out a 6-5 vote in favor of their "agreement to have future agreements" - but there's no guarantee! http://www.thisweeknews.com/sports/20180809/crew-sc--big-decisions-loom-at-austin-city-council-meeting-tonight EDIT: Just read the Soccer Esquire's council member by council member analysis of tonight's MLS2ATX vote - he predicts a shocking 5-6 defeat for PSV! God I hope he's right!! https://socceresq.com/2018/08/09/handicapping-the-mls2atx-vote-tonight/ I am not a fan of this trend of calling your city by the airport code. ATX? Just call it Austin! I saw this a lot in Portland, OR as well. It strikes me as a silly way to try to be "edgy". Yeah, but then Zanesville gets to be ZZV like ZZ Top. Which is cool.
August 10, 20186 yr The Airport reference is a v liberal move. PDX makes no sense - just like 80% of Portland's residents.
August 10, 20186 yr When I see ATX I always think Atlanta first. This gentleman would like a word with you lol.
August 10, 20186 yr ^ I know, I know. I always associate ATL with Atlanta too, which is probably why when I see ATX, I naturally think ATL. When I think Austin, I think AUS would be more fitting or even ATN.
August 11, 20186 yr Middle-of-the-road recap of PSV's stadium non-vote in Austin from the Dispatch's Crew beat reporter: http://www.thisweeknews.com/sports/20180810/crew-sc--austin-council-tables-stadium-vote-until-aug-15
August 11, 20186 yr PSV's disastrous performance in ATX council, the return of J9, and the hopeful return of Pipa after missing the last two games (he hasn't played since 7/14) has me geeked up for tonight's match against Houston. Glory to Columbus!
August 12, 20186 yr The Airport reference is a v liberal move. PDX makes no sense - just like 80% of Portland's residents. oh no they dinnit. my beloved bronx would umm, like to have a moment with those richy portlanders. ::)
August 13, 20186 yr GAME #24: https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2018-08-11-columbus-crew-sc-vs-houston-dynamo/recap https://www.massivereport.com/2018/8/11/17679842/columbus-crew-sc-steal-three-points-with-another-late-winner-mls-2018 Last night's match felt like another "must-win" game for the Crew. This was the sole home game in Columbus for August and everything was in the Crew's favor leading up to Saturday night: Coming off a bye week; getting Higuain back in the lineup and adding Meram to the team; and riding a two-game winning streak. While everything was going against Houston in the run-up: Losing three key players and their head coach to red card ejections in the previous weekend's MLS game; playing a 120+ minute Open Cup game on Wednesday; and riding a three-game losing streak. Given Houston's depleted lineup, it was no surprise to see them employ a five-man back-line and a "park the bus" strategy. Columbus, employing 3G's possess-and-attack strategy was fine with this - and racked up the possession numbers. However, the Crew had difficulty breaking down Houston's defensive shell. As the game wore into the second half, it was Houston that started to get some good counter opportunities - leading to some dazzling Steffen saves in the 59th minute and 72nd minute to keep the game at 0-0. Meram came off the bench in the 60th minute and injected some life to the Crew attack. But it was a 75th minute sub of Mullins for Higuain that helps crack the Houston shell. Mullins paired with Zardes for a second forward striker to eventually break down the three central defenders of Houston. Although it didn't come until the 91st minute(!) In the first minute of stoppage time, Artur started a break with a pass to Afful on the right sideline. Afful's shot an arching pass toward both strikers running toward the Houston goal. The pass went over Mullins' head (who was in an offside position) to Zardes (who was onside). Zardes let the ball bounce ahead of him as he found himself past the final defender with only the Houston keeper to beat. Zardes cooly tapped a finish past the keeper to give the Cardiac Crew a 1-0 victory! The win sends Columbus to a 11-7-6 record in a fourth place cocoon in the Eastern Conference. The Crew heads to ATL next Sunday at 4PM to face Atlanta United coming off a bye week. Atlanta United has a 14-4-6 record - best in the Eastern Conference and the entire league.
August 13, 20186 yr Despite the success of #SaveTheCrew and the blunders of PSV in Austin, I don't know how many more Crew home games we'll get to enjoy in Columbus. Whatever happens, I am going to savor these remaining 2018 games and hope for more in the coming seasons. Fortunately, I'm not the only one savoring these home games. Here are few photos of Saturday's 1-0 win from the larger photo-threads linked below: https://www.massivereport.com/2018/8/12/17680790/gallery-columbus-crew-sc-vs-houston-dynamo https://www.columbusunderground.com/photos-columbus-crew-scs-win-against-houston-dynamo-me1 From twitter: The 2018 tifo's have had an edge to them (for good reason): Some of the commentary was via customized team jerseys: More commentary via tifo - this one a variation of the "Respect Your Roots" message to MLS: This tifo was one from a happier season that got updated for the return of J9: J9 approves! As for the game, if you watched the video in the game #24 recap post and read my recap, you'd know that Gyasi Zardes won it for the Crew with this game-winning shot in the 91st minute: Zardes enjoying the game-winning shot: The Nordecke enjoying the game-winning shot:
August 15, 20186 yr Like I said previously, whatever happens in Austin tomorrow, I am going to enjoy these remaining 2018 Crew games and hope for more in the coming seasons. And I'm not the only one enjoying these remaining home games. Mapfre Stadium reported nearly 16,000 for last weekend's match. This is down from prior seasons - but it's amazing that the Crew are drawing as well as they are. Not only have some fans refused to spend one more dollar on an owner that wants to move the Crew to Austin, which accounts for this season's attendance drop. But throughout Precourt's ownership, many have noticed a hollowing out of perks and promotions that were once common. And after the October 2017 announcement, the Precourt penny-pinching has reached absurd levels in this 2018 season. This was a tweet from Saturday's game: If you go to the original tweet - - you'll see multiple replies about other unacceptable sub-standard stadium conditions at Saturday's game. And there's this Precourt pettiness from Saturday in this tweet below. It shows the kids practice field located just outside the stadium. It's been there for years (pre-dating Precourt's ownership BTW). And it allows kids to kick the ball, play around and just have fun. In previous years, the kids could kick the ball into a couple of soccer nets. For the 2018 season, the nets were removed and replaced with trash cans! Earlier in May 2018, there were more serious concerns with Precourt's lack of maintenance of Mapfre Stadium. This is a tweet reported in https://www.columbusnavigator.com/anthony-precourt-appears-to-be-letting-mapfre-stadium-fall-apart/ Also in May, an inspection of food concession stands in Mapfre Stadium revealed a list of violations including issues with drainage and the presence of mouse droppings inside one of the kitchens. Columbus Public Health conducted inspections on nine concession stands and found violations at all but one of them. According to the Health Department report, some violations were corrected at the time of the inspection, while other infractions were given a comply-by day of May 23 (prior to the next home game). Local media did report that all health code violations were complied by that date. Because fines cost money and Precourt doesn't want to spend any more money on Mapfre than he has too - not out of any concern about sickening fans or their children. Bathrooms conditions have also been a 2018 concern as well. Below is a picture of a bathroom stall nearly off its hinges from Precourt's Prioritized Neglect. It's the only sub-standard bathroom condition that I will post here - because the rest are more disgusting: In that same article about 'Precourt's Prioritized Neglect' at https://www.patreon.com/posts/19486429, the author showed this photo of one of the four light towers at Mapfre. There are burned-out bulbs in at least 1/3 of the light fixtures. This was typical of all four light towers: Combine all of the above with numerous other sub-standard stadium conditions like loose railings, loose seats and trash not being picked up in a timely manner along with aisles and concourses not being kept clean - and you get the picture of the what Crew fans have had to endure in 2018 from absentee owner Anthony Precourt. -- Precourt's Prioritized Neglect: https://www.patreon.com/posts/19486429 -- Anthony Precourt Appears To Be Letting Mapfre Stadium Fall Apart: https://www.columbusnavigator.com/anthony-precourt-appears-to-be-letting-mapfre-stadium-fall-apart/ -- Absentee owner Anthony Precourt and MLS should be held accountable for the failing condition of Crew Stadium: http://thecomeback.com/soccer/anthony-precourt-and-mls-should-be-held-accountable-for-crew-stadium.html
August 15, 20186 yr On the eve of Austin's planned vote on Wednesday to approve some kind of agreement with PSV for a stadium deal (or agreement for a future agreement, or whatever) one of the Austin City Council members came to Columbus - on her own dime - to get a first-hand look at how Precourt does business. As you can see from my previous post, it ain't pretty! Here are a couple of twitter posts from two #SaveTheCrew leaders about this visit: I highly recommend viewing the Morgan Hughes thread about the visit. It is a very human response to all the inhumanity that Precourt, PSV and MLS have directed toward Columbus and Crew fans over the past 10 months.
August 15, 20186 yr From the Dispatch's Crew beat reporter, Andrew Erickson, at the Austin City Council: @AEricksonCD Two days shy of 10 months into its relocation efforts, PSV gets a 7-4 yes vote on its stadium term sheet with Austin. City staff will now negotiate, execute final deal. A huge step, to be clear. Eyes now turn to the courtroom and to MLS HQ in NY.
August 17, 20186 yr From the Dispatch's Crew beat reporter, Andrew Erickson, at the Austin City Council: @AEricksonCD Two days shy of 10 months into its relocation efforts, PSV gets a 7-4 yes vote on its stadium term sheet with Austin. City staff will now negotiate, execute final deal. A huge step, to be clear. Eyes now turn to the courtroom and to MLS HQ in NY. Some more detailed reports on Austin's initial agreement with PSV: -- http://www.thisweeknews.com/sports/20180815/councils-yes-vote-on-stadium-term-sheet-moves-crew-sc-closer-to-austin -- https://www.massivereport.com/2018/8/16/17698096/austin-approves-precourt-sports-ventures-mckalla-place-term-sheet-mls-2018
August 17, 20186 yr For those of you who didn't watch that 4+ hour Austin City Council meeting yesterday, count yourself lucky. I was reminded of a quote attributed to Otto von Bismarck: "To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making. The making of laws like the making of sausages, is not a pretty sight." And what happened in that Austin City Council meeting was some ugly sausage making. The last thing you should do when hammering out an agreement (even if its an agreement to have further negotiations - as this one was) is to hammer it out in public with an 11-person committee! But that's what Austin City Council did yesterday. They ended up wading through at least 20 amendments to the initial term sheet presented at their Aug. 9 meeting. Some of the discussion on the amendments was described as "going down the rabbit hole" or "having circular conversations". Here's one example of that: It got so bad that one of Austin council members actually tweeted this out during the meeting! For the record, the tweet is showing an amendment to one of the proposed amendments, which was then amended, and then further amended!!! But that's not all. No, not even close. This is a screenshot of President Pro Tem Tovo going over her amendments. She had the most amendments of any council member - as you can see by all the post-it tabs! For a while, it looked like all the amendments would bog down the meeting to the point that they would need another meeting to slog through the term sheet with PSV. But the MVP of the meeting (for the MLS2ATX side) was Mayor Adler - who in Austin's government, chairs the city council meeting. Adler patiently but methodically plowed through the blizzard of amendments. Which is why the meeting that was scheduled for 2 hours ran 4+ hours. But just as importantly, Mayor Adler acted as the main pro-PSV voice in the room - keeping lobbyist Richard Suttle (who badly blundered in the Aug. 9 meeting) away from the mic for most of the meeting - and kept Anthony Precourt completely away from the mic. That got some council members previously on the fence over the pro-MLS2ATX side. So, although it took much longer than planned, PSV & MLS2ATX got what they needed from this meeting. Though not without some background "Keep Austin Weird"ness: Still much better than this in the background of the Aug. 9 meeting:
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