#savethecrew

The short(ish) version is Anthony Precourt bought the team in 2013 because he wanted to diversify his portfolio with a sports team, but didn’t want to pay the expansion fee to buy a new MLS team.  He hinted that he’d be interested in moving the club to Austin, TX if he bought it, but after the deal went through there were reports that the contract specifically forbade moving the club.  Now it turns out that there was an escape clause that said Precourt wasn’t allowed to move the club unless he moved it to Austin.  Now more and more information is coming out to suggest that Precourt and MLS have been angling for this move from the get-go.  MLS apparently has been in contact with the mayor and other officials in Austin to discuss the club moving and even trademarked 2 names for possible Austin teams (Austin FC and Austin Athletics) even though Austin had not submitted a bid for an expansion team.  

Precourt is now trying to say that he only wants to move because Columbus won’t build him a new, state of the art stadium in downtown, but the evidence would suggest this has been the intention of both him and MLS since he took over.  The MLS commissioner, Don Garber, was asked about the news and responded “The League is very reluctant to allow teams to relocate, but based on [the specific] factors, we support [Precourt’s] efforts to explore options outside of Columbus, including Austin.”

So basically an MLS owner and the league itself has conspired to move one of the 10 original MLS teams (who has won the MLS Cup once, the Supporter’s Shield 3 times, and the Open Cup once) and lied to the fans every step of the way.  If they’re doing it to Columbus, there’s nothing to stop them from doing it with any other club.

If you’re familiar with the story of AFC Wimbledon and MK Dons, that’s basically what’s going on here.