38 Facts About Columbus Crew

Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio.

The Crew competes in Major League Soccer as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one of the 10 charter clubs of the league.

From 1999 to 2021, the Crew played home games at Historic Crew Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium built for an MLS team, with a seating capacity of 19,968 as of the 2015 season.

From 1996 to 1998, the Columbus Crew played its home games at Ohio Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University.

Columbus Crew have won six major trophies: the MLS Cup in 2008 and 2020; the Supporters' Shield in 2004,2008, and 2009; and the 2002 US Open Cup.

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The Columbus Crew have qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League four times, reaching the quarter-finals on the first three occasions.

Columbus Crew had promised construction of a soccer-specific stadium and had sold over 12,000 season ticket deposits.

The first players for the Columbus Crew were South African national team veteran Doctor Khumalo, by assignment, and Brian McBride.

Stern John, in his first of two seasons with Columbus Crew, was the 1998 scoring champion, amassing 26 goals and 5 assists.

Over both of the next two seasons, Columbus Crew battled injuries to several players and struggled to win many games.

In 2006, the Columbus Crew went on a 13-game winless streak between June 10 and August 19.

Around this time, Columbus Crew supporters began using the term "Massive" to describe the club and city, at first ironically, but then as a term of pride and endearment of the club that continuously fought the odds.

The Columbus Crew followed suit by signing Guillermo Barros Schelotto on April 19,2007.

Columbus Crew started the 2010 season in the CONCACAF Champions League.

On September 2,2013, the Columbus Crew parted ways with Head Coach Robert Warzycha after an embarrassing home loss to the Seattle Sounders, combined with a highly frustrated fanbase.

Columbus Crew sent two of its players to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, center back Giancarlo Gonzalez and left back Waylon Francis, who both represented Costa Rica during the tournament.

On September 26,2015, Columbus Crew SC hosted their largest sellout crowd since 2008 with an announced attendance of 22,719.

Columbus Crew SC came into the playoffs with a bye in the first round after securing second place in the Eastern Conference.

Per Precourt and MLS, Columbus Crew leaders did not present any plan for a downtown stadium.

Columbus Crew had stated the difficulties there has been present with the market over the years.

Garber stated that had Precourt not acquired the club, there was a possibility that Columbus Crew would have ceased operations and ultimately folded.

On March 5,2018, Ohio attorney general Mike DeWine and the city of Columbus Crew filed a lawsuit against Precourt, citing a 1996 state law that prevents sports teams that benefited from public facilities or financial assistance from relocating to another city without a six-month notice and attempting to sell the team to a local ownership group.

On January 1,2019, control of the Crew franchise was officially transferred to the Haslam family and longtime team physician Dr Pete Edwards, who took full ownership of the club after reaching a deal with Precourt Sports Ventures LLC The new ownership group quickly announced that they would be building a new stadium for the Crew in the Arena District of downtown Columbus.

On May 17,2021, in response to the backlash surrounding the rebrand, the franchise announced that "Columbus Crew" would remain as their official name and that the new logo would be modified accordingly.

Columbus Crew had grown into a 21st-century city and become much more "dynamic and diverse".

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Finally, as a significant point of pride for the city of Columbus Crew, "Columbus Crew" was added to the new badge, along with "SC" to further define the brand more accurately as a soccer club.

Club's nickname, the Columbus Crew, evolved from its original meaning as a hard-working construction crew to a new, more relevant one as "a tight-knit group of people who come together to share a passion for our club and the sport of soccer".

The nickname, Columbus Crew, is meant to symbolize a unique brand of family and friendship between the club, the fans and the communities who unite to embrace and celebrate the authenticity and heritage of the sport.

Previously, the Columbus Crew played their home games at the 102,000-capacity Ohio Stadium on the campus of The Ohio State University, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes college football team.

Third, the Columbus Crew had announced in September 2011 that it aimed to increase season-ticket sales from its current levels to 10,000.

Under Precourt Sports Ventures, Anthony Precourt, and Andy Loughnane, the Columbus Crew's goals have shifted from exclusively focusing on season ticket sales to selling out MAPFRE Stadium.

On March 3,2015, the Columbus Crew announced that they had agreed to a multimillion-dollar stadium naming rights partnership with MAPFRE Insurance, a first for the stadium.

In late February 2017, Columbus Crew SC signed a three-year deal with Acura, making the company the Official Jersey Partner and the Official Automotive Partner of the team.

On February 27,2020, the Crew announced that they had signed a multi-year deal with Columbus-based insurance company Nationwide.

Columbus Crew plays for two rivalry cups during the regular season.

Columbus Crew have had eight different head coaches since joining the league in 1996.

The Columbus Crew has signed 15 alumni to First-team MLS contracts, of which 11 have appeared in a regular-season Columbus Crew match.

Columbus Crew formed a partnership with the Michigan Wolves youth soccer club in 2011, later extending the partnership another two years in 2014.