COLUMBUS – Part of the effort to keep the Crew in Columbus is construction of a new stadium for the MLS franchise, raising the question of what to do with the team‘s current home on the Northeast Side, MAPFRE Stadium.
The City of Columbus and Franklin County have an answer: The Columbus Community Sports Park
Potential features of the Columbus Sports Park
Indoor
Programing spaces
Eight indoor basketball courts
A full-size indoor soccer field
Outdoor
6 or more community tournament-level outdoor athletic fields
Two MLS-level practice field
Additional green space
Columbus City Council is expected to vote Monday on a memorandum of understanding with the county and the team’s new owners to create a multi-sports complex at the stadium and on the surrounding land, which will include an indoor soccer field and basketball courts and a tournament-level outdoor athletic fields, and which will served as a practice facility for the Crew when a new stadium for is complete.
The memorandum would finalize the details of the sale of the team to Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam and Dr. Peter Edwards of Columbus, construction of a new soccer stadium and the repurposing of MAPFRE Stadium.
The city has committed funds for infrastructure and land for a new stadium while Franklin County will be contributing money as well though details for a new stadium are not yet available.
The Haslams and Edwards have been working to complete the purchase by the end of the year, the deadline imposed by MLS to keep owner Anthony Precourt from relocating the team to Austin, Texas.
Construction of the Columbus Sports Park is expected to take 18-24 months, city officials said.