Save! Browns owners, local group steps in to keep Crew SC in town

COLUMBUS – #SaveTheCrew appeared to be more than just a hope and a hashtag Friday afternoon as news broke that local efforts to keep the MLS franchise in Columbus had paid off.

We are excited to jointly announce that the Columbus Partnership along with a local investor group led by Pete Edwards, Jr. and Dee and Jimmy Haslam have formed an alliance to continue the collaboration with Major League Soccer to keep the Crew in Columbus. While there are many details to be worked out, our alliance is working diligently and collaboratively with the League to keep the Crew in its community. -joint statement from the Columbus Partnership, Pete Edwards, Jr. and Dee and Jimmy Haslam

Major League Soccer announced that a Columbus investor group and the owners of the Cleveland Browns had joined forces to take over the team, which current owner Precourt Sports Ventures had planned to relocate to Austin, Texas.

Details, which include plans for a new stadium, still have to be worked out.

The deal also does not signal an end to a lawsuit against current owner Anthony Precourt filed by the city and state aimed at preventing the move.

“Since the very beginning, the purpose of our lawsuit has been to ensure that investors have a fair opportunity to purchase this team,” Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said. “We’re encouraged by this progress and look forward to conversations with MLS and investors that could resolve this litigation.”

Precourt is still expected to get a team in the Texas capital, according to the MLS statement which said the league wanted to see a franchise in place “no later than 2021.”

Precourt had courted Austin for a potential move since last year, contending that the team was no longer financially viable in Columbus without a new stadium.