Columbus Crew ownership has been setting the stage for Saturday’s showdown with Inter Miami inside Cleveland’s NFL stadium for years, well before Lionel Messi began drawing record crowds across the league. More than 60,000 fans are expected at Huntington Bank Field to watch MLS’ last two unbeaten teams play.
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Back in 2018, as Jimmy and Dee Haslam negotiated to buy the Crew, incoming ownership requested a new provision that would give them ongoing control of the Northeast Ohio market, including Cleveland, two hours northeast of Columbus. The Haslams also own the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, having acquired that franchise in 2012.
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Under the terms of the territory agreement, the Crew have exclusive rights to monetize its brand in the area, and MLS won’t expand to the city without Crew approval. That power is nearly unique in American pro sports; the closest analogue might be the Baltimore Orioles’s control over Washington Nationals TV rights, a messy situation that was resolved after two decades last month.
The Crew then went about negotiating a long-term lease in a new stadium—including a provision allowing them to move a home game to another venue. With Messi’s visit to Ohio conveniently placed before summer concert season, the team decided to take advantage this year.
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“We think over the course of the past five years, we’ve put the Crew on really, really solid footing in Columbus,” Josh Glessing, Haslam Sports Group chief of strategy and development and Crew president of business operations, said in a phone interview. “We’re in a position to continue to do cool, splashy things, and this year is the right time to do it.”
The Crew have ranked sixth or better in MLS for both ticketing revenue and partnership revenue each of the past four years, the team said. Columbus’ typical home, Lower.com Field, seats roughly 20,000. Its attendance record for a home match came back in 1996, when 31,550 people gathered for a game at Ohio Stadium.
Saturday’s game will mix Crew traditions with elements from Browns games. Glessing expects 60% or more of the attendees to be arriving at their first MLS game, including visitors from neighboring states and farther afield.
“The goal is to convert all of these people to season ticket fans, to MLS Season Pass subscribers,” Glessing said. “Everything we’re doing is trying to grow the base of actively engaged fans.”
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Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said he is preparing his squad “to play kind of an away home game.” It’s not uncommon to see swaths of pink wherever Messi shows up these days. This will be his 11th MLS match in an NFL stadium. And some season-ticket holders have complained about one of the biggest games of the year being moved hours away. One local writer went so far as to call the decision a “blatant cash grab.”
But the Crew ultimately decided the disruption was worth the benefits, both for those able to attend and for a middle-market franchise like Columbus hoping to expand its footprint to help keep up with the Inter Miami’s of the world.
Columbus’s efforts in Northeast Ohio go beyond Saturday’s tilt. With new freedom under MLS’ relationship with Apple, the club is exploring Cleveland-specific media deals. It has also developed youth training events and community building efforts in the region.
Still, Glessing doesn’t anticipate the trip to Cleveland becoming an annual event. “We’re the Columbus Crew,” he said. “Columbus is the top priority all the time.”
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