New MLS Crew Chair Precourt Hopes To Emulate Success Packers Have Had

New MLS Crew Chair Anthony Precourt believes the club can be the "Packers of soccer," according to Michael Arace of the COLUMBUS DISPTACH. Precourt said, "We want to be a standard-bearer. This team has a history here, it’s a charter team, been around for 18 years, there’s a heritage, there’s an MLS Cup. There’s an opportunity to be really relevant in this market. There’s a tremendous amount of civic pride, and I want to tap into that. I want people to celebrate Columbus here at this stadium." Arace notes "model franchises are thriving" in Portland and K.C., and Precourt "often refers to them." He sees the Crew as "another such franchise, in a market small enough to be tightly knit and large enough to thrive, from the youth level to the professional rank." Meanwhile, Precourt on Thursday began an "intensive, three-day tour of the front office." He said, "I'm a business guy, and I have been most of my life. Sports are a passion. Now, it's a marriage" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 8/9).