Crew President of Business Operations Andy Loughnane on Monday "painted a picture" of a franchise in "dire need of assistance," according to Chris Bils of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. Loughnane spoke to season-ticket members at a private event at Mapfre Stadium, and at the "center of the discussion was the ownership’s desire to build a new stadium." Loughnane said, "There’s a significant amount of challenges in doing a deal in Columbus." He said Mapfre Stadium is "nostalgic in many ways, but it also needs to serve a function which is a long-term growth of the club." Loughane: "We think that’s elsewhere, not here.” He also said that the Crew need to show $350M in "guaranteed revenue to go toward building" a stadium (estimated $175M to build) and a training facility ($25M). Loughnane said, “Today we have $13 million of contractually obligated income as a club. It’s going to require having a committed capital stack of $350 million plus another $100 million. A bank won’t lend you the money unless you have it.” Loughnane placed the blame for the Crew’s financial troubles "squarely on the shoulders of the Columbus corporate community." He said that the "average sponsorship" for the team is 42% of the league’s average (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 2/14). In Columbus, Michael Arace writes under the header, "Andy Loughnane’s Message Not Much For Crew Fans To Cheer." Loughnane "deserves credit" for facing a "tough crowd." But Loughnane’s job was to "darken an outlook that has been bleak" since Crew Chair Anthony Precourt officially announced that he was "exploring a move to Austin." Arace: "We’ve already heard all of this. Now, at least, somebody is saying something in public" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 2/14).
