Of eight teams in the four major sports plus soccer to relocate since '00, seven experienced attendance dropsGETTY IMAGES
The Crew's average attendance through seven home games has "dropped to 10,010," a dip MLS Commissioner Don Garber called "understandable" ahead of the team's potential relocation to Austin, according to Andrew Erickson of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. It is a "phenomenon common for teams facing possible relocation." Of eight teams across the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB and MLS to relocate since '00, "seven experienced attendance drops from their penultimate to final year." Garber: "I'm not surprised. I think unfortunately there has not been the same level of support for the Crew that there has been for other MLS teams and that's part of the challenge that we have." Precourt Sports Ventures, which owns the Crew, is "set to submit a stadium plan to Austin City Council on Friday with the understanding that June might be an important month for its Austin efforts." The city council meets June 14 and June 28 before "breaking until August" (DISPATCH.com, 5/29).
ROOM ENOUGH FOR TWO? MLS has announced Cincinnati as its next expansion franchise, and in Austin, Kirk Bohls writes that should "come as good news for soccer fans in Austin given the unlikelihood that MLS would desire two Ohio franchises in such close proximity." However, there is "no such thing as a done deal in Austin" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 5/30). But Garber once again said that MLS believes pro soccer in Ohio is "not a zero-sum game." Garber: "There's enough interest in soccer in the state of Ohio to support two teams. ... But we have a lot of work to do to see whether we're able to find a solution that works for Major League Soccer, that works for the owner of the Columbus Crew and works for everyone in Columbus, because where we are today is not sustainable long-term." Garber added that any solution would "require a significant change in corporate and general support in Columbus" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 5/30).
