The Crew this season topped 9,000 season-ticket members, with over 3,000 new, the highest in yearsGETTY IMAGES
The Crew have "hopes of reaching" between 13,000-14,000 season-ticket holders over the next couple of years, but "getting over 10,000 season-ticket members is the next goal," according to Jacob Myers of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. Crew President Tim Bezbatchenko said that this season the club "topped 9,000 season-ticket members, including over 3,000 new, the highest number in years." The Crew put '20 season tickets on sale Friday, and fans "not only get the benefit of priority on season tickets but seating and discounted prices for the new stadium, which is expected to open" by July '21. Before Saturday’s sold-out crowd against FC Cincinnati, the Crew "ranked second-to-last in attendance in MLS with an average of less than 14,000 fans." But that is still up 10% from '18, when "fallout from the team’s potential move to Austin, Texas, and eventual sale affected attendance." Meanwhile, new Crew Owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam and Dr. Pete Edwards have been tasked with filling out a front office staff that had "about 40 full-time employees and lacked resources in vital areas." Now with over 70 full-time staff members, Bezbatchenko "thinks investments in the team will start to be seen by the fanbase and community this fall and grow from there." Bezbatchenko: "It’s taken until now for us to really bring everything together and get our staffing and our organizational structure in a place where we can start to behave like a top club in MLS" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 8/11).
