The Crew have "come to an agreement with Nationwide Realty Investors to buy the land needed" for their new stadium in downtown Columbus, with the sale "expected to close at the end of the month," according to Jacob Myers of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. With groundbreaking set for today, the venue "remains on pace to open" in July '21. The city "will transfer its 7.686 acres of land on the west side of the development to the Crew to complete" a mixed-use project (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 10/10). In Columbus, Hayleigh Colombo notes the price tag for the stadium has now reached $300M following an infusion of $70M in "private funding from the team's ownership group." Browns Senior VP/Communications Peter John-Baptiste said that the Crew's ownership group "decided to invest the additional money into the stadium 'as the design has evolved and we've looked through the process for what it takes for the building to be what we wanted it to be.'" John-Baptiste said that he "could not give specifics" on what the $70M would fund. The stadium will "include a continuous wraparound roof, four stands with various seating features, a closed seating bowl, a 360-degree concourse and an event space." In total, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said that the city "still plans to contribute" $50M to Crew-related projects, with another $63.9M "set to be spent on nearby projects" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/10).
