Update: Precourt won’t make you pay, so will Crew stay?

When the news of the Columbus Crew potentially moving to Austin first hit the fan, there was speculation that the owner of the team, Anthony Precourt, would demand funding for a new stadium in downtown to come from the public. Alex Fischer, president and CEO of the Columbus Partnership, told Sports Illustrated, “I think there’s no question he expects public financing and or support for any stadium in either city.”

We therefore posed the question to our readers, Are you willing to pay for the Crew to stay?

However, Precourt has since held a press conference to try to clear up any misconceptions, including rumors that he expects public funding for a new stadium.

“This is just an announcement that we are exploring our options. No relocation decision has been made. We are not asking for public tax dollars and we are not asking either city to build a stadium for us. Any conversations we’ve had in Columbus with potential investors center around a new, privately-funded stadium in the downtown area. No investor in Columbus presented a serious offer to invest in the club while the team plays at MAPFRE Stadium. Not for 100 percent, not for 50 percent, not for any percentage. To say that a deal has been made to host games at UT Austin is also premature.”

You can read the full transcript at Massive Report.

So Columbus, since Precourt assures expenses for a new Crew house won’t fall back on you, we have a new question for you…

Would you like to see a new downtown soccer stadium built so that the team can stay or would you like to see Precourt escort himself out?

BROUGHT TO YOU BY