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(COLUMBUS,
Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, along with the city of Columbus, today
filed a lawsuit against Precourt Sports Ventures (PSV), the operator/investor
of Columbus Crew SC, and Major League Soccer (MLS), to protect Ohio taxpayers’
interests and ensure the team’s owners follow Ohio law should they seek to move
the team to Austin, Texas.
“Today I have
filed a lawsuit in Franklin County to try to #SaveTheCrew and keep the black
and gold in Columbus,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. “Loyal Crew fans
in Columbus have invested their time and loyalty in this team, and they have
allowed the Crew SC to capitalize from financial incentives paid for by their
tax dollars. I am left with no other choice than to file this suit to ensure
our laws are followed.”
“As I have said, we believe
Columbus Crew SC belongs in Columbus. We have a rich history of professional
soccer and some of the most loyal and dedicated fans in the league,” said Mayor
Andrew J. Ginther (D-Columbus). “Just as importantly, the team plays in a
taxpayer-supported facility, and Precourt Sports Ventures and Major League
Soccer have accepted financial assistance from the state of Ohio and the City
of Columbus. State law provides us with this protection.”
“I am very
pleased that our state’s top law enforcement officer is vigorously enforcing longstanding
Ohio law,” said State Representative Mike Duffey (R-Worthington), a leader in
the #SavetheCrew effort. “The Crew SC is our team. Our town. Neither the MLS or
Precourt Sports Ventures can operate above Ohio law.”
In 1996, following the relocation
of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, the General Assembly enacted Ohio Revised
Code 9.67. The narrowly written, common-sense statute applies to owners whose
teams use tax-supported facilities and accept financial assistance from the
state and its localities. It prohibits these owners from moving their teams elsewhere
unless they give at least six months advance notice of the intention to move
and give the city, an individual, or group of individuals, who live in the area
an opportunity to purchase the teams.
The lawsuit alleges that the Crew
SC and its affiliates have:
- accepted the benefits of approximately $5 million in state
taxpayer-funded improvements to their parking facilities.
- accepted state property tax exemption for the land on which the
Crew SC’s home field, Mapfre Stadium, sits.
- leased that land from the state at a below-market rate.
- accepted more than $300,000 in city taxpayer-funded reimbursements
of their costs in moving portions of a storm sewer and constructing a
water line.
- entered into a Tax Increment Financing and Economic Development
Agreement with the city of Columbus to extend Silver Drive to increase
access to Mapfre Stadium currently costing the city $1.3 million in tax
revenue with the potential total cost of more than $2.1 million.
Attorney General
DeWine and the city of Columbus seek to prevent a potential move of the Crew SC
from Columbus to Austin, Texas or any other city without giving Columbus
officials notice at least six months before any contemplated move. The suit
also asks that during the notice period as outlined in the statute, PSV and MLS
offer the city of Columbus and any individual or group of individuals from the
Columbus area a reasonable opportunity to buy the Crew SC or negotiate an
agreement under which the Crew SC would be permitted to move.
Also named in the
lawsuit are Team Columbus, LLC, the owners of the Crew SC’s stadium, and Crew
Soccer Stadium, LLC, the organization that leases the stadium property from the
state.
The suit was
filed in the Court of Common Pleas in Franklin County.
A copy
of the lawsuit is available on the Ohio
Attorney General's website.
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