When Anthony Precourt purchased Columbus Crew SC from the Hunt Sports Group in 2013, many fans became uneasy with an “outsider” taking control of the first club in Major League Soccer.
What did a venture capitalist from San Francisco with no prior ownership experience want with MLS’s first franchise? Many feared the team would become expendable to the new owner.
Former ownership trusted Precourt as did then-mayor Michael Coleman.
He told members of the media that he and his ownership group remained “very committed” to keeping the Crew in Columbus and pledged that he wouldn’t be an absentee owner.