M.L.S. Reaches Agreement to Keep Crew in Columbus

Columbus fans waged a yearlong campaign to keep their team from moving. Jay Laprete/Associated Press

Major League Soccer announced Friday that it had reached an agreement to transfer control of the Columbus Crew to a local ownership group that has pledged to keep the team in Ohio.

The deal will prevent the Crew’s threatened move to Austin, Tex., and end an ugly fight that had driven a wedge between the team’s fans and the organization — at the same time it highlighted the power of fan activism in driving the direction of a pro sports team.

Friday’s announcement that Crew’s current owner, Precourt Sports Ventures, had agreed to surrender control of the team to a group that includes the owner of…