Atlanta United captain Michael Parkhurst described as sad the possibility that Columbus could relocate to Austin, Texas.
Parkhurst, 33, made 100 regular-season appearances from 2014-16 for the Crew before he was traded to Atlanta United in December 2016.
“It’s sad. It’s disappointing,” he said. “I enjoyed my time in Columbus. I loved the city. I think it would be unfortunate if the team were to leave.”
Columbus was one of the 10 original franchises when MLS started in 1996. The franchise was sold in 2013 to Anthony Precourt. The team went through a re-brand and upgrades were made to the team’s stadium, which is located near the fairgrounds a few miles north of downtown and east of the campus of Ohio State.
Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl reported earlier this week that Precourt is considering moving the franchise to Austin if a stadium closer to downtown Columbus can’t be constructed.
The Crew averaged 17,125 tickets sold per game last season in Mapfre Stadium, which has a capacity of 20,145. The team will be in the playoffs this season, but is averaging 15,349 tickets sold per game. It ranks 20th of the league's 22 teams in attendance.
Parkhurst said that Columbus’ stadium could be in a better location.
“The stadium is pretty close to downtown, but it’s not in a good area,” he said. “It’s close to OSU, but they don’t get the attendance from OSU that maybe everyone thought that they would. There’s nothing around the stadium.
“You can’t get there early to go anywhere to get a drink or have something to eat unless you want go to Lowe’s and do some shopping. There’s nothing else around there.”
Though many soccer clubs around the world have changed ownership and/or rebranded, included many in MLS, few have picked up and moved cities. M.K. Dons, a lower-division club in England, moved from London to Milton Keynes and changed its name from Wimbledon F.C. in 2003.
In Argentina, ArgentinosJuniors moved to Mendoza from Buenos Aires.
In MLS, San Jose moved to Houston in 2006 and became the Houston Dynamo. Three teams have folded: Miami (2001), Tampa (2001) and Chivas USA (2014).
