Haslam Sports Group has sold a 10% stake in the Columbus Crew. The MLS team was valued at $900 million in the transaction, according to someone familiar with the agreement who was granted anonymity because the details are private.
HSG, the parent company for Jimmy and Dee Haslam’s sports assets, sold the shares to the Edwards family, which was already a partner in the team and will now own 30% of the 2023 MLS Cup champions. HSG’s stake drops to 70% in the deal. In January, Sportico valued the Crew at $730 million in its MLS team valuations, eighth highest in the league.
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The team declined a request to comment on the details of the transaction.
In late 2018, the Haslam and Edwards families reached a deal with MLS to take over operating rights of the Crew for a fee of $150 million after Anthony Precourt moved his Columbus team to Austin. The new ownership came on the heels of a public-private partnership to construct a downtown soccer stadium for Crew SC, replacing the Crew’s original stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium in MLS.
Lower.com Field opened in July 2021 at a cost of $314 million, including $217.5 million in private funding. The Crew have sold out nearly every game since the venue opened, and fans have seen the Crew clinch a pair of recent titles at home: the 2023 MLS Cup and the 2024 Leagues Cup final. The Crew also hosted the 2024 MLS All-Star Game.
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Columbus is the 35th-biggest media market in the U.S., but its soccer team punches well above its weight in MLS’ financial rankings, with ticketing revenue and partnership revenue that both rank in the top quartile of MLS clubs during the past four years.
In April, the team tapped the bigger Cleveland market for a game against Inter Miami and Lionel Messi. When the Haslams bought the Crew, they secured a provision that gave them ongoing control of the Northeast Ohio market, including Cleveland, two hours northeast of Columbus. The Haslams also own the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, having acquired that franchise in 2012, as well as a stake in the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks obtained in 2023.
A crowd of 60,614 people watched Messi lead Miami to a 1-0 win at Huntington Bank Field. It set a Crew franchise attendance record and the stadium’s record for a non-NFL event.
Several MLS ownership groups have sold LP stakes recently, but there has been only one control transaction in MLS during the past three years. The Miller family bought Real Salt Lake and the NWSL’s Utah Royals in March for just under $600 million from David Blitzer.
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Two MLS teams are currently on the market. In December, the Vancouver Whitecaps hired Goldman Sachs to sell the team. John Fisher recently retained Moelis & Co. to sell the San Jose Earthquakes.
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