Clark Hunt is selling the Columbus Crew soccer team

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Interesting. I wonder if this is a harbinger of things to come...

Originally Posted by KCrockaholic

In all seriousness it's up for sale because the MLS wants local owners. So Ohio.

Yes and no. This has all been in the works for a while now. The big deal in this move is MLS's desire for no owner to own more than one team. There were times in the past where some owners owning a number of the teams was vital to keep the league going but that is not the case anymore. AEG owned 3 or 4 teams at some point in the past but they currently only own the LA Galaxy and part of the Houston Dynamo.

MLS is trying to get Hunt and AEG to get down to one team but passing ownership to the "right" owner is more important than just dumping them off on someone. Local ownership is strongly strongly desired but I am not sure a lack of it would be a deal breaker if someone wanted to come in and sweep up the Crew. It is interesting though even though he lives in Dallas I see Columbus as a better soccer market and a better organization to run. But who knows.