A Crew on the Rise

By Gary L. Moody Jr.

The offseason has been incredibly kind to the Columbus Crew. In a matter of a few short months the Crew seemed to have solved every possible issue. Jersey sponsor. Check. New TV deal that will expand the Crew brand. Check. Some serious international talent to help out in the attack. Check. An aggressive marketing plan to increase season ticket sales. Check. A great showing at the MLS SuperDraft. Check.

Let’s only hope the season goes this well. If it does, the Crew will be lifting the MLS Cup this fall and maybe claiming the Open Cup as well. Here are a few critical questions that should help us preview the season for the Black & Gold:

1. Where will the goals come from?

Everybody knows the Crew sent Andres Mendoza packing after just one season. Yes, he led the team in goals, but there seemed to be something missing when it came to team chemistry and connecting with fans.

If Emilio Renteria stays healthy (and that is a big if), he will lead the Crew in goals in 2012. The Venezuelan is a wrecking ball on the pitch, capable of changing any game with his physical play. Newcomers Olman Vargas and Milovan Mirosevic should fill in gaps in the attack. Mirosevic is already showing flashes of brilliance; maybe he is the player that will finally fill the hole left by Guillermo Barros Schelotto over a year ago.

Prediction: The Crew will see a 10-20% increase in goals. The sometimes sluggish attack will be renewed by new acquisitions.

2. Who will play left back?

This is the most popular question of the offseason and one that may still be unanswered. The Crew appeared to have some options thanks to returning players, some rookies, and of course a good share of trialists. A month ago it appeared Lance Laing might make the squad and be a starter for Columbus, but Laing didn’t impress enough to make the squad out of camp and currently is with RSL. Columbus still can claim his rights thanks to the discovery process, but the former Fort Lauderdale Striker certainly doesn’t seem to be the solution at the moment.

Danny O’Rourke has to shake the injury bug and isn’t a natural at the position. The Crew obviously aren’t going to spend big on the position and none of the rookies and trialists seem to be the answer.

Prediction: Most analysts balk at the idea of Shaun Francis starting at left back on March 10 in Colorado, but this is the best option. Francis has speed, can contribute to the attack, and (contrary to public opinion) is not a downgrade from Josh Gardner.

3. Where will the Crew finish in 2012?

The Crew wants to avoid another first round exit in the playoffs. A great offseason gives them a ton of momentum going into the season; it comes down to a matter of consistency. The team hopes to avoid the rollercoaster ride of previous seasons.

Prediction: The Eastern Conference will again be up in the air. The Crew could finish second, but certainly no lower than third.

4. Who will have a breakout season in 2012?

Everyone knows Eddie Gaven, Chad Marshall, and Will Hesmer are among the league’s best. But the Crew’s newest star will be Dilly Duka. He is a player that will help fans forget Robbie Rogers, who crossed the pond to sign with Leeds. Duka is a star for the U-23s and will be a game changer in MLS.

Prediction: Duka will lead the team in assists and score a handful of goals in the process.

5. Which rookie will have the biggest impact?

Ben Speas was named Soccer America’s top collegiate player and would have been a top 10 pick in this year’s draft. He is versatile enough to be a force at forward or in the midfield. However, it is Ethan Finlay that may be the biggest contributor. Finlay was the star of the MLS Combine and has already put in a solid preseason. He could be a force on the wings or up front.

Prediction: Finlay will see the most playing time of the rookies and should land a few goals and assists. He should be the #1 sub for the midfield, spelling Gaven, Mirosevic, and Duka when called upon.

We can’t wait for the season to start. We are a few measly weeks away from the first match, which could be the start of something truly special.

Crew and FOX Sports Ohio Announce Television Agreement

COLUMBUS, OH - February 23, 2012 - FOX Sports Ohio and the Columbus Crew have entered into a new television rights agreement, it was announced today by Crew President & General Manager Mark McCullers and Henry Ford, Senior Vice President and General Manager, FOX Sports Ohio. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

FOX Sports Ohio will produce and televise 32 Crew soccer games, all in high definition. The first “Soccer Night in Ohio” featuring the Crew on FOX Sports Ohio will be Saturday, March 10, at Colorado.

“I am extremely excited for our fans throughout the region that they will be able to follow the Crew on the top regional sports network in the state,” McCullers said. “Importantly, through this relationship with FOX Sports Ohio, the Crew brand reach will be substantially increased across the state and throughout the region, as will the brand reach of our corporate partners and advertisers.”

“As Ohio’s leading regional sports network, this deal was a natural for our network and we are proud to partner with the Columbus Crew,” Ford said. “Crew fans will be given the same inside access and in-depth, state-of-the-art coverage of their soccer team that sports fans across the state have come to expect from FOX Sports Ohio. We look forward to growing our relationship with the Crew.”

Calling all the Crew action on FOX Sports Ohio will be play-by-play man Dwight Burgess, the original “Voice of the Crew,” and analyst Duncan Oughton. Joining them on home telecasts will be sideline reporter Ashleigh Ignelzi.

Burgess, a broadcast veteran of more than three decades and longtime collegiate soccer coach, returns for his 17th season behind the microphone for the Crew. His background includes a stint with XM Radio as a studio host during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and two seasons as the radio play-by-play announcer for Ohio State men’s basketball. Burgess was a head coach at Capital University for 10 years, where his men’s and women’s teams combined to win six conference titles and earn three NCAA Tournament berths.

Oughton, the longest-serving player in club history, returns for his second season in the booth after retiring from a 10-year career in Black & Gold following the 2010 campaign. He now serves as assistant technical director and works in the front office in a variety of functional areas, in addition to his TV duties. Over the course of his storied Crew career, Oughton was a part of all five major trophies won by the club and became one of the most beloved figures in club history. A 34-year-old native of Wellington, New Zealand, Oughton was also a longtime member of his national team, having been capped 22 times by the All Whites, as they are known.

Ignelzi is entering her third season as the Crew’s online video host and first on the TV broadcast team. A native of Columbus, she graduated from Otterbein College and currently works as a reporter on FOX Sports Ohio’s “Game Time with Urban Meyer” and as a remote reporter for ESPN the Magazine, covering professional sports in Ohio. She started her career with the Ohio News Network as a host and reporter on the Average Joe Sports Show.

Stanisic Joins Crew Coaching Staff

COLUMBUS, OH - February 10, 2012 - The Columbus Crew announced today that it has named Vojislav “Scoop” Stanisic its new goalkeeping coach. Stanisic (pronounced STAN-ih-SICH) comes to the Crew with a USSF ‘A’ coaching license and a long, varied resume in American soccer. He fills the position vacated by Vadim Kirillov, whose five-year tenure with the club ended following last season.

“I am honored to join such a great organization,” Stanisic said. “Hesmer, Gruenebaum and Lampson are all very talented goalkeepers, and I look forward to working with them to further their development and help the club reach its goals.”

A native of Belgrade, Serbia, the 48-year-old Stanisic began his playing career in the youth system of Partizan Belgrade at the age of 15. He remained with the storied club until 1984, when he moved to the United States to play for the New York Cosmos’ indoor team.

He went on to build a reputation as one of the top goalkeepers in the indoor game over the course of a career that lasted until 2001. Stanisic continued to play outdoors during the indoor offseason for much of his career, including a run in the APSL from 1989-92 with Albany, Washington and Miami. Upon receiving his U.S. citizenship, Stanisic was placed in the U.S. National Team pool and earned one cap, in a 2-2 tie with El Salvador on March 23, 1993.

In 1996, he transitioned to coaching during the offseason, when he was named head coach of the Franklin & Marshall College women’s team. He went 8-6-0 in his lone season there, before moving on to become an assistant coach at Central Missouri from 1997-99. He also coached the Kansas City Mystics of the W-League in from 1999-01 and the Vermont Voltage of the PDL from 2001-03.

“We are very happy to add Scoop to our coaching staff,” said Crew head coach Robert Warzycha. “He has so many different experiences to draw upon that will assist in the development of our goalkeepers. His unique background and the expertise he has gained will be an asset to our club.”

Stanisic earned a number of accolades during his indoor career, including MISL Newcomer of the Year in 1987, NPSL Playoff MVP in 1993 and 1997, when his Kansas City Attack teams won NPSL titles, and he was named to the NPSL All-Star Team three times (1995, 1996 and 1998). Stanisic has also been active in youth soccer, as the founder and director of coaching for the KC Inter and Indiana Inter Premier soccer clubs between 1998 and 2007. Most recently, he had been working in the private sector in Chicago, where he lived with his 11-year-old son Milan. 

Crew Make Big Impact on Ohio's Economy

COLUMBUS, OH - February 8, 2011 - The Columbus Crew and Crew Stadium have generated more than $384 million in direct spending, both within and outside of the iconic stadium, helping to create hundreds of area jobs and produce millions in tax revenue. These and other significant financial indicators that benefit the region emerged from the first-ever economic impact study commissioned by the Columbus Crew.

Crew President & General Manager Mark McCullers commented, “We have always known that the Columbus Crew, as a major-league operation, delivers both tangible and intangible benefits for the central Ohio community. This in-depth study allows us to quantify those financial benefits and the significant economic impact.”

The Crew hired Texas-based consultants Conventions, Sports & Leisure International (CSL) http://www.cslintl.com/ to estimate the economic and fiscal impacts to the area since the team’s inaugural 1996 season and the opening of Crew Stadium in 1999. Since 2000, more than 3.3 million people have attended soccer matches and other events at the stadium. Of the direct spending attributed to those attending Crew Stadium events, 69 percent is spent within the city of Columbus. When surveyed, those attending Crew Stadium events indicated that only 30 percent of their money would have been spent in Columbus if not for the Crew. In other words, 70 percent of the money spent locally at Crew Stadium events would not have been spent in the local economy if not for the Crew and Crew Stadium.

Last year, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman helped launch ‘Game On, Columbus!’ an initiative with the Greater Columbus Sports Commission to help Columbus’ professional sports teams increase season ticket sales and to reiterate the importance of professional sports to Columbus’s continued growth.

“Since 1996, the Columbus Crew has been generating pride for our community, jobs for our people and revenue for our city,” Mayor Coleman said. “The Crew is a key component to making Columbus a major-league city both economically and culturally.”

Event attendees typically spend just over $69 each in and outside of the stadium. This fan spending, combined with other expenditures by the team and its players, totaled $384.2 million from 1996 to 2011. A breakdown of that total showed that $219.5 million in new spending was generated in Franklin County (spending that would not have occurred within the county if not for the presence of the team and stadium), and $215.7 million in new spending was generated within the city of Columbus. New spending within the state from the overall total was calculated at $148.4 million. The number is smaller than the city’s because a larger percentage of attendees are state residents compared to Columbus or county residents, so less of their spending can be considered “new.” After applying economic impact multipliers, which account for re-spending of the initial direct expenditures in the local market, the Crew and Crew Stadium are estimated to have generated $355.1 million in new economic activity within the city of Columbus, $361.9 million within Franklin County and $243.3 million in the State of Ohio.

Furthermore, CSL calculated that the presence of the Crew and Crew Stadium has supported an average equivalent of 380 full- or part-time jobs on an ongoing basis since the team’s inception, including 490 jobs supported in 2011. These jobs have generated more than $163 million in wages earned by employees or businesses associated with or impacted by the stadium and team since 1996. That presence has also produced tax revenue for the City of Columbus, Franklin County and the State of Ohio in the amounts of $6.5 million, $2.1 million and $14.6 million respectively. CSL also determined that those levels of economic and fiscal impacts would be increased by 15 to 20 percent if annual season ticket sales reached 10,000; the team attracted more corporate sponsorships; and stadium naming rights and jersey sponsorships were added.

The Crew launched its “Goal 10k” campaign last fall to increase individual and corporate season ticket sales. To date, the results have been solid as the club has already surpassed its prior year mark for new season ticket sales. McCullers explained that a critical key to achieving Goal 10k is a substantial increase in corporate season ticket accounts. “We are in the process of launching a corporate season ticket campaign that, over the next 60 days, will substantially impact our Goal 10k efforts,” McCullers said. “We need to increase our corporate season ticket base to a level comparable to other teams in similar sized markets. Information like this study helps support the decision to invest in the Crew.”

CSL conducted surveys at the stadium over two days last August to collect data for developing the economic impact model. The surveys showed that 69 percent of attendees lived outside of Columbus and 20 percent lived outside of Ohio.