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Crew to remain in Columbus after investor group agrees to takeover

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The Columbus Crew have been saved.

Major League Soccer announced Friday the franchise will remain in Columbus, Ohio for next season, with the Haslam and Edwards families agreeing to take over the Crew from current owner Precourt Sports Ventures.

"After several months of discussions, we are extremely pleased to have reached an agreement in principle with the Haslam and Edwards families for them to assume an ownership position in Major League Soccer and operate Columbus Crew SC starting in January 2019," commissioner Don Garber said in a statement.

Both the Edwards and Haslam families - the latter of which also owns the NFL's Cleveland Browns - were first reported to be in negotiations to take over the MLS franchise in October.

"When we began exploring the possibility of keeping Crew SC in Columbus, the process started with an appreciation for the benefits a professional sports franchise brings to a region," the two families said in a combined statement. "We quickly began positive discussions with Major League Soccer - the league office and many of the league's owners."

One of only 10 clubs to begin play in Major League Soccer's inaugural 1996 season, the Crew's days appeared numbered in October 2017 when owner Anthony Precourt announced his intention to move the club to Austin, Texas if he failed to secure a new downtown stadium in Columbus.

While Precourt remains committed to launching the Austin franchise no later than 2021, the Crew may still play in a new downtown stadium after all. According to Jeremy Pelzer of Cleveland.com, the Ohio Senate approved $15 million in funding for the project earlier this month, just days after Columbus' city council approved $50 million in funds for the stadium.

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