Columbus Crew/import

The Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio which competes in Major League Soccer (MLS). It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception.

The Crew were owned by Lamar Hunt, who also owned the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City), and Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas) until his death in 2006. (His son Clark Hunt then took over his sports properties.) In 2013 the club was sold to Anthony Precourt. The Crew currently play their home games at Columbus Crew Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium ever built by an MLS club, with a seating capacity of 22,555 as of the 2013 Season. From 1996 to 1998, the Crew played their home games at Ohio Stadium on the campus of the Ohio State University.

The Crew has won five major trophies: MLS Cup 2008, the 2004, 2008, and 2009 Supporters' Shields, and the 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Crew won the 2002 Open Cup by defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy, 1–0, at Columbus Crew Stadium. The Crew then won its first MLS Supporters' Shield in 2004 in a tie-breaker over the Kansas City Wizards. In 2008 the Crew won its second Supporters' Shield en route to defeating the New York Red Bulls in MLS Cup 2008, 3–1.

The nickname "the Crew" is the result of a local fan contest. The team colors are black and gold. The team mascot is Crew Cat.