Building on his father's original vision to spread an enthusiasm for soccer across the United States, Lamar Hunt, Jr. has become more involved in the Crew front office in the past few years to help grow the organization's brand. Hunt's presence in the Crew's management has helped build relationships in the Columbus corporate community as the club presses on in Goal 10k, its mission to secure 10,000 season ticket commitments.
"Obviously, my more hands-on involvement has been a little bit later in the franchise's history in the past couple of years," Hunt said. "It really came out of a desire for us to keep growing the team, growing the legacy, growing soccer in the United States.
"We would love to grow, even within the City of Columbus. We continually need more corporate support, more fan support. We know that. We think we need to issue that challenge to the City of Columbus."
Moving forward as the club approaches its 20th season of operation, Hunt hopes to build a plan of success for the Crew's future. The future of his father's achievement in building the first Major League Soccer-specific stadium, Crew Stadium, is a priority for the organization.
"We need to have a vision of what Crew Stadium will be like heading into the third decade of team," Hunt explained. "We're in our 18th season now and the 20th year will be upon us very shorty. We need to have a vision of what that's going to look like because the modern fan is a little bit different than the fans 15 years ago."
Hunt's passion for soccer began with a trip to Mexico for the 1970 FIFA World Cup with his father. Creating a similar top-notch experience for fans is a mission for the Hunt family and the Crew.
"You're 13 years old and someone takes you to the World Cup in Mexico, and you see games and you see Pelé play against Italy: your own imagination is captured by it," he said.
"My father's legacy is not something that any of us children need to try to emulate. That's a hard act to follow, and that's not necessarily our call in life. We want to maintain the quality, the integrity and level of what we've been doing going forward. That's very important to us as a family that it be a professional, first class experience for the fans."
