Upon the conclusion of the the 2016 Major League Soccer and Columbus Crew SC season, Crew SC Investor-Operator and Chairman Anthony Precourt discussed the Club on and off the field and what's next for the Black & Gold...
Q:When you look at your career and reflect on this season specifically, how challenging was it and what have you learned from it?
Anthony Precourt: I’ve had a lot of challenges in life. Life has its ups and downs; sports certainly has its ups and downs. In the long run, I always believe that it nets out positive—I’m a positive guy, cup half-full guy. I have to say I’m very pleased what we were able to accomplish out of the gates with Gregg [Berhalter] in 2014, being the third seed, in 2015 as the second-seed, hosting MLS Cup, winning the Eastern Conference. Obviously we had very high expectations going into this year to finish the job and win MLS Cup, and it was very disappointing that we never got into a groove, only won eight games, so it was an extremely frustrating season. All I know is that in life, you have to be resilient. You have to put your shoes back on, get out there, work hard and try to get back to really entertaining, exciting, winning soccer.
Q:When you talk about the success of the 2015 season, how do you get back on that winning track? What kind of changes can we anticipate to see Crew SC return to its winning ways?
AP: The margin for error is very small in MLS. It’s a very competitive League. Trying to find the secret sauce every year is challenging. It’s the first time in MLS history that both MLS Cup participants did not qualify for the MLS playoffs the following year. Portland is in our same boat after hosting [them in] MLS Cup. It’s a process and we’re beginning the process of ‘How do we improve? What did we learn from last season?’ I don’t say we have all the answers now, but we’re starting a very thorough process and I believe in Gregg and I believe in the coaching staff and our scouts and I know we’ll be in a position to be a really good soccer club again next year.
Q: It was a tough year results-wise, but what were you most proud of this club accomplishing this year?
AP: It’s hard to be proud of much on the field. Off the field, we increased our Season Ticket Member base and had more sell-outs than any year in our club’s history. That shows how much support we’re getting from Columbus and our fans are the best.
Q: When you look at making improvements, are you open to having more than one Designated Player on the roster again in the near future?
AP: Yes, very open. As I publicly stated during the summer transfer window this year, we tried to sign a second Designated Player this year, and that’s the objective in this off-season. It’s always about finding the right player at the right position with the right economics. I’m not guaranteeing it, but we’re extremely open and committed to a second Designated Player and we’ve also been a club that’s been aggressive with the use of Allocation Money, Targeted Allocation, and we’ve acquired a lot of Targeted Allocation money and General Allocation Money with several different trades, including the Kei Kamara trade last May. We have a lot of dry powder and I anticipate being aggressive in the off-season with signing some players that will hopefully contribute to the best starting eleven.
Q: What do you have in store this off-season?
AP: Improve the roster, number one. Number two, secure a jersey sponsor. We’re in the last year of our Barbasol sponsorship and they’ve been great partners for us and we’re still working really hard to be able to say we have a market rate jersey sponsor for 2017 and beyond which allows us to be competitive. We want to continue to grow our membership base, match attendance, and increase the number of sell-outs.
Q: A survey went out to supporters to gather their thoughts on a potential new stadium in Columbus. What went into the decision to hire a consulting firm and what are you hoping to accomplish at this stage?
AP: We’ve always said that we like to be very thorough and we do our research; we do our homework. We have to plan for the short term and we have to plan for the long term. In working with Barrett Sports Group, it’s just part of our long-term strategic planning to assess the demand for a new stadium in Columbus. It gives us a chance to collaborate with our fan base, with our corporate sponsors and our corporate community on what they would like to see in a new facility in Columbus. MAPFRE Stadium is a 17-year-old building. We still have years left on our lease and the option to renew a new lease, but it’s important for us to think about what we need to do as a club to be financially healthy, financially sustainable and in an attractive entertainment environment for our fans. The high watermark in Major League Soccer is going up and our peers are doing exciting things with their infrastructure and we have to keep up with the Joneses. Sporting Kansas City is a great model for resetting as an MLS 1.0 club. They fully reset and just took things to a much higher level with Children’s Mercy Park. We need to think about what we need to do in Columbus to really be a top club—a successful club.
Q: How have you seen the relationship with this club continue to evolve with the city of Columbus?
AP: Having Mayor [Andrew J.] Ginther sit with the team for our team photo this year, that shows how far we’ve come. Wearing the city colors, that shows our commitment; putting Columbus in the badge when we re-branded—it’s exciting. We’ve had some incredible atmospheres, crowds, over the last several years. We’ve had more sell-outs than any year. The last two years, we’ve broken the record for number of sell-outs and our Season Ticket base keeps going up. It’s exciting. We’re playing for the city of Columbus and the city is responding. They’re responding and we’ve created a fortress. It’s hard to play on our home turf.
Q: What would you ultimately like to see in 2017?
AP: I’d like to win an MLS Cup, bottom line. We want to win trophies beyond MLS Cup—Supporters’ Shield, U.S. Open Cup. I want our style of play to be attractive, entertaining and exciting. Let’s win and let’s be entertaining along the way.
