America’s first soccer-specific stadium has a new name.
Columbus Crew SC officials announced at a press conference Tuesday that the facility formerly known as Crew Stadium has been renamed MAPFRE Stadium as part of a naming rights deal with the Madrid-based insurance company.
Investor-Operator Anthony Precourt said the move reaffirms ownership’s commitment to keeping the club in Columbus, and that he believes in the potential of the city, club and stadium.
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“It’s symbolic [that] a global franchise as big as MAPFRE wants to partner with Crew SC,” he said. “It’s the largest commercial partnership in franchise history, and it will help us create the resources we need to create success on the field.”
Precourt and Crew SC President of Business Operations Andy Loughnane declined to divulge any details of the deal other than that it was a “multi-year” agreement.
MAPFRE’s North America president and CEO Jaime Tomayo said that despite their international reach, the company has roots in Columbus.
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“We are a multi-national company; we have a presence in 47 countries, but we’re also local,” Tomayo said. “We operate from Webster, Massachusetts, but we’ve been operating the company in Columbus since the 1940s.
“Our company and our operations in Ohio are managed by Ohioans. Hopefully, with this partnership, our business can add our own share of contribution to building a winning team in the city of Columbus.”
Tomayo also made it clear that his interest wasn’t just from an investment perspective.
“I come from Madrid, Spain, a country that loves soccer,” he said. “I’m a huge soccer fan. I love soccer. And I couldn’t be prouder to partner with this organization.”
Despite the change of name, Precourt made it clear that he expects the same intensity from fans even without the Crew Stadium moniker.
“The stadium is still the stadium,” he said. “The atmosphere we create on match days won’t change. The character of the team and the organization won’t change.”
And perhaps most importantly, Precourt let slip that World Cup qualifiers could return to Columbus.
“We expect to host future significant World Cup qualifying matches here,” he said. “We anticipate that and hope to announce that news in near future.”
