Columbus will host the 2024 MLS All-Star Game and there was an "expectation" the city "would eventually host another" ASG when the Haslams bought the Crew in 2019, according to Bill Rabinowitz of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. MLS Commissioner Don Garber “wasn’t the most popular man” in Columbus when it looked as if the Crew “might leave town five years ago.” Former Crew owner Anthony Precourt was "public enemy No. 1 when he announced his intention to move the franchise to Austin" and Garber was "viewed as being an accomplice.” Dee and Jimmy Haslam stepped in to buy the team with "assurances from government officials that a new stadium would be built," and next year’s All-Star Game is a “reward for all of that.” But Garber said that he "didn't expect it to happen so quickly," as it "took some prodding by Dee Haslam after settling into ownership and the construction of Lower.com Field” (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 6/28).
READY TO HOST: In Columbus, Amanda Tonoli noted the Crew this year “created new premium seating options,” which “quickly sold out for the season.” Crew leaders said that they expect the All-Star Game to “sell out as well.” Columbus previously hosted the All-Star Game in 2000 and 2005, but this “will be the first at Lower.com Field since it opened in 2021.” Garber said, "Once the team got new ownership and built this spectacular stadium, it just was a natural evolution that we would deliver our crown jewel event" (COLUMBUS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/28).
