The Columbus Crew aren't just staying in Columbus, they're getting a new home as the city unveiled plans for Crew SC's new $230 million stadium in Columbus' arena district on Thursday afternoon.
From Emily Bench of Columbus Business First:
The investor group in line to buy Columbus Crew SC is committing $230 million to build a new stadium in the Arena District, moving them closer to finalizing a deal with Major League Soccer to keep the team in Columbus.
The new 430,000-square-foot stadium, initially dubbed Columbus Crew Arena, would go on land now owned by Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd. at the far west end of the Arena District, bordering the Olentangy River.
The 33-acre site would house the stadium on 13 acres, while anchoring 15 additional acres targeted for mixed-use private development and 5 acres devoted to public infrastructure, including a new riverfront park. The Confluence Village development surrounding the stadium would feature as much as 270,000 square feet of commercial and office space that could bring an additional 1,300 workers to the district, along with 885 residential units, including 20 percent set aside as affordable housing.
The team will move to the new arena following its completion ahead of the 2021 season. Until then, the Crew will continue to play its home matches in Maprfe Stadium for the next two seasons.
After the team moves away from Mapfre, the city also has plans to redevelop the old stadium and the surrounding land into a shared-use Community Sports Park, which will include include eight indoor basketball courts, two full-size indoor soccer fields, six or more outdoor athletic fields, two MLS-caliber practice fields for the Crew, and additional green space.
Columbus Business First put together a photo gallery of digital renderings of the new stadium as well as drone photographs of the current space.
