Sources: Columbus Crew to rebrand to ‘Columbus SC’ – Massive Report

Update: A leaked image of the new logo began circulating on social media as this article was being published and with a new “Crew 96” graphic.

Goodbye Columbus Crew. Hello Columbus SC.

The Black & Gold team off the field fans have grown accustomed to is changing in name and image. Massive Report has confirmed rumors that the club plans to announce a change in logo and official name this week. This will be the third time in the 26-year history of the team that Columbus’ soccer team has made a drastic change to its name and appearance.

Massive Report has confirmed that this rebrand will drop “The Crew” from the club’s logo, essentially removing it as an official name of the team. The new logo dubs the team “Columbus SC.” Sources close to the club told Massive Report that “The Crew” will no longer be used in an official capacity and instead be considered a nickname, similar to how “The Black & Gold” has been used in reference to the team in the past, but will continue to be a nickname on merchandise and around the stadium.

Additionally, the logo, once three construction workers, that was redesigned to the current soccer crest by previous ownership in 2014, will take on a completely new shape. As it was described to Massive Report, the new logo will be similar to a banner, no longer the circular shape of the current logo, now in the shape of the Ohio flag, outlined in gold. A block letter “C” in the club’s new font — created by the team and dubbed “96” — will fill the crest in white with a black background. Above the crest is “COLUMBUS” and below is “SC.”

Following leaked images of the new logo on social media, the club released the following statement:

Recently, images have surfaced depicting a new logo for Columbus Crew SC. The Crew and the Black and Gold remain at our core, and we continue to embrace and respect our heritage while modernizing our marks as our club and the city of Columbus evolve. We look forward to revealing those in their entirety in the near future.

It was explained to Massive Report that this change in the logo was done to differentiate the Crew from other MLS teams, eight of which, including Columbus, use a circle image in the team’s logo.

These changes are expected to be announced this week and debut in 2021.

This change did not come as a unanimous decision among those involved in the discussions. Massive Report was told that there are people within the club that feared another drastic change to a team that fans literally saved just three years ago would be viewed as a poor move. There are also those within the club that believed there was no need to update a logo that is yet to turn seven years old and a name that has been with the team since its beginning in 1996. Ultimately, the idea of focusing more on “Columbus,” instead of “The Crew,” in an attempt to become a more global brand, won out among the organization.

Ownership of the Crew was transferred from Anthony Precourt’s Precourt Sports Ventures in 2019 after that group attempted to relocate the team to Austin, Texas. The team was purchased by Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam and team doctor Pete Edwards.