Columbus Crew Mulling Rebrand, But Officials Claim Colors Are Not Changing

After nearly losing their club, Crew fans could understandably be anxious about what "rebranding" means.

The Crew have already been saved for Columbus. A second rescue mission may be necessary, though, if things are to remain status quo.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the Crew are mulling over a potential rebrand before they enter the club's new downtown stadium in 2021. According to the report, that rebrand could hypothetically include name, colors and crest, though some of that has since been debunked by a club spokesperson and one of the part-owners of the team.

Significant changes are unlikely to sit well with a dedicated fan base that fought hard to keep its team from leaving town. The Crew seemed destined to relocate to Austin, Texas, under Anthony Precourt's leadership until the franchise rights were bought by the Haslam and Edwards families in December 2018. Precourt wound up getting his wish to put an MLS team in Austin after the transaction with expansion side Austin FC, which will start next season.

Along with the transition of ownership came a new stadium plan, with a $300 million Arena District facility set to open by the summer of 2021. That move–and the club hitting its 25th season, as an MLS original–evidently has the club thinking rebrand, not unlike the Chicago Fire, who tweaked their colors and crest upon moving back to Soldier Field for the upcoming season.

A wholesale rebrand may not be in the offing, though. Spokesperson Tim Miller and Dr. Pete Edwards–the club's longtime physician-turned-boardroom-member–both issued reassurances, Miller to Columbus Business First and Edwards in the form of a tweet, to allay the backlash among club supporters that appeared to snowball instantly.

"The colors are not changing," Miller said. "We're trying to figure out the next 25 years of this brand."

Edwards, who told Columbus Business First that there has been "no direct discussion about changing the name" either, tweeted: "The Edwards and Haslam families understand that Columbus bleeds black and gold."

The Edwards and Haslam families understand that Columbus bleeds black and gold 🖤💛. Go @ColumbusCrewSC! #Crew96

— DrPeteEdwards (@DrPeteEdwards1) January 29, 2020

By process of elimination, that leaves the crest as the most likely item up for grabs. Precourt introduced a new crest in 2014 during the club's last rebranding effort, replacing the original logo that featured three men in hard hats with a more traditional soccer look and going to great lengths to ensure the club was referred to as Columbus Crew SC.

It remains to be seen what any future rebranding efforts entail, but for a fanbase that came so close to having its beloved club ripped away, there's an understandable level of uneasiness that comes along with the "R" word.

“As part of the process of building the future identity and brand for the club, we have engaged in dialogue about the historic projects underway," Miller said in a statement to Columbus Business First. "This club has been a vital part of the community for nearly 25 years and so any explorations of the identity of the projects must be done with the spirit of the past and what we believe the club can achieve in the next 25 years.”