Columbus Crew SC Logo PNG
The stylish logo of Columbus Crew SC embodies the unity of players and fans as they pursue a common goal – to achieve long-awaited victory. All this is done to glorify the city of Columbus as the home of the greatest athletes and strong-willed people.
Columbus Crew SC: Brand overview
| Founded: | June 15, 1994 |
| Founder: | Dee and Jimmy Haslam, JW and Whitney Johnson, Pete Edwards |
| Headquarters: | Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Website: | columbuscrew.com |
Columbus Crew SC is a professional soccer team from Columbus, Ohio, competing in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer. The team joined the league in 1996 but was founded two years earlier, in 1994, when MLS announced that the city would be home to one of the ten newly formed franchises.
Originally, the club was named “Eclipse” in honor of a solar eclipse. But before the start of the first season, the franchise was renamed. The local newspaper, The Columbus Dispatch, held a citywide contest for the team name. The first suggestion – “Columbus Crew” – became a hit. It was meant to emphasize the persistence of Columbus, known for its “blue-collar” workers, people from the working class engaged in manual labor.
In 1996, MLS investor Lamar Hunt and his son Clark became the owners of “Columbus Crew.” On July 30, 2013, Anthony Precourt, who was interested in soccer, purchased the club for 68 million dollars. Thus, Precourt Sports Ventures LLC became the team’s second investor-operator. On October 8, 2014, the new owner began rebranding. He changed the club’s name to Columbus Crew SC, focusing on its status as a soccer club.
As a result, the word “Crew” acquired a new meaning, as the city was no longer associated with the working class. It came to symbolize team spirit and unity between players and members of the fan sports community. Additionally, the rebranding included a logo change. Only the official colors – black and gold – remained unchanged. The marketing department collaborated with Adidas and Whole-Brain to develop a new concept. The Columbus Crew logo was unveiled in the fall of 2014 and debuted during the 2015 MLS campaign.
On October 17, 2017, Anthony Precourt announced the club’s possible relocation to Austin, Texas, if the city authorities did not build a new stadium. On March 5, 2018, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and the city of Columbus filed a lawsuit against Precourt. They referred to a state law prohibiting sports teams using state facilities from relocating to another city without prior notice. Eventually, MLS allowed Precourt to establish a new franchise in Austin, while Crew SC remained based in Columbus.
The club got new owners. On January 1, 2019, control over the shares was officially transferred to the Haslam family (investment group Dee and Jimmy) and the team’s doctor, Dr. Pete Edwards. Subsequently, Pete Edwards became the full owner of the club after concluding a deal with Precourt Sports Ventures LLC. He promised to keep the team in the city and build a new stadium.
Meaning and History
Founded in 1994 in Columbus, Ohio, as one of ten inaugural franchises of Major League Soccer, the Columbus Crew SC team has two logos. The second Columbus Crew logo appeared after the 2014 rebranding campaign. It was initiated by the club’s new owner, Anthony Precourt, who intended to change the brand’s style in 2013.
What is Columbus Crew?
Columbus Crew is a professional soccer club from Ohio, a member of Major League Soccer, participating in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded in 1994 but began playing in 1996 as one of the charter teams of the league. The club is managed by the Haslam family and former team doctor Pete Edwards.
1996 – 2014
The debut logo of Columbus Crew resembled a triangular Norman shield, widely known in heraldic tradition. The article “the” at the top interrupted its wide black border. The word “The,” written in a bold, grotesque font without serifs, was placed above the word mark “Crew,” written in an old-fashioned font—the black words, written in uppercase, contrasted with the yellow-gold background.
Three people occupied two-thirds of the emblem in construction hats. Their silhouettes were drawn schematically: light fell on the faces from the right side, the rest in shadow. These were generalized images of workers or “blue collars” of Columbus, city residents engaged in heavy manual labor. The men were depicted against a contrasting dark gray background.
2015 – today
In 2014, the new owner of the team conducted rebranding. On October 8, 2014, he introduced a new round logo for Columbus Crew – a strong symbol of unity and shared values of players, staff, fans, and the community. It’s a kind of tribute to Columbus’s German heritage (Oktoberfest in Columbus, Nordecke fan section, German Village), as most of the Bundesliga team emblems have the same shape.
The inner ring repeats “O” on the Ohio state flag. It is made of thick gold and has reverse contours. The inner ring contains the words “Columbus” (at the top) and “Crew SC” (at the bottom) in white sans-serif font.
The Columbus Crew SC emblem pays homage to the club’s history, so “96” signifies the founding year of the club and Major League Soccer. It’s written in the same font as the team’s name. “96” is placed inside a small shield decorated with nine yellow-black diagonal stripes representing the other charter clubs of the league. The “checkerboard” pattern symbolizes passionate fans and their unwavering support. This pattern is deeply rooted in the culture of Columbus Crew SC fans. Additionally, it is a distinguishing feature of “Nordecke,” the local stadium in Columbus.
Columbus Crew SC: Interesting Facts
Columbus Crew SC is a soccer team with a long history in Major League Soccer (MLS).
- Early Days: They started in 1994 as one of the first teams in MLS, bringing professional soccer to Columbus, Ohio.
- Their Stadium: In 1999, they opened the first stadium in the U.S. just for soccer, setting an example for other teams to follow.
- Winning Big: They’ve won the MLS Cup twice, first in 2008 and then again in 2020, showing they’re among the top teams.
- Fans Who Care a Lot: The team has great fans, especially the Nordecke group, who are super loud and supportive at games.
- Fighting to Stay: In 2017, when plans to move the team to Texas were announced, fans started the “Save The Crew” movement. It worked, and the team stayed in Columbus.
- New Beginnings: After fans kept the team in Columbus, it got new owners and a new stadium downtown called Lower.com Field in 2021.
- The First MLS Team: They were the first team announced by MLS in 1994, showing their important place in soccer history.
- Famous Players: Players like Brian McBride and Guillermo Barros Schelotto have played for Columbus and made big contributions to the team.
- More Wins: Besides the MLS Cup, they also won the U.S. Open Cup in 2002, adding to their list of achievements.
- Team Colors and Crest: The redesigned black and gold colors and crest, which included “96” for their founding year, show their identity and connection to their fans and history.
Columbus Crew SC’s story includes:
- Exciting wins.
- A strong bond with fans.
- Its position as a leader in American soccer.
Font and Colors
The Columbus Crew SC logo has evolved along with its concept. Initially, the name was associated with the city’s working class, which had many so-called “blue collars.” It was them – the silhouettes of three men in construction helmets – depicted inside a quadrangular heraldic shield with a sharp base.
In 2014, the new franchise owner decided to conduct a redesign of the emblem and a complete rebranding. He saw the Columbus Crew SC nickname as a symbol of unity and team spirit, so he considered the images of builders inappropriate. Whole-Brained and Adidas developed a modern round graphic symbol for the club. This logo contains several symbolic elements: a small ring – “O” on the Ohio flag, nine stripes inside it – other participants of Major League Soccer, “96” – 1996, the franchise appeared.
In the first version of the emblem, two fonts were used: Sans Serif Grotesque for the article “THE” and an old-fashioned font for “CREW.” After the redesign, the inscriptions looked completely different. “COLUMBUS CREW SC” and the number 96 are done in a modified version of the sans-serif Copenhagen font. The most significant changes affected the letters “M,” “E,” and “W.”
Whole-Brained and Adidas developed a color scheme for the soccer team and tried to implement it in the logo. The main palette includes black and yellow colors, with white as an additional color.