Columbus' NWSL team is working to build its brand
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Now that Columbus has been awarded a NWSL team, work is underway on its brand. Photo: Courtesy of the Columbus Crew
The Haslam Sports Group team heading up National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) operations is in a "sprint" toward the team's 2028 launch.
State of play: They're soliciting fan and community input, planning branding and team identity and beginning the process of assembling a staff.
A key milestone will be finalizing plans for the team's McCoy Park training facility, which drew criticism for its use of potential community green space.
- The team shared plans for the facility earlier this month.
- It will have a hearing with the Columbus Development Commission in August and City Council will vote on rezoning in September, aiming for an October groundbreaking.
Plans are progressing well, Crew president of business operations Mary Shepro tells Axios, and the team is committed to "ensuring that there's plenty of access to green space."
- "We've said from the get-go it should be a win-win. We're committed to it being a win-win, and we've done the work as a community to get us there."
The intrigue: We don't yet know what the team will be called or how it will be branded.
- Shepro says the team has been "soliciting community engagement" on possible team names, what excites Columbus fans and the "ethos of the community" that should be reflected.
- Once a brand has been decided, priority will shift to "being out in the community" and cultivating a fan base.
Between the lines: Columbus has a ready-made soccer fandom for the Crew — and although Shepro says those fans are a key starting point, the NWSL operation is approaching its fan base as a separate project entirely.
- "One of the things that we felt really excited about is the fact that there is very little crossover in fan bases between the NWSL and MLS. So we are really hoping that we find that same reach here, that we are now able to access and work with and support a completely different part of the Columbus and regional community through women's soccer."
Shepro says the idea isn't to make the NWSL team feel "second fiddle" to the Crew.
- "We envision these teams as siblings, but that doesn't mean they're identical twins."
What we're watching: Public events and opportunities to share input are coming this summer and fall. A brand launch is expected later this year.