The path to tonight's unveiling of the new Crew logo and brand began more than two years ago. The end result of the process has been revealed as the Crew has unveiled its new logo and, with it, the hopes of a new brand that will have a deeper resonance within the entire city.

The ushering in of a next era for the Crew was delivered with a good-natured, official lecture.

At a packed LC Pavilion, Crew fans, players and front-office personnel official unveiled the first change to the club�s name and logo since Major League Soccer�s inaugural season in 1996. Once a nearly three-minute video played to explain the rationale behind the new features, Crew investor-operator Anthony Precourt ceded the stage to Mayor Michael B. Coleman.

Bathed in yellow light and flanked by the team, Coleman led the fans in a chant of the new full name: Columbus Crew SC.

�I don�t want to hear you ever call this team again the Crew,� Coleman said. �This change is important. The future of Columbus and the future of the Columbus Crew SC are tied together. We�re joined at the hip, and the success of the Columbus Crew SC and the city of Columbus, we need each other to succeed.�

The process that culminated in last night�s unveiling began more than two years ago, when Hunt Sports Group owned the team. With what was perceived as a disconnect between what the Crew hoped to stand for and what much of its core demographic was feeling, a challenge was issued: Find ways to increase the emotional connection between the fans and team.

The result is a tweaked name � the SC stands for soccer club � and new visual identity with a circular logo that the Crew hopes will strengthen its ties to the city.

�I love our colors,� Precourt said. �I love the name the Crew. I think it needed to evolve and mean something more that was more representative of a young, progressive city. It�s an evolution � it�s not a full rebrand.�

The new logo will not appear on jerseys until next season, when all-new uniforms will be revealed. In addition to the changes, Coleman announced that Precourt will spent $100,000 to add more Columbus-themed attractions to Crew Stadium.

�One of our brand pillars is being authentically Columbus,� Precourt said. �We�re trying to showcase Jeni�s Ice Cream and Columbus Brewing Company and other microbrews. We�re going to create experiences within the stadium that showcase what this great city has to offer.�

The Crew spent the past two years conducting online surveys, asking if fans liked things about the club such as the logo and the colors. The compiled information showed that the coveted demographic of 18- to 34-year-olds gave the lowest marks to the logo, which featured three construction workers and didn�t have �Columbus� on it, setting off red flags within the front office.

More studies followed, including workshops with representatives from MLS that involved cold man-on-the-street surveys to get more data on how the Crew was perceived.

MLS commissioner Don Garber, who was on hand for the event, said the hope is to see deeper connections with the local corporate community.

�I think they�ve rallied the fans,� he said. �They�re doing better with season-ticket sales, but there are big companies in Columbus, and we want those companies to really start getting engaged like (jersey sponsor) Barbasol has in supporting this team. I think if we can get naming rights on that building (Crew Stadium), then we�ll feel really good about the support that we have here in town.�

Precourt said the work is just beginning.

�We need to live and breathe it every day,� he said. �This isn�t just a changing of the crest for us; it�s a changing of our internal and external mission statement, what we stand for as a club. It�s our values, and it�s how we�re going to conduct ourselves as ambassadors on and off the field. It really reset things.�



ajardy@dispatch.com



@AdamJardy