The Columbus Crew are at the top of their game. Undefeated and leading the Eastern Conference, the reigning MLS champs are cruising. But their upcoming match on April 19 against Inter Miami, which should be one of the most exciting home games of the season, isn’t actually happening in Columbus. It’s happening in Cleveland.
And fans aren’t exactly thrilled.
Back in December, the Crew announced that this particular home game would be relocated to Cleveland’s Huntington Bank Stadium, home of the NFL’s Browns. The move was framed around one thing: Lionel Messi. The 37-year-old global icon joined Inter Miami last year and has sent ticket demand skyrocketing across MLS.
Huntington Bank seats more than 67,000 fans—three times the capacity of Lower.com Field—and the Crew and Browns share the same ownership group, so on paper, the decision makes business sense.
But the fan base isn’t buying it.
For longtime supporters, anything that smells like “relocation” triggers very real trauma. Crew fans already fought tooth and nail to keep the team in Columbus when the previous owners tried to move the club to Austin in 2018. So yeah, when a key game against one of the league’s most buzzed-about teams gets shipped off to another city, even if it’s just up the road, it hits a nerve.
Then there’s the Messi situation. The whole draw of this game was to see the Lionel Messi in person, but after picking up an adductor injury in March, there’s no guarantee he’ll even take the field in Cleveland.
He’s missed several matches already this season, and Inter Miami has a packed schedule in the weeks leading up to the match, including Champions Cup play. As of now, Messi is expected to return for this weekend’s game against Philadelphia, but his availability on April 19 is still a big ol’ question mark.
All of this has left Crew fans caught in the middle—frustrated, disappointed, and skeptical.
Some are ditching their tickets altogether. The Nordecke, the team’s largest supporters group, has publicly criticized the move, saying it’s been hard to sell their ticket allotment and that the whole thing feels like a snub to fans who’ve been through a lot to support this team.
The Crew is offering a few perks—buses from Columbus to Cleveland, plus a hot dog, beer, and parking voucher for season ticket holders—but it hasn’t been enough to smooth things over. And if Messi doesn’t play? You can bet that frustration will boil over.
