Columbus Crew SC are the latest MLS club with plans to build a state-of-the-art training facility, as the club announced Tuesday a partnership with Columbus-based OhioHealth for naming rights and plans to open the complex in summer 2021.
The facility will be called the OhioHealth Performance Center, and will house all Crew soccer operations for the first team and academy. It’ll encompass 42,000 square feet, with plans for two first-team natural grass fields, supported by hydronic heating and SubAir systems; one natural grass field and artificial turf for academy use; and a seasonal bubble over the stadium field.
A view of the training complex from the ground | Columbus Crew SC
“We are proud to announce the continued partnership and now the historic naming rights to the OhioHealth Performance Center as both the Club and OhioHealth look to take Columbus Crew SC to new heights,” said Crew SC executive vice president & Chief Business Officer Steve Lyons in a statement. “On behalf of the Haslam and Edwards families, Crew SC president/GM Tim Bezbatchenko and the entire Crew SC organization, we are thrilled to continue to partner with a leader in the community like OhioHealth as our official healthcare provider. We are aligned in our goals of unifying and giving back to our community while representing Columbus with great pride in all that we do. We look forward to many more years together as partners and eagerly await the opening of the OhioHealth Performance Center.”
Aside from locker rooms and film areas, amenities include a player lounge, sleep/recovery room, weight room, training room and hydrotherapy area. There will also be a full-service kitchen and dining area, as well as separate training spaces for the academy teams. A state-of-the-art media room and in-house production room are also in the works.
A rendering of the new locker room | Columbus Crew SC
As it stands, the Crew use the Crew Training Center at Obetz in Obetz, Ohio for practice. The new facility will be located on the team’s existing stadium site, with the broader project connected to Columbus’ plans to open a new downtown stadium in summer 2021. MAPFRE Stadium has been the team’s home ground since 1999.
“We are proud to continue our partnership with this wonderful sports organization through a multi-year agreement, elevating our longstanding partnership with great excitement about the future," Steve Markovich, MD, president and CEO, OhioHealth said in a statement. "Beyond that partnership, that now spans nearly 25 years, the new OhioHealth Performance Center will highlight what OhioHealth does best: health, wellness, connecting businesses and neighborhoods through medical expertise and accessibility. To do all of this side-by-side with a team that’s so important to central Ohio and beyond, gives us great pride, and we couldn’t be more excited.”
The new weight room as it overlooks the training fields | Columbus Crew SC
Based in Columbus, OhioHealth has been recognized as one of the top five large health systems in America by Truven Health Analytics, an honor it has received six times. In addition to being the second largest employer in central Ohio, OhioHealth has also been recognized by Fortune as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” 13 years in a row, 2007-19.
