Ohio’s threatened lawsuit to prevent the Columbus Crew from leaving the state is unlikely to be successful in court, legal experts say.
State Attorney General Mike DeWine on Thursday said that his office is prepared to use a never-before-applied law to block Columbus majority owner Anthony Precourt from moving the MLS franchise to Austin, Texas.
Legal experts say such an effort would likely violate federal commerce law.
The federal government, not states, has exclusive rights to “regulate national business such as a sports leagues,” Matt Mitten, executive director of National Sports Law Institute of Marquette University Law School, said in a telephone interview late on Thursday. “The US Constitution gives the Congress exclusive authority to regulate interstate commerce.”
In a statement, team spokesman Tim Miller said the team “has great respect for the office of the Ohio attorney general. However, there is nothing to address as Crew SC prepares for the 2018 season.”
The Ohio statute, passed the year after the 1995 announcement of the move of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, requires any professional team that receives financial support from the state to give at least six months’ notice before moving and to allow the city or locals the opportunity to purchase the team before any move.
Precourt announced the possible move in an October letter, citing a “growing disparity in attendance and corporate support compared to [the team’s] MLS peers and other mid-sized markets.”
Much like the Browns’ move, the suggestion has left fans and local officials shocked and angry.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther responded to the possible move with an offer of a new stadium, but remained frustrated at the lack of response from team officials.
However, Ginther might have a few options to keep the Crew beyond financial incentives.
It is difficult to use legal means to force a sports team to remain in a city once its lease with a host city has expired, said Mark Conrad, director of the sports business program at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business.
“Even if the law was constitutional, it is wholly impractical and unlikely to prevent a team from relocating,” Conrad said in an e-mail on Friday. “The key to keeping a team at a facility is the lease. Once it expires, there is little the owner can do to force the team or any business to stay.”
Other host cities and officials have tried a number of legal efforts over the years to stop professional sports teams from moving, but without success, Mitten said.
“It is basically a Hail Mary,” Mitten said of the threat.
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