Doesn't look good for Columbus. The statement from the MLS commissioner reads like he's throwing C-Bus under the bus.

Quote:"Columbus Crew SC is near the bottom of the league in all business metrics, and the club’s stadium is no longer competitive with other venues across MLS," Garber said. "The league is very reluctant to allow teams to relocate, but based on these factors, we support (Precourt Sports Ventures') efforts to explore options outside of Columbus, including Austin, provided they find a suitable stadium location."

And, in August, MLS registered two trademarks that could be used for an Austin MLS franchise, even though Austin is not one of the cities competing for an expansion franchise.

Quote:Major League Soccer registered trademarks this month on two possible names for a potential Austin franchise, but on Wednesday, a league official tamped down any special significance area fans might attach to the move.

Austin FC and Austin Athletic are now owned by MLS, a development that first surfaced online Tuesday night when a soccer blogger, Jerome Cortinovis, tweeted screenshots of search results.

Quote:MLS officials could not answer Wednesday whether Austin is the only city not on the bidding list to have trademarked team names. Relocating an exisiting MLS franchise would be the other way to bring a team to Austin.