An agreement that would keep the Columbus Crew SC in Ohio's capital city was reached Friday afternoon.
Major League Soccer announced that an agreement-in-principle was reached with the Haslam and Edwards families to take over operating rights of the Crew beginning in January.
The Haslam family, who own the Cleveland Browns, and the Columbus-based Edwards family first emerged as prospective MLS owners in October.
The Crew's current owner, Precourt Sports Ventures, had been taking steps to move the team from Columbus to Austin, Texas but met resistance from fans and officials in both cities.
Also on Friday, the City of Columbus and the State of Ohio filed a notice with the courts to dismiss their joint lawsuit against Major League Soccer and Precourt Sports Ventures to keep the Crew SC from leaving Columbus.