COLUMBUS — #SaveTheCrew movement frontman Morgan Hughes still recalls the day, more than a year ago when his life came to a crashing halt.

“When the tweet came through, it was, I've likened it to one of those war movies where a bomb goes off and it kind of cuts to black and when the camera comes to, it's kind of blurry and everything is slow motion. It was kind of a feeling of disconnect from reality,” says spokesperson, and founder of #SaveTheCrew, Morgan Hughes. 

It was a text message from former Crew SC announcer Chris Doran that brought Hughes back to reality and inspired him to start the grassroots effort, #SaveTheCrew. 

“When everyone showed up, I just walked around and told them that it wasn't over, that nothing had been decided, that we were gonna fight this, that we were gonna win, and that we we're gonna save the crew,” says Hughes. 

14 months later, Save the Crew remains a national phenomenon. And Hughes says the Columbus MLS soccer community is finally realizing a dream that's been 20 years in the making.

“The future of the Columbus Crew is so bright that you almost have to put on sunglasses to deal with it. This is one of the most historically supported teams in American soccer. And we had a vast nothingness around us at Mafre Stadium. To think about what it's going to be like when we have the arena district around us. Cause the future is very much ours,” says Hughes. 

The $230 million, 20,000 seat stadium will be located in the arena district and is funded by Dee and Jimmy Haslam as well as the Edwards family of Columbus. 

Columbus and Franklin County will contribute $100 million for infrastructure to renovate Mapfre Stadium, where Crew SC is expected to continue playing the next two seasons. 

'The first thing they said I believe when they talked to the Edwards family was how cool has this #SaveTheCrew movement been? So they're on the same page with us and I couldn't be more excited to see what they have in store,” says Hughes. 

Hughes says city and county leaders, as well as Governor Mike DeWine all deserve praise for doing their part to help make this project possible.

He says he's most proud of the fact that members of #SaveTheCrew members banded together and stood up for the continued existence of a sports community. 

“This is that moment for us where we kind of shook the foundation, the very core of our reality. And to have been apart of that was the highlight of my life so far,” says Hughes.