"Oklahoma City: In terms of soccer in the Midwest, OKC is embracing the world’s sport like no other. Over the past month, USL Pro and NASL have set up rival franchises in the city as they aim to bring MLS to town one day. The support for both teams will be analyzed over the coming years and Oklahoma would certainly be an interesting option for MLS expansion".--ProSoccerTalk. 2020 Potential Cities for MLS expansion: Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Detroit, Sacramento, San Antonio & Phoenix. Others: Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Jackson and Las Vegas to name a few. http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/...ome-to-the-four-new-mls-expansion-franchises/
I wouldn't say "embracing" yet. I'm excited and optimistic, but we all know that the reason there are two teams fighting it out has as much to do with grudges as it does with soccer.
Except for, you know, the one that's sold 5,000 season tickets and has an actual experienced person running the show. The one that's about to announce its jersey sponsor and has a former US international as its head coach. But, yeah, like no other except for that one. And maybe the one where somebody just paid $68M to acquire the team. Maybe that one, too.
Welcome back guys: Laramie said: ↑ "Oklahoma City: In terms of soccer in the Midwest, OKC is embracing the world’s sport like no other.--kenntomasch Just posted an excerpt of article that was inside a link (Pro-Soccer-Talk); don't give me credit for any of what was written. This thread we can use for press release and articles about OKC.
Just how far will Prodigal push this stadium(?): http://www.newson6.com/story/22870027/major-league-soccer-in-the-works-for-oklahoma-city plan? Video courtesy of KWTV Channel 9 Will Robert Funk Sr., stay with soccer long-term and see it though?
I'd say we're about to find out more - I have Barons season tickets, and whether or not they promote the USL team there will be quite telling. If it means anything, they know who I am, and they haven't even tried to lure me in yet.
I'll attend about ten Barons' games a year and hopefully we'll see if they attempt to tap the small growing hockey base as a dual with soccer? There are some advantages and some disadvantages. Do you force some of the Barons' season ticket holder who may not have the budget to support both decide on one or the other(?); or do you market to a totally different fan base and build on with what you have established with hockey. The Funks will definitely be in a box. They (Barons) are approaching the 3rd or 4th year of existence in the AHL and this will be a critical and telling year to expand on the hockey base. They will be working on startup marketing for USL-Pro, knowing that they will have a year at hand before the NASL makes its debut. The City will support both franchises initially--then one will fade. Funks' strategy will probably be to keep the anticipation that the organization will eventually move to MLS; that will be his trump card. If he can attract a decent fan base for USL-Pro (3,500-4,000) and break ground on a stadium in say 2014 then he might get the upperhand on the NASL. An investment in a stadium will demonstrate commitment. The longer he waits to build (stadium), the less likely he will put that kind of capital in a viable venue Funk does have a reprieve if a stadium gets built and the fan base doesn't materialize? Sell the stadium to the City with the idea that a MAPS IV initiative will make improvement and make it MLS ready, that doesn't guarentee MLS, it does up the ante and put the city in strategic position ; or sell or lease to the NASL to minimize your losses. I just don't see three stadiums going up in the area (USL-Pro, NASL, City-MAPS IV). Something's gotta give... If Funk builds a stadium and NASL (McLaughlin'g groujp) builds a venue; you won't see a need to put a city owned stadium on the MAPS IV initiative unless they are going to build an NFL shell of a venue (60,000 plus seats) in getting ready for NFL after 2020.. Oklahoma City has looked at stadium proposals long before now as early as 1984: http://newsok.com/study-sought-on-city-dome/article/2074333 We'll see how this plays out.
I was there tonight at the Oilers-Stars exhibition. The USL promotion effort is pretty much two dasherboard signs and the expansion announcement video during warmups. Not quite a media blitz - they put more emphasis on upcoming concerts.
Funk Jr makes his next move... https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/bring-back-the-roughnecks.1256802/page-4#post-28755638
Oh, I see what's happening. Well, well, well... I hope you know what you're getting. Wish Funk the best! He'll be a lot more successful in Tulsa than in Oklahoma City where the Barons could suffer from a USL-Pro franchise.
Rufnex, you can keep that piece, I want the rest of the pie. Seriously, I just hope we can eventually bring an MLS franchise to Oklahoma or both cities compete in the NASL. Artifical turf in Chapman Stadium would rule out any immediate plans for an MLS franchise. In the meantime, is there any chance that we will see Oklahoma City and Tulsa in the NASL? A soccer rivalry between the two cites would be good for soccer as well as the NASL. Oklahoma City and Tulsa use to have rivalry in baseball & hockey. Those brief meetings in semi-pro basketball and arena football never had a chance peake. Arena football was never either city's forte.
I remember this. Actually there was a drawing of a proposed domed stadium in Tulsa, as well. The Tathams were a piece of...work. There was a father and son if I remember correctly (huh...kinda like the Funks) and the son actually ran off with the kicker's wife.
Articles: April of 1984: http://newsok.com/tatham-says-investor-plans-domed-stadium/article/2065454 http://newsok.com/oklahoma-dome-decision-due-in-30-days/article/2066124
Then, thirty days later... Memorial Day 1984... http://newsok.com/flooding-claims-10-in-tulsa/article/2069695 I'd argue that in the 80s, Tulsa had more important things to do than to subsidize downtown wealth and/or build an "Oklahoma Dome" for a team in the USFL. Can you imagine having a $65 million dollar domed stadium finish construction just in time for the USFL to die? That woulda sucked... LOL. During the mid to late 70s, Tulsa had a "100 year flood" every two or three years... for years the conservative political elite blamed developers and citizens for moving into areas too close to Mingo, Joe and Haikey Creek and refused to take decisive local action-- instead preferring a moratorium on future development, leaving residents at the time stranded and screwed... Tulsa had NINE federal flood disasters declared over the course of 15 years... Today, you see soccer fields all over the city of Tulsa that double as detention ponds... and Tulsa quietly (after hundreds of millions of dollars were spent) went from badly flood prone to nearly flood proof... http://www.fema.gov/news-release/20...tions-leading-floodplain-management-community
Agree that there are risks involved. Tulsa could have used that domed stadium to attract many other events. The economic impact would have been unbelieveable. Tulsa would have really balooned as a city. Can you imagine the economic impact a $65 million domed stadium would have had on Tulsa during the 80s & 90s? The central location of Tulsa in the U.S., the hotel development which would have accompanied a domed stadium--not to mention the events Tulsa could have lured to Oklahoma? The hotel industry's vibes would have been felt all the way to the Oklahoma City metroplex. Tulsa is a very beautiful and clean city; when I left Tulsa, I can't believe that this aggressive city in the late 70s has become so stagnant. You are the most inland port (Port of Catoosa) in the U.S. with a channel to the World's largest Port of New Orleans. A $65 million domed stadium will probably cost you $650 million today. I could go on and on...
What I remember (and it may be flawed) was that there was some buy-in by the then mayor of Tulsa. But he lost a re-election bid and the new mayor showed no interest in funding a domed stadium.
Both cities have shown interest in building some kind of stadium for american football and soccer. Oklahoma City in the late 60s had a 100,000-seat stadium on the drawing board which was going to be funded through the Fairgrounds Trust which oversees the 400-acre Fair Park complex in Oklahoma City. One candidate who was running for mayor had this stadium as a part of his platform. He lost and so with the dream of the huge stadium.
And by now, regardless of where it was, it would have been the functional equivalent of the Silverdome.
LMAO, oh so true Mr. Warmth! They just don't build structures like those during the WPA era and before...
but regardless of what star it's in NOW, in the preceding years the Silverdome hosted the first Super Bowl north of the Mason-Dixon line, a Final Four, countless NFL and NBA games...because it was there. And because it was there, when it was time to build something else, it happened...BECAUSE it was there in the first place. If Tulsa had built a domed stadium maybe nothing would have happened with it. Because, the USFL would have folded BEFORE it was even finished! I would assume that in that scenario they would have finished it? Even without a major tenant. But then what? Maybe Tulsa would have made a play to host the OU - OSU game every year. Maybe TU would have moved into it. Who knows. But I agree with Laramie that there would have been a pretty good economic impact. But we'll never know
Perhaps, but the cost of the Silverdome eventually forced the City to sell it for something like 1% of it's original cost to get out of the cost of it just sitting there with the roof inflated. Some morons have been saying they were going to essentially perform magic in transforming the structure into 3 separate structures with an open stadium. Fiscally, and likely, functionally impossible, but don't tell those Detroit rubes that.
I know you're talking about the City of Pontiac which had less than 60,000 people when they undertook this project years ago as the Detroit Lions called the Silverdome home. Tulsa had five times the population of that city when they were considering building a dome. The Silverdome had a major tenant for years to anchor that facility. Tulsa's central location could have put her in a position to be a major player (bid on) for many events which would have brought outside money to their economy. It never happened--had it been attempted and succeeded then Tulsa would have found a way to use that dome in a way in which it could have salvaged its investment. Like ManuSooner said "But we'll never know."
Not hardly. Structures like that are single purpose and exceedingly hard to repurpose. Much like Churches
Reckless Challenge: American Socccer|American Voices "USLOKC and Prodigal LLC have MLS in their dreams and plan on building a SSS, but it’s silly to think that can just pop up in 6 months. They seem to have no publically known backup plan as of yet. And the clock is ticking. The beginning of the season is coming sooner than later. But can both succeed? Soccer fans tend to be quite obsessive, so is it entirely out of the realm of possibility that both teams may work together to capture the same audience? If they’re unable to cooperate on such things, what’s going to be the deciding factor that makes fans choose? For those in OKC who are dying to get some pro soccer in their life, in these early stages it’s a no brainer. Why would you take the uncertainty or mystery over the polish and ranking?"--http://www.recklesschallenge.net/a-tale-of-two-oklahoma-cities/