No other way to put it. http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=1260891&pic=none&TP=getsports [sarcasm]I'd just like to say I appreciate Bob Funk and Express Sports for being there for Oklahoma.[/sarcasm]
One can only hope. I'm actually flying out to Jamaica for the next 6 nights, 7 days so if something happens between now and the time I get back I hope it's good news (though I won't hold my breath).
So, according to the article, or COO Abbott, Cleveland has fallen off the list as well. That's no surprise given the recent circumstances, but the accompanying silence since Bert's death has been deafening. Here's hoping a well-heeled soccer angel appears for you guys out there in OKC. Condolences.
Sorry to hear that, guys. I'm surprised at the current list, with Philly, Seattle, and Salt Lake City (!).
Sucks long and hard. I thought you guys would be a great addition. I'll buy a Powerball ticket on the way home to give you one last chance.
For those who aren't registered: Edmond won’t get MLS team 2004-06-11 By Francsico Ojeda The Oklahoman A Major League Soccer expansion franchise won’t come to Oklahoma in 2005. And it could be a long wait before one might be considered. The two-year process of attracting a pro soccer franchise to Edmond has come to a standstill. MLS will award expansion franchises to two cities for the 2005 season — neither will be located in Edmond. “There is no chance for 2005 and in the near future” to get a franchise, said Roger Webb, University of Central Oklahoma president. “Nothing is coming together. We have not had communication with MLS officials in a while. Nothing is cooking. “Unless some angel comes along with enough money to make the franchise work, it is not going to work in the near future. I wish there was another way, but that is the reality of the situation.” Said Mark Abbott, the MLS chief operating officer, “It’s fair to say that it is not a possibility anymore. An ownership group has not resulted, and there are too many things that did not pull together in time.” UCO officials are connected with two private ownership groups from Edmond. But Webb said those groups are in the mix to help keep Edmond’s chances of getting an MLS franchise alive and that a major ownership group would still have to come forward for Edmond to have any chance of being awarded a franchise in the future. “No one has emerged at this point that is satisfactory with the league,” Webb said. “That is the real kicker, and a big one. We are real far apart in the money issue.” The fee to join MLS is about $10 million. One expansion team was selected for 2005 a few months ago. Chivas USA, owned by Mexican investor Jorge Vergara, is set to be in the league and will probably be in Los Angeles. Abbott said he expects the league will make an announcement on the other expansion team in the next few weeks. The cities still in contention are Salt Lake City, Seattle, Houston and Philadelphia. That list no longer includes the Oklahoma City metro area. MLS wants to expand by two more teams in the next few years, but there is no guarantee that Edmond will be included on that list in the future. “We’ll stay in touch and communicate,” Webb said. “Something may emerge. But at this moment, a franchise here will not materialize.”
at least with a decent stadium coming, you guys are still a lot better off than most. You'll get one before us here in detroit do.
With that being said, if OKC does not get a team. I hope the MLS crashes and burns. "You go to hell, You go to hell, And you die!"
I hope you were being sarcastic. If not, how dumb, childish and bitter is that? I mean really, if you are a fan of the sport I would think you would want the sport to succeed and grow in this country, and quite frankly, if what you wish happens, that would be just another blow to the entire sport. I feel bad for OKC, or any other city that really wants MLS to put a team in it. It sucks that OKC is Temporarily out of the running yes. However you must realise that its not an reflection on OKC itself and its NOT that MLS doesnt want to put a franchise there becasue they dont like OKC, or any thing of the sort. OKC just simply has not gotten its act together in terms of ownership. ITs that plain and simple. If most OKC fans were/ are going to react like you have... and, If the destruction of MLS is what you really want and wish for, then perhaps you should just find a new sport all together to be a fan of.. Perhaps it IS a good idea for OKC to get snubbed by MLS in the future. Fortunately for you, cooler heads will prevail within the powers that be in OKC, thus leaving no damage btween whats left of the possibility OKC may still get one. Btw... Thanks for posting the entire article Crew...
This has been a tough week for me, MLS-wise. First Edmond's team goes into the dustbin of history; now The Burn are going to change their name (no doubt to something neato like the Dallas Dawgz, or some other hip-misspelling-with-a-z-at-the-end crap).
Actually, with no MLS franchise, Wantland stadium will reamin pretty much like it is now, with the track gone, the field surfaced with fieldturf, and some brickwork around the edge of the field. The big fancy soccer stadium was only in the works if we got a team.
Don't worry. He was joking and quoting South Park at the same time. I think I can speak for everyone that wanted MLS in OKC that we hold no bitter feelings toward MLS and can only hope that it continues to strength and can in popularity. The problem with this bid was that there wasn't enough money. If we had the money, MLS would have said, "Here's your team!". It's not like we had everything in place and MLS passed over us in favor of someone else. Plus there's still a shot at 2006. That's a year for us to keep yelling at the top of our lungs, "I WANT MY MLS!" to rich people in the area. It would be nice if the Gaylords would actually do something to put money back into Oklahoma instead of making a bunch of money here with their Lazy E Arena and their less than stellar rag called the Daily Oklahoman and then investing it in Colorado ranches and Opryland, etc. Bob Funk always said that if he could, he'd help bring a major leage team to OKC. Well, he had his chance and decided to buy a AAA baseball team instead. C'est la Vie
Yeah, I guess, but it still sucks! Bob Funk must be smoking some serious stuff because last I checked AAA Baseball was NOT a MAJOR LEAGUE. Its called MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL for a reason... DOH! can we say dolt? Nimrod? lol. Oh well, I still hope that somehow it comes along out there. Anything to further the sport, and the league is good. Youd think that MLS would be foaming at the mouth to put franchises in cities where there isnt all that much competition for the sports/ entertainment dollar. But then again, they DID just all but announce that LA will get a SECOND franchise too. Go figure.
You're not the only one in this boat. The silence coming from the MLS Detroit movement is deafening. The fact that we're no longer listed as a possibility in the near future is even more depressing. My hope is that in the next 10 to 15 years the league gets big enough that one of the smaller market teams is moved to Detroit for a bigger slice of the pie.
Ya know, with the way the ownership of the Rev's treats that franshise and soccer in genearal, and if they dont CHANGE it, I hope MLS decides to relocate them to a place where the ownership will not treat them second rate, as an afterthought, and the fans will come out in droves to support them. That ownership group up there in NE does not deserve the time of day from MLS as far as I can tell.