Wait, wait, wait. That's exactly what we should do... wait for Holt's side of the story... and for Bob Funk Jr's side of the story, for that matter. I'd wager there's more to it than the accusations would indicate... Not at all. I'm claiming that SOS should have known from the first day they decided to pursue a spot in the NASL that they'd be subject to lawsuits against any party who signed on the USL's dotted line for their PDL club. If anything, it appears that Lund's first choice was to first go from PDL to USL Pro in short order, then leap frog to MLS. My point continues to be that the NASL should be concerned about why USL Pro was SOS's first choice to begin with... curious to find out if USL Pro was also Tim McLaughlin's first choice since he seems not to be a plaintiff in the court case yet has been listed as one of the PDL team owners... Not a vendetta. Just pointing out that the man is not the saint some make him out to be. And neither is his uncle Jeff Lund... just ask any Tulsa hockey fan about that situation... If anyone has a vendetta now, it's the SOS group due to their determination to destroy Funk Jr's plans at any cost. Which, in this case, comes out to around $1.25 million more than they banked on spending for the USL Pro expansion fee plus the differences in annual operating budgets and salaries. It would have been far cheaper to have him keep his PDL club until Funk Jr's USL Pro team fails... or try to pursue a USL Pro club in Tulsa in partnership with our NPSL people... No. Not ruined. Just an attempt on his part to distract and co-opt. And yes, I was infuriated the night of Brad's NASL presentation to OKCPS... Funk Jr's was pretty predictable and straightforward, but the NASL presentation emphasized that OKC would be the league's "smallest market" and heavily emphasized the words: "Cosmos," "Pele," "international," and "history" ... while pretty light on mentioning the successful new stadium in San Antonio... The devil? no... that'd be hyperbole.
Not at all. The entire case will revolve around agreements that were signed by all parties involved, if they can be enforced in Oklahoma, and whether there were any provable verbal agreements or assurances that were made by Holt & Company to PDL OKC that were willfully violated. It'll also be interesting to find out if Funk Jr had any signed agreements with USL that pre-date Lund's PDL club and whether that could have tied Tim Holt's hands... The only wildcard will be the desire of Holt and Funk Jr to avoid bad publicity for the sake of the new team. I seriously doubt that Holt would have announced a new USL Pro team with Funk Jr at the helm if he thought that Funk would back out if Lund got into the NASL.
don't look now, but... http://www.newson6.com/story/228700...art=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=9104415
I think this is the link you want: http://m.newson6.com/Story.aspx?story=22870027&catId=112042 Basically it's what has already been said; USLPro owners hired a company to design a staged stadium to start at 7k but be able to someday, maybe, you never know, join MLS. Doesn't every soccer stadium design have this as their goal?
And now it gets interesting... http://newsok.com/both-oklahoma-city-soccer-groups-plan-to-build-stadiums/article/3863566
I find many of these observations about OKC and the NASL comical...however, it is a great sign for OKC's pro soccer future that so many people seem to have great passion for the sport. I have never met Brad Lund or the owner Tim McLaughlin, but do have third-party insight via someone else very close to the situation, so here are the facts: 1. Lund and his people played the USL like a fiddle. Of course they "applied" to the USL. If not, USL would have awarded Funk the OKC rights many months ago and Funk would have been able to get the lease with OKC Schools at Taft. And we would be stuck w/ USL. 2. Lund and SOS didn't not panic and pick the NASL at the last second. I know for a fact that Commissioner Peterson met with the OKC Mayor in the Spring and attended a Thunder game with Lund's family. For goodness sakes, did the commissioner of the NASL just happen to be in OKC the day OKCFC presented to the OKC School Board? It is my understanding that the NASL's new policies on selecting expansion owners and cities is tedious and not something you just throw together. You have to be worth something like $40 million to get a Tier 2 Pro Franchise. Its not easy. 3. I am no attorney, but my former college frat brother is. He says no way on earth that the non-compete Oklahoma City FC has with PDL will hold up in Oklahoma courts. I would be surprised if this even got to the Judge and Jury. Now that the NASL is 100% coming to OKC, you would think USL will just want some money to get rid of the bad publicity for trying to keep OKC from having a higher level of operation. Nobody really wins in my opinion. 4. For Prodigal officials to state entering the semi-pro USL is the way to the NASL is laughable. They need to do some fact-checking before making ludicrous comments of how teams went from A to B. First of all the NASL has to want you (they are maxed out right now at 20 teams). You have to have an owner that will fork over minimum of $80 million to buy an existing or expansion franchise + have your city build you a $150 million stadium + have loads of cash on hand to pay the bills (millions). And yes, USL-Pro is semi-pro...rosters are made up of 16 paid players and around 6 to 8 amateurs...that is not a PRO league, just go online, this is no secret that the USL attempts to hide. A great training ground for future stars? Absolutely! But don't call yourself a pro league when a third of your roster doesn't even receive a paycheck. Regardless, OKC is now home to a NASL team and in great hands with Tim McLaughlin. The guy is extremely wealthy and loves soccer. And he is no dummy. OKC pro soccer is in good hands. And lastly - Tulsa fans, be careful on bashing Lund...all I can say is STAY TUNED...you may be regretting some of your erroneous comments. Oklahoma City has come a long way!
Yes. And a rather good one for a Republican. Old School Republican. How he hasn't drawn a challenger from the Tea Party or some guy that runs on the promise of banning abortion in OKC is beyond me.
If we're talking about fact-checking: 1) I think you mean MLS, not NASL. 2) MLS is not "maxed out" at 20 teams because there is neither a statutory nor de facto limit on teams that can be in MLS. That's an often-put-forth canard. FIFA has no statute limiting top-flight leagues to 20 teams. Name for me, please, the 6-8 amateurs who are on each USL Pro team's roster. There's no question in my mind there are people playing for very little to almost no money in this league. But "amateur" is an actual designation. Is it that many? Hi, Tim!
I think your #4 is spot on. Any chance that or thoughts on prodigal backing out? They don't even have a home venue yet. Not much to choose from either. My guess would be UCO football stadium but that may even be too much of a stretch.
It's great getting our (OKC) own team. Something to finally get excited about. The local media coverage is pretty scarce. So not a lot (at ALL) of talk in the news or even on sports talk radio. Sure it's fun to watch all the other teams around the country/world, but now I have my own to invest in. And as a proud Okie who hates being a second rate Texas, I'm just happy to not feel like FC Dallas is the club to cheer for bc its the closest. So with no shame, I'll consider myself a BigSoccer band wagoner... HAHA
ME too! My wife and I go to about 1 FCD game a year, just because it's the closest, not because we're fans of FCD. Especially since it almost takes a pick axe and a miner's helmet to find the stadium AAMOF, almost every time we've gone in the past two years we've been wearing the opposing team's stuff And I'm happy to be in the NASL. I don't want to be someone else's farm club, or affiliate, or whatever. If someone else does, then fine.
The only thing about Oklahoma that's a second rate Texas is the State University located in Stillwater I've never felt the need to cheer for anything other than injuries for FC Dallas
I'm a bit of a sucker when it come to rooting for in state players. so when Zach Loyd went to FC Dallas I can't help but to cheer for them... Now, maybe Zach Loyd can come play for our NASL team in 2015. Just wishful thinking.
I'd like to see Bright Dike play for OKC FC, of course, that would be bad for him, meaning that he wan't in MLS anymore
Justin Chavez and Lance Parker are two Oklahoma products that are currently playing in the NASL. Add em' to the roster come 2015. We could be like like CD Guadalajara and only have endogenous players on the team. We wouldn't be very competitive for a while. I don't really think we should do this, I'm just having fun...