someone pointed this out to me on gopokes.com, i guess its cool that no soccer people are talking about mls too. i think wallydrag might be on there. "Here is some new information I've gotten from an insider on the MLS situation. I don't know the identity of the author. The Latest: 4.09.03 I've talked to some people in the know who now believe that after the Tulsa game, Oklahoma (either OKC or Tulsa) will be awarded a team. While not stated publicly, MLS was very impressed with OKC's ability to turn a profit which is what the bottom line is to the MLS. At this point, even with Tulsa's attendance, OKC is still in the lead because of the great turn out at their game, making a profit, having an ownership group and a stadium plan. Tulsa still lacks the stadium and ownership group. There have been rumors that there is an ownership group in Tulsa but they're waiting to come out to the public after a stadium proposal is passed, but when Tulsa mayor LaFortune was asked about both stadium and ownership he side stepped the questions. Some players and coaches from KC were talked to after the Tulsa game and when asked what they thought of the attendance, most of them began talking about the crowd in Edmond. They weren't even asked about the Edmond game. They were very impressed with the Edmond crowd because they stuck through the cold weather throughout the game and were probably more enthusiastic and louder than the Tulsa crowd. I'm sure this is the same impression Mark Abbott, CFO of MLS, has. " man tulsa sucks
I don't know what might be happening behind the scenes, but from what I can see, I think OKC has got to be considered the frontrunner for one of the next expansion slots. No other expansion candidate has as solid an ownership group AND a feasible stadium plan. The fact that the ownership group in OKC can successfully market a profitable and well-attended exhibition game only increases OKC's chances. My guess is that if MLS picks OKC, they will want to also pick a big market team to enter the league with OKC, to balance things out, so to speak. If this is true, Philly, Houston or Seattle would be the obvious candidates, and Rochester may just have to wait until the next round of expansion.
I think we could see both Rochester and Oklahoma, nothing wrong with that. they are the best looking options for expansion right now.
As good as OKC sounds....lets face it, its not ideal. If it was it would have a TV market the size of Seattle, Philadelphia or Houston's. But...that seems to be the only aspect lacking there. I agree with those who believe OKC will get a team along with one large city (I would expect Seattle or Philadelphia). It does just seem more balanced cause you still get a big TV market in the league. The last round of expansion included a solid large market (Chicago) and another large market that is known for not havnig great support for their pro sports team (Miami). I think OKC and Seattle/Philly will end up being a better combination then Chicago/Miami ended up with 1 success and 1 failure (at least in the eyes of Horowitz).
i also think that express sports success in marketing the oklahoma city blazers minor league hockey team, in a non-hockey area, shows that they can build a fan base. my fellow oklahomans i was wondering if you could comment on the democraphics of the blazers fans, i have only been to one game. and quite frankly i felt like i was in the bad section of the state fair, more mullets than i could count, fans booing injured players. i know it sounds bad to say but the demos of edmond seems in direct opposition to what i saw as the standard blazer fan, maybe im wrong. do you think this could have any affect on express sports' succes, marketing to a totally differetn segment of the population??
I'm not on gopokes.com but what was posted on there is in the NEWS section at www.MLSinOKC.com. Also, Blazers games aren't really like that. Maybe that one, but on the whole they're really fun for the family to go to. And they do have loyal supporters.
Ironically enough, SI recently published that hockey fans were the richest of the Big 4 (MLB/NFL/NBA/NHL) in North America... About the booing of the injured players... It was probably a Wichita game (they tend to take dives rather often...) Most of the players in the NW division in the CHL have played with the Blazers (or against us enough) for us to realize their traits, especially if they take dives. When you see someone get "hurt" 6 times in an 8 game series, you kinda get sick of it... Think of it as the adage of crying "Wolf"... As for the different demographics, I tend to go to Blazers game very often (nothing else really to legally do 'til I'm 21) and saw quite a few of the old guns from Blazers games at the MLS game. Hockey and soccer are fairly similar, so I wouldn't really be surprised to see some Blazers fans weather the heat at MLS games.... I'm going to At any rate, as a loyal fan to Oklahoma City sports (yes, we have legacies... ie 90+% attendance our first three years with our first two franchises)... I agree that we are frontrunners, as we did turn a profit, unlike some franchises in the league. I just hope our team doesn't suck for a long time.
Either Way... As was said, both towns have such strong cases that MLS can't ignore it. Tulsa has numbers, OKC has the beginning of an infrastructure. I hope whatever happens, one town can support the other when the decision is handed down. If an OKC team (assuming that they do get the nod) wins one of the spots, it would help the game and team greatly if Tulsa fans and media follow the team, and vicey-versy if Tulsa gets the award. Perhaps even a few regular season games in the other city each year, to give it that statewide feel and help the losing town their case that they were wronged (and set up a team for if/when the league goes to 18 or 20)
Perhaps MLS should try to do a statewide feel to California teams... I'm sure San Fran, LA and San Jose will all share a team... with no problems. Perhaps MLS should try to do a statewide feel to Pennsylvania teams... I'm sure that Pitt and Philly will share a team... with no problems. No, it'll have to be one or the other... I can't forsee this working... I thought it might for a little while, but it would be very, very difficult to pull it off. Why should Dallas cheer for a Houston team? Oh yeah, they shouldn't. Why should Okla City cheer for a Tulsa team? Oh yeah, we shouldn't. Going with teams in both cities is a better idea -preferably delayed - OC first, then Tulsa... (yes, I know that this is highly unlikely, but I would imagine that OC's following will grow like the Blazers' did from 1992-95 with Express leading the ship)... If Tulsa can turn an exhibition game into a profit making enterprise, I don't see why MLS won't expand there in the future...
I guess your not really aware of the rivalries between the two cities. Let alone the six hours by car between the two cities. I think it would by saying that northern and southern california could share the same team.
"They were very impressed with the Edmond crowd because they stuck through the cold weather throughout the game and were probably more enthusiastic and louder than the Tulsa crowd. I'm sure this is the same impression Mark Abbott, CFO of MLS, has. " "man tulsa sucks" ...all this from some unknown source, eh... this has to be one of the most ridiculous and unsubstantiated statements made by the Edmond/OKC crowd. It's not about how you start or who's the frontrunner right now... it's who has the best plan to offer MLS next fall, when they announce the two expansion teams. After realizing that OKC Mayor Humphries would rather have a pointy ball arena team or spend the public's tax dollars on another Bass Pro Shops location than lift a finger to explore stadium possibilities in Bricktown, Express Sports took the path of least resistance in finding a stadium they get to share with 3 HS teams and a D2 college team every fall. OKC Sucks.
That news came from here. http://www.mlsinokc.com/news.html And it is a very reliable source that gave me the information and I trust his word and his insight.
Conjecture from an un-named source at gopokes.com gives very little insight into anything other than the author is obviously biased towards OKC/Edmond. GO TULSA! And Segroves, having 4 schools (3 high school and a D2 college) listing Wantland as their home field is NOT the same thing as the handful of high profile high school games plus 5 or 6 TU games at Skelly Stadium. That said, if Tulsa uses a re-fitted Skelly as their facility, I feel it gives OKC/Edmond the upper hand as far as the stadium issue is concerned. Pity, really though, if you think about it. It seems very reasonable that Tulsa should use Skelly (like Columbus used OSU) for awhile while having a very solid commitment to a soccer specific stadium at a later date. Combining that plus over 7500 season ticket commitments and solid ownership SHOULD be enough to give the city a team. Unfortunately, the gamble of putting a bond issue to a vote sooner rather than later (due to OKC/Edmond's competition) will make LaFortune's job of selling it that much more difficult.
The information wasn't recieved from gopokes.com. Good lord. The information has nothing to do with gopokes.com other than the fact that someone other saw this news article somewhere else and posted it there. And the person isn't biased towards OKC seeing as it was from a reporter in Tulsa that was at the game and asking questions post game. I wouldn't trust anything at gopokes.com either but that's not where any info came from. Also, I'd love to see them eventually build a SSS between downtown and the river, if not right on the river. That would be really nice. A day dream? Of course, but stil...
You need to quit thinking about giving your money to OKC and give it to Bartcop Radio...but I am sure you already have done that...
Accion's credability and unblinking bias makes this all moot. Until its a quote attributed to an actual MLS rep in a published media source, I really am not going to go weighing any words on either side of the turnpike. MLS IN OK. by the way, am i the only one that when they post their replys certain letters just dont make it across? i really am not this bad of a typer.
There's still one more important factor for one city to gain an advantage over another: season ticket deposits. If we hear one city or the other hits the 7.5k upper target (the lower is about 6k, still very solid, even moreso from an uncertain team) well ahead of both the deadline and the other, that would have the potential to change the race, as it would say a lot to both investors and those who would be asked to finance a stadium.
i didnt write the piece at the beginnig of the thread, i just posted what i saw somewhere. yes i would prefer a team in okc as opposed to tulsa, is that bad?
"i didnt write the piece at the beginnig of the thread, i just posted what i saw somewhere. yes i would prefer a team in okc as opposed to tulsa, is that bad?" Don't make me cut and paste all the previous inane quotes that come from you...
"Two things that haven't materialized out of that yet are ownership and committment to a SSS. As long as Tulsans are not voting for it, a SSS is less and less likely. I really would have thought that the 14K turnout would have given a potential I/O the courage to come out." Geez, Segroves, it's only been a week. Also, the Daily Oklahoman quoted one of Mayor LaFortune's touted "liasons" to the business community as stating that any potential investors have signed a "confidentiality agreement." For YOU to act like they MUST come out of the woodwork after an exhibition game that many in Tulsa termed "the first step" in aquiring a team would be foolish. Once again, it doesn't matter who's "ahead" now, it matters what is in place and presented to MLS at the end of the summer. The mayor of Tulsa IS committed to building a SSS. A feasibility study was published a month ago (oh, and what was published from Edmond's in-house study, btw???)
I've been reading and keeping an interest in this but I can't remain silent anymore, especially as an outsider looking in (from Texas) who's got family in Oklahoma and would love to see a team in either city. It just doesn't make sense that an ownership group wouldn't come out and say, "here we are. now that you know there really is a group, you can now have the confidence to vote on a stadium" This "confidentiality agreement" is in reality an agreement that no one says that there really isn't a group interested. Plus, how confident would you be in owners that didn't have the courage to come out and support a push for a team even with out a stadium. It sends the message that Tulsa's bid isn't good enough for potential owner to publicy support it. On top of the fact that why would you want to remain annonymous? Will people stop buying things from you for having supported Tulsa soccer? Will people laugh and belittle you for believe in your city? It's all sounds like a bunch of silliness and hot air. Why would you want to vote on a stadium when you're not sure there will even be investors to bring MLS to Tulsa? And even if you think there might be people interested, they could be anybody. I'm sure there are a lot of people interested in bringing soccer to Tulsa. About 14,000 showed up the other Saturday. The doesn't mean they have the finances, the courage to invest in MLS or that they know how to run a sports franchise succesfully. personally USRufnex, I think you're just wasting oxygen.
Some potential owners (especially in other sports) fear a loss of business if they are identified before stadium funding is approved, with subsequent pressure applied for more private funding, if not jeopardizing the project altogether. Makes you wonder how Lamar Hunt does it, I suppose.