http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=982356&pic=none&TP=getsports After only two days on sale, tickets to the game are selling quickly. Here are some excerpts from the story. "Since tickets went on sale Monday, 1,046 tickets have been sold to the general public." "All 216 box seats ($30) sold out by Tuesday morning. The other higher-priced tickets, $20 and $25, are going quickly. " *A note about the $30 box seats. You had to be a package of 4 tickets for those so you had to spend $120 for them as you couldn't be them a $30 seperately.* This is wonderful news. The game is two months away and they're already selling well. Wantland only hold 10,000 on it own but I've heard that they may bring in portable seating that will raise the capacity to 17,000.
If the Fusion had a committed I/O (like Bob Funk) and a great marketing team (like Express Sports) they'd still be around. I'm sure the Fusion did start off great and the people were there to support it but after years of poor management it's only natural to assume that their demise was forthcoming. Besides, this is just an exhibition game, not a real league game with our own team.
Congrats... sounds like the Express Sports folks knew what they were doing with those expensive tickets after all. I DO wonder if the Gaylords have their fingers (and $$$) in this behind the scenes in some way. All the press from the Oklahoman has been favorable. Especially considering a few years back I could've sworn the Daily Disappointment was convinced soccer was part of some "pinko-commie" conspiracy. As for Lockhart... geez... will the conFUSION fans ever just shut up?...
so the real "seats" are just about gone, now they just have to sell the "places" on the grass hills around the field??
Sitting on the grass isn't as bad as it sounds. It's a lot of fun to get a group out there, lay down a blanket or pull out some lawn chairs to sit on at the top of the hill. And me, the poor college student, I was just going to get a bunch of friends (8 or so) to get the $10 tickets and hang out on the hill. Great thing is if you do bring a blanket, then you get that whole area that the blanket lays and you can lay down during halftime and stuff. I don't want this to sound like we have crappy venues, but our old baseball stadium, new baseball stadium (http://community.webshots.com/image2/6/58/23/43465823WJZceW_ph.jpg) and the stadium that the softball world series is played at all have a grassy hill that people sit on. People don't mind and have a lot of fun out there. After all of that, what I'm trying to say is that sitting on the grass will not hinder ticket sales at all.
I believe there will be a group of us from KC coming down who will mostly likely sit on the hill. Someone ordered a block of 25 tickets. You will not miss us we will be the ones with the big flag. We did this in Milwuakee for the Open Cup game, we show up, we spread out the flag on the hill, we drink, we chant, we drink some more, we cheer, we drink, we score, we all jump around like a bunch of drunken idiots, the game is over, we go out to the parking lot, maybe have a drink, then we find some bar to drink. The next day we all go to AA. I am guessing that there won't be alchohal served at the stadium ( in Milwuakee it was all you could drink for $10) So could anyone tell me of a bar close by, perferably walking distance.
I'll be happy to serve as a bar during the game. I'll have the camelback on full of everclear, gatorade and red bull along with a flask in each pocket. Shots for a dollar. Just look for the drunkest person there. It'll be me.
Actually, sources tell me that the entire Express Sports marketing campaign has them saying that Segroves will reverse his vasectomy if the game doesn't sell out. Sachin
Actually, if my memory serves me correctly, the Fusion only had 7000 tix sold a week before the homeopener against DC. They sold out mainly because of walk up crowd on that one day. And surely enough that was the last sellout Lockhart saw again. What we are seeing in OKC is true interest in MLS. Thats something i felt Miami was lacking from day one.
Sounds like tickets are selling briskly because of the curiosity factor and its something to do that day. Somewhere along the lines of freak professional sport comes to town. Check it out.
Over 1,000 tix sold in two days isn't from a curiosity factor, it's because people want to go see soccer. Curiosity is ambling upon and deciding then to go check it out. Like walking next to a movie theater, seeing a poster for a movie you heard was good and deciding to go up and by a ticket to check it out for the fun of it. What's going on is like knowing a movie you really want to see is opening up soon and you get online to by advanced tickets to see it.
mmmm that sound like OKC will have an expansion team........ those people are really showing interest!!!!
I seriously doubt we will be getting a daily update. I'm pulling for OKC: with an ownership group, a marketing arm, and a plan for a stadium, they sound perfect for the league. Hopefully they have enough of a fan base to pull it off.
well from monday to thursday isnt exactly a daily update, but that is ok. I am not sure how your weeks work but my week dosent go sunday, monday, thursday
The first update was after two days so the next one will probably be after the week is over. I predict between 2,500-3,000 sold by the end of the week.
I just got my tickets (online) on the grass too. I like to stand and roam around. Wally, let's get in touch and meet soon. I'm thinking of having an open house get together at my (small) Edmond home on game day. Anyone on BS going to the game is welcome to come.
Sorry, but I just dont see an MLS club in OK being successful. The mid-west is not an ideal place for MLS to be expanding to right now. KC and Dallas have both struggled at the gate since the league's inception, and I think it would hurt MLS financially to expand anywhere else in that area. It's Helmetball country out there. The league should just stay focused on expanding to Seattle, Philly, ect. Stay away from the mid-west for now.
And Seattle and Philly are also football cities, not to mention MLB, NBA, and in Philly's case NHL cities. To say OKC is not going to be succesful because it's in the Midwest is silly. Dallas and KC could very well be successful if it's given a nice stadium with roof included with a capacity of only 15k, like OKC. If Express Sports packages the team with a "MAJOR" league mentality. This team irregardless of where it's located will achieve "MAJOR" league results. It's all about presentation and commitment. I think OKC will be presented with class and I think Express Sports is commited to it being succesful.
I was looking at the tix online from tickets.com and the fee they charge is just pure silliness. For 6 $10 tickets they charge like a $21 fee for a total of $81. That's two more tickets. I could just go down to the Ford Center and get them from the box office more than that. I also would like to disagree with the notion that the mid-west is a No-No for soccer. Don't try to blame the Wizards' and especially the Burn's shortcoming on geography. The Burn is league run and at first had to play in the crappy, crappy, kill-your-legs-the-seats-are-so-small Cotton Bowl and is now moving out to a high school stadium and KC is forced to place in cavernous Arrowhead stadium. Good for maybe a WCQ (if even that) but for regular season games, no way. Plus KC isn't the greatest sports town in the world either on top of problably being alredy oversaturated with two pro teams (Chiefs and Royals who incedently also play during the summer). OKC is a virgin market and yes, while in football country, soccer is the sport everyone plays. I always found it interesting that the most popular sport in this (Football) is the one that the least amount of American youth can play, let alone adults. (Once you're out of high school you're done playing football unless it's flag but that doesn't really count and very few adults actually play in flag football leagues.) Maybe that's the appeal, guys doing something that you'd get killed at trying to do. Also being forgotten is the success of the Tulsa Roughnecks in the NASL. If it got on well back in the days when soccer wasn't trendy and for the suburban kids and "Soccer Moms", then surely that success would continue on (though we've all seen that past NASL success doesn't translate into the present, eg. San Jose, Tampa Bay). Mid-west = non-supported soccer is just pure silliness.
This is a little off topic, but... I thought Garber said Rochester was a "dark horse" because their new stadium capacity would be 13k, not 18 like MLS wants. It sounds like this one in OKC will be 13 15k? There must be a really good deal in OKC??
They could be successful in that situation...but they cant even bring in 15k right now in stadiums that can seat a lot more. I'm just saying that expanding to OK could hurt the league financially, especially since they are already in tough shape financial-wise. The investment interest may be there, but will the fan interest be there in the long run?
Without a MLS franchise the new stadium would only seat 13-15k. With a franchise it would seat 20-25k.