The Business of Sports in Okahoma City The sports industry in Oklahoma City serves not only as an excellent entertainment option, but also has a significant impact on the city's economy. Sporting events attract visitors and bring recognition to Oklahoma City. Join us for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber's August luncheon to hear a panel discussion on the Business of Sports in Oklahoma City. The panel will include: Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma RedHawks; Bill Plummer, National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum; Brad Lund, Express Sports; and Tim Brassfield, Oklahoma City All Sports Association. The Chamber luncheon will be held Thursday, August 19 from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. at OSU-OKC, 900 N. Portland, Student Center, 3rd Floor. Cost to attend is $12 for Chamber members with reservations or $20 at the door and $20 in advance for non-members or $25 at the door. Register online at www.okcchamber.com or contact 290.7076. The August luncheon is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Opportunity?
I think it would be real easy to ask now- "So Brad Lund from Express Sports. Your company was the one to originally present the idea of MLS in Oklahoma. You worked out a deal that would have UCO renovate their stadium into a premium soccer facility. Your company has the money to by a new team and you were behind the bid until after that first exhibition game which was by far and away a success. Then you dropped out. You sight financial uncertanty. So how is it that Salt Lake City, a city and market virtually identical to the Oklahoma City metro, was able to come up with the money to bring MLS to them. Placing MLS in a market that already has one major pro team (compared to our none) and a business community who's money is already spread thin because of the Jazz (compared to our business community)? The stadium plan is still in place and there's another round of expansion. Will your company reconsider bidding for Major League Soccer now? Especially now withthe added stability of two new owners, the fact that by the next round of expansion approximatly half of MLS teams will be playing in their own stadia and control the revenue from them? The fact that time and again the Oklahoma people have shown their support for MLS by coming out to watch meaningless games between two teams they didn't care about in horrid weather conditions?"