First Brad Lund/Express sports shows off the Bricktown area... the OKC mayor comes back and says he heard nothing and his office has heard nothing... in the meantime, it is noted in the paper that MLS officials have met with un-named Tulsa officials 5 or 6 times in the past months... news comes out in Tulsa supportive of a team and Tulsa's mayor weighs in... no word of any O/I's in Tulsa... then comes meeting with UCO prez regarding stadium in Edmond... no news from Tulsa... lots of news from Daily Oklahoman and Dean Blevins/channel 9 about well, anything and everything and Tulsa's mysterious bid-- which nobody in Tulsa seems to know about... is 6 MONTHS AHEAD OF OKC's!?!... Daily Oklahoman has been eerily supportive... then Garber fails to mention OKC but does mention Tulsa?
I think Garber must have made a mistake when he said Tulsa. I know Brad Lund from OKC is there, but Tulsa? Who could it possibly be? And why hasn't the media picked up on any inkling of it? I'm curious as to what exactly this "Tulsa" referrence really means because it makes no sense right now.
I can see Garber's comments if they were off the cuff to a reporter, but this was a prepared speech... I seriously doubt he mispoke... also, Lund is a former Tulsan who did statwork for the Roughnecks... hmmm... maybe somebody's playing both sides against each other???
Well, if you look at it that way, Lund/Express Sports would be in a nice position. They could go to OKC leaders and say "Hey, I've got this line on an MLS franchise. When can you get a stadium built?" Then turn around, hop on the turnpike to Tulsa, and say "Well, OKC says they can have a stadium built by 20xx, but nothing is final. Can you do any better?" Basically, if Express is the sole I/O brokering for a Tulsa or OKC franchise, then all they have to do is convince one of the two to build a stadium. I'm not saying that's an easy task, but knowing the sibling-like competitiveness between the two cities, it's likely that Express could push one city to get it done. Of course, Express would have to be careful because of existing interests in OKC (Blazers, Ford Center, etc.) not to burn any bridges or make any enemies. I think this is going to get interesting. d8n_two
Yeah, the only way all of this really makes any sense is if Express Sports is interested in being an I/O in either city. Tulsa has been the only one of the two cities to have had interest in a team since the league was formed; interest I think was ill-served by former mayor Savage. I'm suspicious that Lund may have seen an opening shortly after the WC to explore OKC's options in Bricktown and Edmond, hoping something would fly... hoping comments about MLS's previous interest in Tulsa would either spur OKC into some sort of discussion or re-ignite Tulsa's efforts to secure a franchise. Either way, Express Sports would stand to be the primary beneficiaries since it has a successful track record in OKC with hockey's Blazers and no interested parties in Tulsa to speak of (Williams Cos. probably got the MLS ball rolling in the 90s but is in no position to invest now). Throw new mayor LaFortune into the mix and things will definitely get interesting in the coming months. LaFortune is nephew to another former mayor LaFortune from the 70s... the family name already is found on Southern Hills's LaFortune Park and LaFortune Stadium (a stadium used primarily for TPS high school football games but was also home to a few minor league Roughnecks games)... this new mayor is going to have to spend at least his 1st year in office fixing the city budget but after that would likely be the type to propose a MAPS-type project that could build an MLS level facility as a multi-purpose stadium that would make TPS athletic facilities competitive with the surrounding suburbs... okay, that last statement may be more wishful thinking than anything else, but I can't imagine a LaFortune not wanting a lasting "legacy" and what better legacy than the return of major league soccer to Tulsa, the only pro-sport Tulsans have ever truly supported.
Is there a chance that Tulsans might be gun shy to build a stadium? Speaking to one Tulsan, I was told that the demise of the NASL and the Roughnecks broke the hearts of many Tulsa sports fans. According to him, many felt burned by the league folding. Despite the recent spike in interest due to the WC and Garber's rosy outlook, six months ago many declared MLS in grave despair. Could this along with past experience with NASL affect Tulsan's willingness to shell out cash for a SSS? Or is the Roughneck fire still hot enough LaFortune to grab onto and convince voters to approve funding? Like I've said before, I don't know anything about Tulsa other than what a few of my friends from there tell me. So I was curious if this gun shy issue held any water. On top of that, most of the people I know say they have heard/read nothing about this in the Tulsa media. I know that college football season is revving up, and it's time to cover the page with OU football. But, even the Daily Disappointment, er, Oklahoman has mentioned OKC interest in a couple of stories. The way this is playing out is so odd. It really seems like MLS is more interested in it than either city really is. So much secrecy, confusion, rumors and conspiracies. Ahh, it's what the Internet was built for. d8n_two
I really wouldnt put it past Lund to bargin between the two cities for a stadium, but there may be OIs in Tulsa that alot of people arent too aware of, or at least arent part of a pre-existing sports ownership company like Express. Michael Case jumps to mind immediatly, he has a large amount of personal wealth as well as connections out the ass. The Siegfried family (spelling) i believe has a few soccer players and really, how many islands can one family own? Lorton is probably a no-go; that clan is as tight with their cash as can be possible, but F&M is my first candidate for a loaning and backing institution for this project. And LaFortune is (you guessed it) a LaFortune. A rich mayor is sometimes a good thing. More connections and if he thinks that this project will gain him some degree of stature of being a mayor who actually did SOMETHING, he'll do what it takes to get it done. Still, if it's not 80% OI built stadium, forget it.
MLS to Edmond will be temporary! Brad Lund and Express Sports know OKC! They know that voters aren't willing to pass another sales tax to build a soccer specific football stadium. They aren't willing to risk a full investment on building a soccer specific stadium in OKC. Using Edmond as a testing ground with a minimum investment to see if the interest is here in Central Oklahoma and if the league remains stable--take it from there. MLS could become the hottest ticket in Oklahoma and should that be the case, look for a proposal to come before the voters to build an MLS stadium in Bricktown. The University of Central Oklahoma (Edmond) and Edmond Public Schools have talked about expanding Wantland Stadium. Express Sports enters the picture and the chances of expanding Wantland Stadium or building a new stadium that seats 22,000 minimum increases. Wantland would only be home to an MLS team for a few years. I don't believe that Brad Lund and Express Sports had any real plans from the beginning to court Oklahoma City for MLS. They know that the timing isn't right to push for a soccer specific stadium--let's get a team and then build a stadium off the league and team's success. Right now, Edmond is the safest mininmum investment Express Sports can make--the community is more than capable of supporting it. They are now in a position to court Edmond and get a 22,000-seat stadium and then flirt with Oklahoma City or Tulsa for a long term future state-of-the-art venue. If MLS has any success in Edmond, you bet that there will be a proposal to put an MLS stadium in Bricktown and see if the voters want to publicly finance a stadium for MLS and high school sports. Who knows, if Tulsa puts an MLS stadium on the ballot along with a 20,000-seat convention center and a new baseball park along with some other projects and bundle them like MAPS, they will have a good chance of getting it by the voters. You see, Tulsans are getting tired of hearing that OKC has lapped them in downtown revitalization. This team will start out in Edmond where Express Sports will probably pump $5 million into expanding Wantland and letting UCO and Edmond hash out the other $10 million. Should MLS reach major popularity in Edmond, OKC voters will be asked to build a new state-of-the-art 30,000 to 40,000-seat stadium in Bricktown or on the North Canadian Riverfront Development. Tulsa could also become a potential home for a permanent move for a team which will only use Edmond as a temporary home.
Makes sense, when you compare it to the reference in north Dallas, that they are talking to two different cities. Using one vs. the other is a rather effective tactic. And in these cases, they both might be true. It's really only 90 miles from Tulsa to OKC? Always seemed longer to me.