Yeah, I enjoyed that discussion. Since the two nominees were both English stadiums, I presumed that Tramel had actually seen a game in England. He sure went into detail about the 1966 World Cup in his arguement for Wembley. Since, I've never been to Europe I'm no expert. However, I'd have to think that the new San Siro would have to be one of the top two. Maybe Tramel hasn't traveled to Italy yet...
The comment about TU wanting to widen the field at Skelly is not rumor. The administration was quoted in the media as saying that soon after the MLS exhibition. They said it was something they have wanted to do for a while. I don't think this was driven by MLS really, but rather because the football sidelines are just too close to the wall. I seem to recall them saying it would help with TV broadcasts, especially sideline cameras.
I know Berry, and I can say without a doubt that he's never been to a soccer game in England. Hell, he's barely been to any in Oklahoma.
Actually, it started out as rumor circulated by Tulsa World sportswriters back in January who suggested Skelly over a SSS... they questioned TU officials who said they were interested in widening the field. Tulsa city officials didn't say it was out of the question. To this day, though, nobody knows if they've ever discussed replacing the grasstroturf with REAL grass... Mayor LaFortune has been notably silent and... and back in late Aug/Sept., Lamar Hunt said point blank that Skelly was simply unacceptable. No MLS official has commented publicly on the POSSIBILITY of Skelly Stadium, even with a widened grass playing field. MLS doesn't want another Spartan Stadium to add to it's collection... using Skelly as a temporary solution may be another matter, though. Barry Trammel writing about old English soccer stadiums??? Make me laugh. The only "old English" that man knows a damned thing about is a brand of furniture polish. Per usual, the deathstar (the Daily Oklahoman) MUST have its fingers in this pie somewhere. There's been no pro's and con's debate (typical of THAT newspaper). Express Sports obviously isn't the only player in OKC/Edmond's bid. And if the Gaylords/Daily Oklahoman wasn't involved, you would never see this kind of "rah-rah" "Stepford Wives" coverage of un-redneck news items such as "Wembley and Old Trafford." Duh.
Actually, I don't think the Gaylords are involved too much. The Oklahoman was doing a series of Point/Counterpoints on what are the best venues for different sports, and I think Berry was left having to do soccer with Ojeda. That's the whole reason for the Wembley/Old Trafford thing. Sometimes the person doing those doesn't even buy into his side of the argument, but someone has to write it. As for a pros and cons debate, that's because, I'd gather, the guy covering it isn't very seasoned, and while he's a nice guy who can turn out a decent story, he's not the type to rock the boat and ask tough questions. The rest of the staff just doesn't care enough about soccer to do a thorough analysis. I doubt the Gaylords are that involved. They've never been too involved in bringing any other sport to the OKC area, have they?
That prick Dan DeVos who also killed our hockey team in KC. All he's good for is spending daddy's (Amway) money.
Sorry I didn't answer this before. Missed it. I know Berry originally from when I was at OU. He'd come to the school paper once a week and work with us sports guys, telling us what we had been doing good and what we did wrong. That was back before he was sports editor and before he dropped that gig to do a radio show. Currently, I work down in Lawton, doing high school (including soccer) and OU mostly.
i agree that OKC should build a sss in the bricktown area. It would draw a much larger attendance than edmond. I live in edmond and it is a cool town but on the weekdays people are usually at home eating dinner by 8. people arent into the whole staying out late on weekdays thing. one of the most popular resturants in town"bolinis" was forced to move because of this. i think people will come out to see games in edmond and i think attendance will be high for the first few games but i think after a while people are gonna stop coming out to games as often because they will get tired of driving all the way up to edmond. A sss in bricktown would create higher attendance while boosting the local economy of the downtown area. I think it would be a very worthwile investment and it shoudl definatly be considered.
Yikes. There's been a lot of great stuff happening in the area around TU the last few years. The Kendall-Whittier project cleaned up the area to the west and the property values to south and east have gone up quite a bit the last few years (it seems more people want to live in the midtown area). The area to the North is sketchy once you pass the highway... but that's a good mile from Skelly. I'm really not sure what you're talking about...
The Tulsa World is really slow when it comes to local sports coverage at times, although I wouldn't be suprised if you hear something about a new stadium near Jenks. I have a source that set with the mayor at the WAC tournament...
That would be great news, but I'm not holding my breath. The WAC tournament was a long time ago, so hopefully something's been happening that hasn't been shared with the public.
I can only tell you about the last time I was at Skelly Stadium which was quite a long time ago. I'm just saying that Edmond seems to be a cleaner area. I could very well be wrong about Skelly. I don't visit Tulsa very often any more. I would still go to a few select games in Tulsa (if they were to get a team), but I would definitely be a season ticket holder for an Edmond team. Even though I live is south OKC, I would still drive all the way to Edmond for every game. It's alot closer to home than Tulsa or Dallas.
Skelly DOES have advantages... first, it's centrally located, Edmond is not. Skelly has a tradition of being the focal point of many Tulsa events... most Tulsans are comfortable going to Skelly or TU for events. And the fans are literally on top of the action. MLS wants NEW, however. So, Skelly as a long term solution for Tulsa is moot. Frankly, I'm surprised there hasn't been a story in the Tulsa World telling us Tulsa is out of the running. And it's even more surprising that Garber didn't mention OKC or Cleveland... or Tulsa during the all-star game. But there still is this requirement for OKC to get 7500 season ticket commitments (from the Oklahoman last week)... so, I have the sneaky feeling that Tulsa's totals have come out closer to that 7500 than the 5000 quoted the week after the exhibition game in April. And Tulsa is the ONLY city that has actually had a season ticket drive... hmmm... here we are in mid-August... Buehler... Buehler...?!?
Dear Mr. USRufnex, I never said that Skelly did not have any advantages. I only pointed out that my previous encounters with that area were not very pleasant. I don't know what you have against Edmond getting a team, and I really don't care to know. However, I am really curious as to why you feel that you have to take such a big part in this decision when you currently reside in Chicago. Ante Razov is one of my favorite players and I would love to be a part of the Fire's cheering section. So, needless to say, I would trade places with you in a heartbeat. All I want is a chance to be one of those faithful MLS fans that gets to attend every home game and cheer on their home team. If this is a crime in your book, then you will just have to get over it.
Originally posted by ianfan Dear Mr. USRufnex, I never said that Skelly did not have any advantages. No. You simply pointed out every disadvantage you could think of, despite not having been there in years. I only pointed out that my previous encounters with that area were not very pleasant. I don't know what you have against Edmond getting a team, and I really don't care to know. Edmond may be a fine place to put an MLS team. Wantland Stadium is not without its disadvantages, however. However, I am really curious as to why you feel that you have to take such a big part in this decision when you currently reside in Chicago. Let's see. I grew up in Tulsa. I went to college at OCU. I'd love to see the return of Joe Max-Moore to Skelly Stadium where he was once a ballboy for the Roughnecks... it'd be nice to see an MLS team in either OKC or Tulsa as long as the team can be successful and not a drag on MLS. So, needless to say, I would trade places with you in a heartbeat. You don't need to trade places with me; move here if you want. There are no laws restricting your movement in this country... yet. All I want is a chance to be one of those faithful MLS fans that gets to attend every home game and cheer on their home team. If this is a crime in your book, then you will just have to get over it. And there are over 14,000 fans in Tulsa who'd also like to attend every home game and cheer on their home team...
-I pointed out one disadvantage. -I never said that Wantland didn't have any disadvantages. Although, I think they are working on some of them. -I grew up in Tulsa too. So? I knew Joe Max Moore too. He played with my brothers on a Broken Arrow soccer team many, many years ago. I even remember my family attending a soccer party at his home. They even held practices in his back yard. I wouldn't mind seeing him back in Oklahoma too. But... that has nothing to do with where the team should be placed. -I agree with you about wanting the team to be successful. -Moving to Chicago consists of alot more than just the law. _Why do you insist on making every post a debate. Are we not allowed to have our own opinion? And I didn't ask for yours.
Touche. However, I'd like to point out the name of this thread is "Tulsa VERSUS Oklahoma City"... not to be confused with "Tulsa LOVES Oklahoma City" or "Everybody loves Edmond"... in which case I'd be more than happy to start singing Kum-bah-yah with all the OKC folks, but alas... I'll just go ahead and post excerpts from last weekend's Tulsa World... seems the city figured out that there may be enough support for soccer in Tulsa, just not specifically a city financed soccer stadium... interesting to read how Tom Warren has still been working behind the scenes and mentioned lobbying the state to funnel taxes through an enterprise zone... also, a week ago, an article quoted Tulsa Univ officials on a plan to do $30 million worth of renovations to Skelly but seemed to indicate they would keep capacity at 40K... more to follow.
SOCCER franchise on the sideline CURTIS KILLMAN World Staff Writer 08/16/2003 Tulsa World (Final Home Edition), Page A19 of News View in Print (PDF) Format
Damn the bad luck! I was hoping that this guy had FALLEN OFF THE EDGE OF THE EARTH by now. But, no. Here he is taking shots at us OKC people again when he lives IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT STATE! Yes... the title of this thread is TULSA VERSUS OKLAHOMA CITY not USRUFNEX VERSUS OKLAHOMA CITY.
Hey, if it were up to me, Tulsa and OKC would have teams... but I don't have $20 million... The main reason I'd put a team up there would be so that we could beat the crap out of you guys... OKC could go 4-26 for all I care, as long as we kick the crap out of Dallas and Tulsa Wow, I am a Blazers fan... btw, how does Tulsa look this year? Maybe 2 wins on the American football field?