We're back from where? HUH? Whats going on? They talkin bout movin an MLS team down the Turnpike? (again)
I was refering to the sub forum. What's holding OKC back? Money or lack there of. Still searching for that ellusive investor.
I am another that would love to have a team. It seemed a few months ago that we had a chance.....now with all kind of cities popping up wanting a team....I don't know. Do you think the new Burn 96 team stadium is being built in Frisco to pull more Oklahoma Burn Fans? It would cut maybe an hour off the trip from up here. If this is the case, perhaps we really don't have a chance as we are smack in the middle of the Burn and the Wizards.
I seriously doubt the built a stadium in Frisco to help draw Okie fans. The location of the new stadium had the most to do with Frisco being willing to partial fund the stadium which no one else was willing to do. Being an hour closer is just a perk. As for being in between the Wizards and Burn/FC Dallas, I really think that matters very little if at all. MLS will put a team where there's someone with the money to pay for one, regardless of location (ex Chivas USA in LA). As with all these other cities popping up, Garber has said that they might have to move the next wave of expansion back to 2007 instead of 2006. Just because a bunch of cities are popping up doesn't mean they have any more of a chance than in years past when they all popped up before. Should the San Jose Earthquakes be bought by Club America and moved to either Houston or San Antonio, you can then strike them off the list of possibles. If Houton gets the team, San Antonio is out and vice versa. That leaves Seattle which is becoming more and more less likely everytime people talk about it (they still have no I/O group, they're in a huge football stadium and the Sounders are only pulling in about 2,500 a game). Philly always gets a mention but nothing ever comes from it. Cleveland still has hope as I believe Wolstein's old partner has decided to pick up the torch but their legs are about as week as ours. Rochester is still a canidate but their stadium still hasn't been started nor do they have the money yet or show any signs that they really want to get it.
Sounds much better now! Thanks for the update. Is Edmond the only city that could support an MLS team facility wise? Granted, that would be a good location. I'll have to look at the requirements for an expansion team, just to see what we need.
As of now, yes. They have the stadium plans and the funding to build it (a combo of state money, local schools money and university student fees). There's not other location in the metro area that can concievably build one.
You have my vote. OKC sounds like the best idea to me. No major league team, and close enough to Dallas, KC and Colorado to get some good rivalries going. Good luck!
So where does RSL leave OKC in the sqheme of things? Seems like the MLS took on a small market, @1.3m in SLC metro, and a huge market with LA. If the next round of expanion is going to include a team in a market like Rochester or SLC, I would imagine that it would only occur if they have some investors lined up to take a stab at a large market like Houston or Philly. I'd put Seattle in the middle of the two.
Honestly, I think that you might see so more small market teams come in just for the simple fact that they may have the best chance to survive and they have the money (if they indeed do but of course they wouldn't get in if they didn't). Of course getting a team into Philly or Seattle would be ideal but there's still no one there willing to put up the money. And it's really not like SLC had to beat anyone out. The just happened to be the only team that could put up the money to start play for next season. Yes, Seattle was in the race but the full amount needed never materialized. If you had a guy in SLC with the money and a guy in Philly with the money wanting in the league the same season, SLC would've been asked to take a seat and see what happens next year. Though to be perfectly honest, Seattle's A-League attendance hasn't been the best. Over the past 6 seasons they've only averaged 2,765. There could be tons of reasons for this. But they also do have 3 other major league teams while SLC only had 1 and OKC has 0. That's less competition. During the spring and summer the only thing MLS has to go up against is AAA baseball. But I digress. In the end, I really think this next round of expansion will again come down to "You got the money, honey, I've got the time!" Small market or no.
Name & Logo As long as we're back how bout some name and logo discussion. Barons was a pretty good idea, but I think that there are definitely better ones. I've always been partial to the name Lions. I also like the name Redskins. Too bad it's already made famous by Americas priciest sports franchise. Lions may remind many of the Detroit footballers, but it's a name that could be transferred to other franchises easier than Redskins could. I'm also against any color scheme dominated by the color green. We can do better. I limit myself to just wearing one stupid clothing color (orange for OSU), and would hate having to support a team with green jerseys. With a native American team name I'd also like use something along the lines of the Union Redskin logo. Just bring in a soccer ball, or put it on a shield and it would look great. I also could deal with SC something, but don't like FC.
Re: Name & Logo I can promise you Redskins will never, ever happen. There's nothing wrong with green. It's part of the state colors, it looks good, and no one else wears it in the league. No one wears orange either but orange is already a very associated color in the state.
Re: Name & Logo Earlier in the week I went to a Tulsa Oiler, Mamphis Riverkings game. I will admit I was impressed with the Riverkings' colors. They were black and green. I could live with these colors if presented in the right way. Is there enough support for a minor league soccer franchise in OK. Since we are close to two MLS teams we could certainly align ourselves with either of them.
I'm not sure about a minor league team here. Maybe, but it's one of these deals where if the team is in the best league possible it will work. Anything less and people won't really care that much. To use a CHL comparison, when Dallas had a CHL team their attendance was absolute crap. You would never have thought they liked hockey there. But in comes the NHL and their attendance is way up there like it's a hockey-mad town. Having the superior product makes a difference when you get to see the best there is every week. And take heart. I don't know how reliable this is, but I heard from a guy who "know the man with the money" that MLS in OKC still has a shot yet. It seems the only thing that's making them hesitate right now is that it's such a large investment and they're not sure if it's economically worth it. They're kinda of waiting and seeing. Hopefully after this next season with Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA and SSS that the league will show that it's going to make money and then Express Sports will hop on in.