United Soccer League in Edmond

[USRufnex]

from NewsOK.com...

Tue February 5, 2008
United Soccer League giving consideration to Edmond

Matt Caban
Staff Writer
EDMOND — The United Soccer League is considering Edmond as an expansion site for its First Division, said Edmond Mayor Dan O'Neil.

The USL recently sent a letter to O'Neil, saying it is interested in placing an expansion franchise in Edmond for the 2009 season.

Matt Weibe, the league's managing director of development and communications, said in the letter, "We are interested to begin exploring opportunities to expand United Soccer Leagues (USL) into the City of Edmond. I welcome you to encourage ... potential investment groups to bring USL to Edmond in 2009."

O'Neil said the city has always been interested in a professional sports team, particularly soccer.

"Now we have to see if there is viable interest from private investors," O'Neil said. "If there is genuine interest, then we need to get others involved."

O'Neil said "others" includes potential owners and the University of Central Oklahoma. O'Neil said he gave the letter to Steve Commons, Edmond's assistant city manager for administration.

Commons said he will find out if there is interest within the community.

"We're going to make people (aware) that this letter is out there and ... is an entertainment opportunity for our area," Commons said Monday.

A USL team would likely play at refurbished Wantland Stadium on the UCO campus. The university would still like to host a pro soccer team, said Steve Kreidler, UCO's executive vice president for administration.

"If there's a form of pro soccer and ownership, the university is interested," Kreidler said. "It's still possible. The stadium is available."

The USL became interested in Edmond after the city and UCO were unsuccessful in their bid to land a Major League Soccer franchise in 2004, Weibe said. He said the USL focuses on affordable family entertainment.

"Our business model is very different from MLS," Weibe said. "It does well in markets like Oklahoma City. We want our league to start filling up in the middle part of the country, including the Southwest and Midwest."

Weibe said there will be 11 teams in USL's First Division this season, with clubs in Atlanta, Miami, Portland, Rochester, N.Y., and Seattle. The USL recently announced an expansion team in Austin, Texas. The Aztex will join the league in 2009.  Weibe said the league is in active negotiations with groups in Omaha, Phoenix and San Antonio.

A team in Edmond would make a natural rivalry with Austin, said Phil Rawlins, Aztex owner and president. Rawlins also is an owner and director of Stoke City, a team in England's second division.

"We'd have an Oklahoma-Texas rivalry, which is always a great thing," Rawlins said.

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Wantland Stadium

[USRufnex]

http://www.uslsoccer.com/insider/229134.html

TOPIC: EXPANSION / USL-1 TEAMS

(Mikey - Charleston, SC) Is USL or any potential owners, actively pursuing an expansion franchise in the near future, particularly in Division 1?

Including the recently announced Austin Aztex franchise which will begin competition in 2009, there are presently 12 active USL-1 clubs.  It is our objective to reach 16 clubs by the 2010 season at which point we expect to further evaluate league growth and expansion.  This is genuinely achievable without sacrificing quality in the process.  Clearly, we need to increase our footprint west of the Mississippi in USL-1 and therefore this is primarily where our proactive efforts to identify ownership groups are focused.  A short list of markets from which we believe a USL-1 franchise could be successful with the proper ownership and venue include, but are not limited to (in no specific order):  Omaha (NE), Tulsa (OK), San Antonio (TX), Tampa (FL), Phoenix (AZ), Boise (ID), Oklahoma City (OK), Albuquerque (NM), Memphis (TN), and Birmingham (AL).  We are currently in advanced discussions with interested parties in several of these markets.

[TURobY]

Okay, so how do we, as individual citizens, promote our city to make this become a reality?

[USRufnex]

Hard to say.  The "interested parties" (AKA the money people) in Tulsa have NEVER been publicly identified.

I don't know if USL1 has really had substantive discussions in Tulsa... but if I were them, I'd be on the phone with Lynn Mitchell... []

In the more recent days when Tulsa had unique opportunities to get into MLS, the public face of Tulsa's effort was former mayor LaFortune.  Which can become awkward when looking for "investors" who end up asking for confidentiality agreements....

Cut to the chase.  What can you do?

Answer:  not much.  Hard to know how to help someone "bring pro soccer to Tulsa" when you don't know who they are or how they want to do it...

Could try a website to show public support...

http://www.sonsofben.net/Home/Home.html

Some Philly people started it up about a year ago, and it definitely helped... not sure how much, though...

http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080229&content_id=141210&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp

CHESTER, Pa. -- When it comes to business decisions, fans are usually on the outside, waiting for professional sports teams to do what they believe is best.
There is always an exception to the rule.

The Sons of Ben, a supporters' group with more than 1,600 members, helped convince Major League Soccer that the Philadelphia fan base was definitely ready and willing to support an expansion club. In fact, Bryan James, the club's co-founder and president, even took part in the celebration of Wednesday's announcement at Turbine Hall, adjacent to the Chester waterfront.

"You can never underestimate the passion of the fans," said Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. "You can't measure it. The Sons of Ben have been waiting for soccer in this area for so long. Now they have it and they're going to be loud and give this team a true homefield advantage. Believe me, this group's excitement and desire had a lot to do with why we're here announcing this franchise."