FORGET. ABOUT. MLS.There. I said it. All better.
I wince at saying the word "never," but MLS will never choose Tulsa as an expansion team.... and barring a devastating hurricane that forces the Houston Dynamo to relocate to Tulsa for a couple of seasons... or the financial collapse and relocation of teams from Dallas or KC (picking Tulsa over St. Louis?)... a team is just not gonna happen here anytime soon.....
I mean, does Tulsa have a well heeled, deep pocketed local ownership group like KC's OnGoal LLC waiting in the wings for that kind of "opportunity?"
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3371737OnGoal LLC is losing money hand over fist right now because they're stuck playing at a minor league ballpark until their 18,500 seat stadium at Bannister Mall is constructed--
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2009/06/15/focus3.html ... So, any suggestion that an MLS team can play at the new ballpark or the fairgrounds on anything other than a temporary basis is wrong.
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Here is the viable option:http://www.uslsoccer.com/One notch below Major League Soccer, the league's top men's division (USL-1) lost Toronto to MLS a couple of years ago; they lost the Seattle Sounders to MLS this year..... they will lose Portland and Vancouver to MLS in 2011 and rumor has it Montreal will move up to MLS as well......
Tulsa had the equivalent of a USL-2 men's team here in the late 90s.... they played at multiple high school stadium venues under the "Roughnecks" moniker and drew roughly 1,000 fans per game.... then in 2001, the Luettes (sp?) from Thrifty bought a USL second division W-league team called the "Oklahoma Outrage" -- named because their daughter was
outraged that the Roughnecks didn't have a team for girls.... that team drew a few hundred fans per game over at Metro Christian's stadium, but also hosted the New York WUSA team for an exhibition game that drew 4500 fans over at the BA high school stadium....
USL wants USL-1 teams in San Antonio, OKC and Tulsa to go with the Austin team started this year....
http://www.crocketteers.com/2009/05/24/the-san-antonio-spurs-are-actually-bringing-a-team-to-san-antonio-in-the-next-year-or-two/IMHO, if the USL had their druthers, I believe they'd like to see Chuck Lamson agree to own and operate a USL-1 team and share digs downtown with the Drillers. Even though I'm sure Lamson was polite about it, he declined... although I'm not sure how serious any discussions were since they dated back to last year.
The league would be very interested in playing at the old Driller Park in either 2010 or 2011.... 2010 is doubtful since there doesn't seem to be an organization in Tulsa with the kind of expertise to pull it off that quickly. But the county can help out alot - by simply not bulldozing the stadium.....
Here are some selling points for USL-1 soccer at the fairgounds:
1) This league has average crowds of around 4,500 fans per game, so the 11,000 seat capacity at the old ballpark would be ideal.
2) The league wants its USL-1 teams to be "first tenant" whenever possible.
3) Very little renovation would need to be done; sightlines could be better if the 1st base and 3rd base stands were closer to 90-degree angles, but there's no compelling need to move the stands around. The important choices would be between the higher maintenance costs of a grass field versus a rubber-based synthetic turf (NeXturf or Field Turf).
4) A Tulsa team would likely have at least 1-2 exhibition or Open Cup games against MLS opponents every year.
5) USL-1 has benchmarks for their venue standards (not required but ideal)-- the ballpark at the fairgrounds comes closest to fulfilling these benchmarks....
Seating type: 50% individual, 50% bleacher with back.
Parking: 1:4 spaces for fans. VIP Area: 6 suites/luxury boxes.
Broadcasting Booths: 4. Phone lines/Wifi: 3.
6) USL-1 expansion fee is about one-tenth the fee for WNBA and around one-fortieth the expansion fee being paid to MLS these days.
7) About 20 home dates per year. So, the proposed venue could also be used for higher profile TU or ORU college soccer games/tourneys or for a women's team. The Mexican National Women's team played a Tulsa semi-pro team last month.... in Sapulpa... who knew? I didn't. No lines on the field... could be used to host sports like rugby and lacrosse?
---Bottom line: I'm skeptical when anybody talks about building a 20k capacity "multi-use" stadium on the west bank of the Arkansas between two oil refineries. What kind of road access? Would 15,000+ Tulsans pay $10 - $25 a pop to cross a bridge to watch and smell a game? Dunno, but if a USL-1 team starts out at the fairgrounds, maybe those Branson people can build something cool in exchange for getting a TIF district approved... and I guess the smell of an oil refinery while watching a team called the "Roughnecks" would have its own unique appeal.... soccer moms be damned...
Puerto Rico Islanders USL-1 venue, built in 1974 with a capacity of 12,500. Tim Holt Q & A - Part OneFriday, February 22, 2008
http://www.uslsoccer.com/insider/229134.htmlA 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.