2016 Tulsa Athletics Thread

[Conan71]

The politically correct term is little people.

And you know me, never PC.  NEVER.

[TulsaRufnex]

Revisionist history.
Rufnex, you started the bashing of the Roughnecks day one and accused them of "stealing the idea of soccer" on this forum.
You don't get the high road.

http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/index.php?topic=20440.15

I was damned angry, and for good reason... after the Drillers got involved, the TW wouldn't give us the time of day and now we've lost our stadium.
You sure loved calling us "cheap" on the above thread and in TW newspaper comments sections back then, Michael... so you sure don't get the high road either.
Here are just a few of your accusations and cheap shots, Michael:

"But not to you and the Athletic soccer hooligans."
"You are jealous of their money and ability."
"I get it. But attacking anybody who likes the idea of even more soccer in Tulsa is nothing but childish."
"I just want professional soccer in Tulsa. The Athletics games were fun, but it was not the best product."
"The players were amateurs, the referees let fights happen during the game and on the sidelines, and the games never even started on time."
"The league was two teams from Houston and a team from Plano. To make a season, they played those same three teams four times each."
"There was no investment into the fan experience. When you sang the national anthem, no one could hear you because of cheap audio equipment."
"The concessions were some food trucks parked on the other side of the stadium that no one went to."
"It was completely underfunded. Grassroots is a polite way to say doing everything cheap."  

The Drillers charge soccer fans more $$$ for seats with poor viewing angles than they charge baseball fans for great seats.
Our club and our team have worked their butts off over the past three years, dealt with lease terms worse than what the Drillers had when they played there... and IMO the Athletics deserved a helluva lot better fate than to have the rug pulled out from under them by the Drillers only weeks after our first successful season in which we drew over 3,300 fans per game.
Our team built upon winning our 4-team division in our first season, won our 8-team division in our second season, and finished a disappointing 3rd out of 8 teams this past season but still have been the highest scoring team in our conference every year of our existence.
Our stadium has hosted the Tulsa Rugby Club and Tulsa Buffaloes aussie rules football team, and will host ultimate frisbee as well this summer...
Our conference now has a total of eleven teams, including new clubs in Little Rock playing at War Memorial Stadium, Shreveport, and a Houston club that had been playing in a rival league controlled by USL.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_NPSL_season#South_Central_Conference

We have some of the best players from TU, ORU, RSU, NSU and a few players coming in from Creighton, UNC-Wilmington and another guy from Syracuse.
All tickets are $7 with Opening Day coming up 5/7

[davideinstein]

You sure called us "cheap" over and over again on that thread... so you certainly don't get the high road either.

You guys have acted cheap.

[davideinstein]

For example:

https://mobile.twitter.com/AthleticsArmory/status/614231625572876288

[TulsaRufnex]

You guys have acted cheap.

I could post well over a dozen of your cheapshot tweets directed towards us from last year but they became so caustic I ultimately had to block them.
Which is ironic since I consider a few of the Roustabouts to be friends and will likely be at tomorrow night's game.

[davideinstein]

I could post well over a dozen of your cheapshot tweets directed towards us from last year but they became so caustic I ultimately had to block them.
Which is ironic since I consider a few of the Roustabouts to be friends and will likely be at tomorrow night's game.

And I'll never be at an Athletics game.

[TulsaRufnex]

And I'll never be at an Athletics game.

So, you're trolling this thread in particular and the team in general... good to know.

[Hoss]

It *might* be nice for you two to have your personal war via PM, as you're turning this thread into...



Just my opinion...

[RecycleMichael]

I don't disagree.

But Tulsa Rufnex is a good guy and DavidEinstien is a good guy. I disagree with both of them sometimes and agree with them sometimes.

This thread is the only thing harmed by this discussion. It had a short life to begin with.

Talking sports rivalries is fun. The only difference between this thread and hundreds of Yankees/Mets online conversations is the sport and the town.

I say, "Go Soccer"

[TulsaRufnex]

May 7th is OPENING NIGHT! Come join the Armory in celebrating the Tulsa Athletics before the match! May 7th is also the Kentucky Derby so we are doing a Derby themed tailgated w/ fried chicken and mint juleps! We'll have the race on when it kicks and you can place your bets at Fair Meadows OTB! Wear a floppy hat, dress like a jockey, and have fun!




http://www.tulsaathletics.com/news/may-7th-mike-wozniak-night/

April 25, 2016

The home opener for the Athletics on May 7th is going ot be a special one.  This year, the Athletics are honoring Mike Wozniak as the Tulsa Athletics Tulsa of the Year for his work with Bike Club, while also labeling the night "Mike Wozniak Night".  A portion of ticket sales at the home opener will benefit Bike Club and Mike Wozniak will be honored before the match.

"Mike is a good friend of mine and to see the good he has done in the city has truly been inspiring," said Athletics owmer Sonny Dalesandro.  "We are extremely pleased to be able to help raise money for the program."

Bike Club is a non-profit organization started two years ago by Wozniak, where he and volunteers donate their time and bikes to lower income elementary schools.

[Conan71]

May 7th is OPENING NIGHT! Come join the Armory in celebrating the Tulsa Athletics before the match! May 7th is also the Kentucky Derby so we are doing a Derby themed tailgated w/ fried chicken and mint juleps! We'll have the race on when it kicks and you can place your bets at Fair Meadows OTB! Wear a floppy hat, dress like a jockey, and have fun!




http://www.tulsaathletics.com/news/may-7th-mike-wozniak-night/

WOZ!!!

Sounds like fun, we will try to be there.

[TulsaRufnex]

Which is owned by whom?

History factoid: Taft Stadium hosted midget and stock car racing way back when.

Owned by OKC Public Schools but Tim McLaughlin, co-owner of the Energy FC, is part of Fields-and-Futures so the school district will give that team alot of leeway for beer sales, etc...
http://newsok.com/article/3890969

[dbacksfan 2.0]

Owned by OKC Public Schools but Tim McLaughlin, co-owner of the Energy FC, is part of Fields-and-Futures so the school district will give that team alot of leeway for beer sales, etc...
http://newsok.com/article/3890969

I'm sure that building a modern stadium for them was not an influence on that decision.

[TulsaRufnex]

I'm sure that building a modern stadium for them was not an influence on that decision.

Taft and Speegle Stadiums were rebuilt using $19mil obtained though a bond issue.
Both stadiums were in really bad shape-- Taft had to be completely demolished other than keeping its historic wall facade intact.
The soccer club (originally the NASL group won the lease until Tim McLaughlin defected to the USL group) agreed to pay quite a bit for rent which goes to OKC PS and also kicked in for a nicer press box.

The only marginally close equivalent IMO in Tulsa would be if the horsetrack at the fairgrounds were somehow the property of TPS, home of Rogers HS Football, and a bond issue was passed for it to be rebuilt.

As for a new stadium locale that hosts the Tulsa Athletics and/or the Tulsa Roughnecks, a first choice for me has always been somewhere in the midst of all that empty space/unused parking south of Blue Dome/East Village and just north of Home Depot. A second choice would be on the other side of the IDL just off Peoria which would be blocks away from the Pearl District/Cherry Street.

Taft and Speegle
http://www.meyerarch.com/home/MyDocs/Taft%20%20and%20Speegle%20Article.pdf

Oklahoma City Energy owners state desire for MLS
By Ryan Tolmich April 6, 2016
http://sbisoccer.com/2016/04/oklahoma-city-energy-owners-state-desire-for-mls

Speaking to KOCO 5 News, Energy owner Bob Funk Jr. said the team's ultimate goal is to move into MLS. Funk said the first step towards that end goal would be the construction of a soccer-specific stadium while continuing to make inroads with the local community.

"We are trying to take a very measured approach in how we get to our overall goal. We're aspiring to get into MLS," Funk Jr. said. "There's no guarantee that we're going to get there. There are a lot of things that have to fall into place. There's a large ladder and we have to walk up that ladder in order to get there. One of the things we have to do is sell our our stadium, prove that it's a viable product and, at some point, we need to build a soccer-specific stadium. It can be multipurpose, but it needs to be soccer-specific.

[davideinstein]

Tulsa is so far away from a soccer stadium. It's terrible.

If only they had listened during the Vision process...