USA BMX to move headquarters to Tulsa

[carltonplace]

Thanks to the V2025 EXT voters, BMX plans to move in at former Drillers Stadium.
Wonder what happens to the Tulsa Athletics?


http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/usa-bmx-moving-headquarters-to-tulsa/article_9a31bd8f-a016-5b8e-80a0-49297a65a892.html

By PAIGHTEN HARKINS World Staff Writer  |  5 comments 

The American Bicycle Association and USA BMX officially announced their move to Tulsa on Wednesday, a day after voters approved $15 million in funding for a new BMX stadium and headquarters.

The move is projected to bring more than 50 jobs and $10 million in additional economic impact each year to the Tulsa area, according to a joint news release from the Tulsa Sports Commission and USA BMX.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

This is great they announced this so quickly! Had they not moved to Tulsa, obviously that would've been a huge disappointment and hopefully that was written in as a requirement for it to be built.

This could really help Tulsa achieve prominence in the bicycling community. It will also be good for the fairgrounds along with the other new Vision improvements to be made there. It will be good for businesses around there and keep more fair-centric events going in between the really big ones. With the fair, chili bowl, Safari Joe taking over Big Splash, Expo events, Arabian Horse Nationals, horse racing and all the other livestock events, the fairgrounds are really becoming a booming place!

I am concerned about what will happen to the Tulsa Athletics. Could they play at TU? (small stands though)

Another significant side benefit to all of this is that many construction jobs will be created which will help alleviate job losses by oil field workers (There is quite a bit of overlap in guys who were roughnecks and have worked in construction).

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

I am concerned about what will happen to the Tulsa Athletics. Could they play at TU? (small stands though)

This makes me feel better about the situation with where the Tulsa Athletics soccer club will play:

Tulsa-Athletics ‏@TTownSoccer  Mar 28
Owners Sonny & Dr. Kern have published an open letter concerning the Vision Package proposal http://bit.ly/1XYw977

There will be an open forum about this April 13:
https://twitter.com/TTownSoccer/status/717834376742969345

[DowntownDan]

The stadium was too big for the Athletics anyway.  I enjoy the game but it's sad sometimes to see 1000 people in a 10,000 seat stadium. 

What are the plans for Mohawk Park out of Visions?  I saw a presentation that they are going to rework some parking and fields to draw larger tournaments.  I wonder if there would be funds to install 2000-2000 seats on a field for the Athletics?  Something like Swopes Park in Kansas City.  A soccer complex with it's own semi-pro club. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swope_Soccer_Village
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swope_Park_Rangers

[Conan71]

The stadium was too big for the Athletics anyway.  I enjoy the game but it's sad sometimes to see 1000 people in a 10,000 seat stadium. 

What are the plans for Mohawk Park out of Visions?  I saw a presentation that they are going to rework some parking and fields to draw larger tournaments.  I wonder if there would be funds to install 2000-2000 seats on a field for the Athletics?  Something like Swopes Park in Kansas City.  A soccer complex with it's own semi-pro club. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swope_Soccer_Village
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swope_Park_Rangers

For that you could play at Union Stadium or LaFortune Stadium. 

With the new Roughnecks now playing at OneOk, I honestly don't see anyone but the most hardcore Athletics fan going out of their way to go see them play at Mohawk Park.  And even that would get old after awhile.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

The stadium was too big for the Athletics anyway.  I enjoy the game but it's sad sometimes to see 1000 people in a 10,000 seat stadium.  

What are the plans for Mohawk Park out of Visions?  I saw a presentation that they are going to rework some parking and fields to draw larger tournaments.  I wonder if there would be funds to install 2000-2000 seats on a field for the Athletics?  Something like Swopes Park in Kansas City.  A soccer complex with it's own semi-pro club.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swope_Soccer_Village
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swope_Park_Rangers

The TU soccer stadium holds 2,000. If the Athletics typically bring out 1,000-2,000, they should absolutely try to work out a deal with TU. For big games or playoffs, TU has additional stands they can set up for more capacity.

I am guessing parking would be a trick along with arranging TU matches and maybe practices (Well, TU has a soccer practice field down the street). The location would be perfect for the Athletics. It would be some more revenue for TU who just cut men's golf.

http://tulsahurricane.com/news/2015/6/5/POM_0605153052.aspx?path=msoc

[DowntownDan]

Would alcohol sales be a problem if they played at a high school or TU stadium?  About 75% of my enjoyment of Roughnecks and A's games is drinking a cold beer during the match.  I suspect it's also a very large part of the revenues.

[davideinstein]

Would alcohol sales be a problem if they played at a high school or TU stadium?  About 75% of my enjoyment of Roughnecks and A's games is drinking a cold beer during the match.  I suspect it's also a very large part of the revenues.

My thoughts exactly.

[PonderInc]

As anyone who grew up watching the Roughnecks at Skelly Stadium knows, it's actually a decent soccer venue.  At least, I prefer it to watching soccer on a baseball field.  TU has ample parking scattered all over the campus... and hey, maybe soon we'll have Bus Rapid Transit on 11th street running at 15 minute intervals until 10:00 PM...

Back to original thread: I'm excited about BMX coming to Tulsa.  Anything that brings more cyclists to Tulsa is good for the city.  Criterion racers, mountain bikers, BMX competitors, commuters, bar-hopping cruisers... Bring it!  And it's especially good when the city starts equating cycling with jobs and the economic bottom line.

A decade ago, a few of us would advocate for bike lanes and one or two guys like Paul Tay would show up and say "cyclists don't want bike lanes" and that would end the discussion.  Having a larger, more diverse cycling community has really helped push the discussion.  Tulsa Tough has been transformative.  Local cycling advocates have really stepped up.  And people who have spent time in other cities where cycling infrastructure has already been built understand the benefits.  We're a decade or two late to the game, but I'm excited for Tulsa's growing reputation as a cycling city.

[davideinstein]

As anyone who grew up watching the Roughnecks at Skelly Stadium knows, it's actually a decent soccer venue.  At least, I prefer it to watching soccer on a baseball field.  TU has ample parking scattered all over the campus... and hey, maybe soon we'll have Bus Rapid Transit on 11th street running at 15 minute intervals until 10:00 PM...

Back to original thread: I'm excited about BMX coming to Tulsa.  Anything that brings more cyclists to Tulsa is good for the city.  Criterion racers, mountain bikers, BMX competitors, commuters, bar-hopping cruisers... Bring it!  And it's especially good when the city starts equating cycling with jobs and the economic bottom line.

A decade ago, a few of us would advocate for bike lanes and one or two guys like Paul Tay would show up and say "cyclists don't want bike lanes" and that would end the discussion.  Having a larger, more diverse cycling community has really helped push the discussion.  Tulsa Tough has been transformative.  Local cycling advocates have really stepped up.  And people who have spent time in other cities where cycling infrastructure has already been built understand the benefits.  We're a decade or two late to the game, but I'm excited for Tulsa's growing reputation as a cycling city.

It was Paul and some other avid cyclist that said it. Anyhow, we for sure need bike lanes on every main road in Tulsa and soccer being played in a non-baseball stadium. Only $3M was given to GoPlan but hopefully that gets the ball rolling on bike lanes.

[DowntownDan]

As anyone who grew up watching the Roughnecks at Skelly Stadium knows, it's actually a decent soccer venue.  At least, I prefer it to watching soccer on a baseball field.  TU has ample parking scattered all over the campus... and hey, maybe soon we'll have Bus Rapid Transit on 11th street running at 15 minute intervals until 10:00 PM...

Back to original thread: I'm excited about BMX coming to Tulsa.  Anything that brings more cyclists to Tulsa is good for the city.  Criterion racers, mountain bikers, BMX competitors, commuters, bar-hopping cruisers... Bring it!  And it's especially good when the city starts equating cycling with jobs and the economic bottom line.

A decade ago, a few of us would advocate for bike lanes and one or two guys like Paul Tay would show up and say "cyclists don't want bike lanes" and that would end the discussion.  Having a larger, more diverse cycling community has really helped push the discussion.  Tulsa Tough has been transformative.  Local cycling advocates have really stepped up.  And people who have spent time in other cities where cycling infrastructure has already been built understand the benefits.  We're a decade or two late to the game, but I'm excited for Tulsa's growing reputation as a cycling city.

Didn't the renovations at Chapman Stadium narrow the sidelines?  Also, the stadium is way too big for the A's.  The school's soccer stadium is better capacity.

[cannon_fodder]

Didn't the renovations at Chapman Stadium narrow the sidelines?  Also, the stadium is way too big for the A's.  The school's soccer stadium is better capacity.

No. The renovations did not narrow the sidelines, the original stone walls remain in place (they did cover them with a new stone facade. So technically maybe they narrowed by 4" or something). They were very narrow to start with and I love it (row 25 is closer at Skelly than row 1 at many SEC stadiums). A regulation soccer field does not fit, but I do not believe the Driller's Stadium fit a regulation field either.

[TulsaRufnex]

As anyone who grew up watching the Roughnecks at Skelly Stadium knows, it's actually a decent soccer venue.  At least, I prefer it to watching soccer on a baseball field.  TU has ample parking scattered all over the campus... and hey, maybe soon we'll have Bus Rapid Transit on 11th street running at 15 minute intervals until 10:00 PM...

Back to original thread: I'm excited about BMX coming to Tulsa.  Anything that brings more cyclists to Tulsa is good for the city.  Criterion racers, mountain bikers, BMX competitors, commuters, bar-hopping cruisers... Bring it!  And it's especially good when the city starts equating cycling with jobs and the economic bottom line.

A decade ago, a few of us would advocate for bike lanes and one or two guys like Paul Tay would show up and say "cyclists don't want bike lanes" and that would end the discussion.  Having a larger, more diverse cycling community has really helped push the discussion.  Tulsa Tough has been transformative.  Local cycling advocates have really stepped up.  And people who have spent time in other cities where cycling infrastructure has already been built understand the benefits.  We're a decade or two late to the game, but I'm excited for Tulsa's growing reputation as a cycling city.

I'm just glad they didn't use the BMX HQ as a bait-and-switch to ultimately flatten the stadium for more surface parking.

FWIW, the new expansion team in the Tulsa Athletics' division playing in Little Rock will be hosting home games at War Memorial Stadium.
They drew about 2,000 fans in a recent home exhibition game against another new team from Memphis.
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/apr/23/lr-rangers-make-opener-successful-20160/#comments

Meanwhile, in the USL... http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2016/04/27/fc-cincys-deal-uc-more-nippert-changes/83597078/

Nippert Stadium is scheduled for another makeover this year, and the latest overhaul is designed to make Cincinnati and its upstart soccer franchise more attractive to the top league in American professional soccer.

Futbol Club Cincinnati plans to permanently remove a "minimum number of rows and lower level seats" around the University of Cincinnati's horseshoe-shaped football stadium in order to widen the playing field, according to the club's contract with UC, obtained this week by The Enquirer.

It does not appear the renovation will have any impact on UC's prospects of joining the Big 12 Conference. The capacity of the 40,000-seat stadium is not expected to be reduced, UC officials said.

The overhaul, however, could have a big impact for FC Cincinnati and the city. A bigger field would bring Nippert Stadium up to Major League Soccer playing regulations and allow UC to host popular U.S. national team qualifying matches and exhibition games for some of the world's top soccer clubs.

[TulsaRufnex]

***BUMP***

Is this still happening?
I'm hearing conflicting stories.
What happens to that $13+ mil in county tax dollars?

[swake]

***BUMP***

Is this still happening?
I'm hearing conflicting stories.
What happens to that $13+ mil in county tax dollars?

City tax dollars.