Major League Soccer in Tulsa

[Laramie]

Oklahoma has two USL franchises (Energy FC & Roughneccks FC).  Would love to see an MLS franchise in Oklahoma, I'm ole school, a supporter of the NASL Tulsa Roughnecks in my younger years; therefore, I would love nothing better than to see an MLS franchise in Oklahoma.

The MLS appears to favor cities in the 2 million MSA populations range or more; that doesn't mean that you couldn't rule out a Tulsa franchise that would gather regional support from Oklahoma City & Wichita.  And let's not forget those transplants in Kansas City & Dallas who once lived in Tulsa & Oklahoma City.

Tulsa IMO could support a Major League Soccer franchise; just like Oklahoma City supports the NBA with the help of Tulsa & Wichita.  Personally, I wouldn't care if the franchise favor the Tulsa name; I think all of Oklahoma would support it.  OKC IMO would be marginal to support both NBA and MLS.

The biggest hurdle would be a stadium.  Chapman Stadium doesn't meet the pitch requirements for professional soccer; therefore it's an American football venue only; same can be said for Gaylord Family in Norman.  

We need to rally behind a multi million dollar state-of-the-art $200 million-$300 million, 30,000 seat stadium in Tulsa; something similar to what they are building/planning in cities like Austin, Charlotte, Indianapolis & Nashville.

I like to use Baylor University's McLane Stadium in Waco as a place holder because it's on the river:

McLane Stadium seats 45,140, built in 2014 at a cost of $270 million.  Tulsa would need something in the seating range of 30,000 with expansion capabilities.  

Truly believe that we will get beyond this Covid-19 Pandemic sometime beyond 2022.   Tulsa does have a Tulsa Stadium Trust in place that could oversee an operation of this magnitude:  Could a 10,000-seat outdoor stadium be built downtown? https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/could-a--seat-outdoor-stadium-be-built-downtown/article_8054d661-7047-52e9-9090-ade8e8d2f209.html

Officials have yet to discuss how such a facility would be funded, Hoyt said, but the thought is to begin with a 10,000-seat structure that could be expanded to 18,000 or 20,000 seats.

It's time to work together with both cities pulling together as we've successfully done with the NBA. Believe it could work since Oklahoma City & Tulsa already supports an NBA franchise; why not a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise supported by both cities based in Tulsa...

[Laramie]

Behind the Scenes of a Professional Soccer Team's Road Trip featuring the Tulsa Roughnecks FC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvrF52jpWA0&feature=emb_rel_end