New Tulsa Roughnecks at New Driller Park?

[USRufnex]

Don't kill the messenger...

I received an unexpected phone call this afternoon from the United Soccer League's Senior Director of Franchise Development, Matt Weibe.  The call lasted about 15 mins...

http://www.uslsoccer.com/aboutusl/contactus/166756.html

Mr. Weibe started by stating to me that Tulsa is "one of ten markets" the USL is very interested in for USL-1 expansion... keep in mind that I'm only paraphrasing what he said based on what I remember from the conversation.

He went on to give his sales pitch that the league averages about 5,000 fans per game... highest attendances are in Portland, Rochester and Montreal with the club in Montreal leading the league at 13k fans per game... that USL-1 is a safer bet financially than MLS... and has solid ownership, some of whom could have invested in Major League Soccer but balked at MLS's single-entity setup...

He let me know that the league admired the "name appeal" of the Tulsa Roughnecks, implying they would like to see a franchise in Tulsa use the "Roughnecks" brand name...

BTW, three out of the eleven cities in USL-1 (Portland, Seattle, Vancouver) still use the  old NASL names -- from a league that collapsed back in '85... here are the teams in USL-1 (the league will be adding a team in Austin, TX next season)...

Atlanta Silverbacks
Carolina RailHawks
Charleston Battery
Miami FC Blues
Minnesota Thunder
Montreal Impact
Portland Timbers
Puerto Rico Islanders
Rochester Rhinos
Seattle Sounders
Vancouver Whitecaps

I was also told that the USL could have granted a PDL level club (amateur) to a group in Tulsa the last two years, but the league refused... basically  implying that it was the league's opinion that the Tulsa market could do better -- I think he also mentioned something similar about a USL-2 team, but I don't remember if USL actually denied a formal USL-2 proposal from Tulsa or if the league didn't want to consider any plan going that direction either...

And here's an interesting twist...

Mr. Weibe mentioned the Portland soccer franchise prominently in our conversation and that the Timbers' USL-1 team is actually owned by the same people who own the Portland Beavers AAA baseball club, implying Tulsa could emulate Portland's business model...

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/03/31/story4.html?ana=from_rss

I failed to ask Mr. Weibe if he had spoken with Drillers' owner Chuck Lamson yet... but wouldn't be surprised if either:

A)  Lamson's had a conversation or two with USL.
B)  Nothing's been discussed.
C)  Chuck Lamson's never heard of the USL.
D)  Lamson really could care less about anything involving a sports entity other than the Drillers... and hates soccer.  []

I gotta admit, the idea of the Drillers' organization actually owning/operating a USL-1 team hadn't occured to me...

Pros?/Cons?
Why?/Why not?

*****p.s.-- Weibe hadn't heard anything about Jenks' plans for a stadium and didn't know where Jenks was located in relation to Tulsa... so, I gave him some info over the phone and emailed back a reply with info on the River District development....  []

[Breadburner]

Yawnnn....

[sgrizzle]

YART! (Yet another roughnecks thread)

It's nice to know we're being considered but I'll wait until something solid happens to be excited.

[cannon_fodder]

+1 Sq.

It would be great if the city planned ahead enough to work out a new stadium with Soccer in mind.  The city could utilize their new asset more AND bring a new element to the city.  

BUT, we just spent a ton of effort kicking all the Hispanics out of Tulsa - won't a soccer franchise just attract more? []

Seriously, it would be interesting and good for Tulsa.  But as a non-soccer fan I'd probably only catch a couple games a year.  I hope it happens and I would be glad, but if it doesn't I'm not that concerned and frankly, in Tulsa I try not to get excited until something actually happens.

[TheTed]

A soccer team would be nice, but building the new Drillers Stadium to accomodate soccer means we get an ugly baseball/soccer stadium with poor sightlines and possibly artificial turf. There's a reason all the big league teams moved out of their multiuse stadiums in the last decade.

[USRufnex]

Not necessarily.  

But I certainly wouldn't expect the Drillers or the city of Tulsa this month to go out of their way on behalf of a soccer-friendly ballpark that satisfies USL-1... even though a certain Average Joe seemed to have no problem in the past advocating the same type of combined facility built "for baseball, first and foremost" to be shared with an Major League Soccer team, which happened to be a proposal MLS wouldn't give the time of day...

I'm not sure what kind of stadium people in Tulsa associate with a soccer friendly baseball park, but the initial pic from Global Development Partners actually is a "soccer friendly" configuration... bleacher seats help alot... and viewing angles closer to a 90-degree angle that aren't as sharp as the ones at the current erector-set stadium at Driller Park...


http://www.globaldevelopmentpartners.com/Flyers/east_end_property_brochure.pdf

Here's the soccer-friendly ballpark built in '96 in Rochester...



PGE Ballpark in Portland, OR is a much older facility that was not originally built for baseball, but seems to work okay... the 3rd baseline would be the endzone for soccer/football games, while the first baseline is closer to the field...

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/portor/pge.htm#



Hey, if I had my druthers, I'd rather have a "soccer-specific" facility built on the river in Jenks and shared with Jenks HS...

But I just thought I'd share where the conversation with the guy from the USL went... and that seemed to be in the direction of the desire for shared operations with the Drillers..... heck, replace the baseball with a soccer ball and the same Drillers' logo could be used for the Roughnecks...

[PonderInc]

I'm all for the Tulsa Roughnecks coming back to town.  They could play in...hey!...Skelly Stadium!  Or maybe the Fairgrounds could use some of that new open space for something other than livestock.

All this talk reminds me how much I miss Charlie Mitchell's nachos...

[ttownclown]

From what I heard, the new river development in Jenks is still planning a stadium as part of development.  I've heard soccer is now one of their main options when the Drillers go downtown.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by ttownclown

From what I heard, the new river development in Jenks is still planning a stadium as part of development.  I've heard soccer is now one of their main options when the Drillers go downtown.

I could see this working, although I'm not sure what everyone has against large scenic outdoor music venues.

[Renaissance]

quote:Originally posted by ttownclown

From what I heard, the new river development in Jenks is still planning a stadium as part of development.  I've heard soccer is now one of their main options when the Drillers go downtown.

Makes a lot of sense.  When I think of Jenks I think of soccer moms.

[Gold]

quote:Originally posted by ttownclown

From what I heard, the new river development in Jenks is still planning a stadium as part of development.  I've heard soccer is now one of their main options when the Drillers go downtown.

That's a hell of an idea if true.  I was against the Jenks plan for a lot of reasons, but if they can get the funding to do that and the ownership group (big "ifs"), then go for it.  All that said, there are so many serious hurdles for that Jenks plan that I won't hold my breath.

[swake]

quote:Originally posted by Gold

quote:Originally posted by ttownclown

From what I heard, the new river development in Jenks is still planning a stadium as part of development.  I've heard soccer is now one of their main options when the Drillers go downtown.

That's a hell of an idea if true.  I was against the Jenks plan for a lot of reasons, but if they can get the funding to do that and the ownership group (big "ifs"), then go for it.  All that said, there are so many serious hurdles for that Jenks plan that I won't hold my breath.

Hurdles for the Jenks plan? It's under construction now. You should take a look, it's a massive site.

[perspicuity85]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

quote:Originally posted by ttownclown

From what I heard, the new river development in Jenks is still planning a stadium as part of development.  I've heard soccer is now one of their main options when the Drillers go downtown.

I could see this working, although I'm not sure what everyone has against large scenic outdoor music venues.

A soccer stadium should work for outdoor music.  I'm not sure what the configuration of the Jenks stadium will be, but I think it should be built with room for future expansion.  An MLS team may not be likely today, but there a lot of things going on right now that are helping Tulsa take off.  Perhaps in 5 years Tulsa will be a prime target for MLS expansion.  The same philosophy the NBA used for OKC may be used for Tulsa by the MLS-- OKC and Tulsa are just two hours away.  A Tulsa soccer team should be marketed to OKC.  

Having a USL team in Tulsa could really build up a soccer fan base, and leverage the city into MLS in the future.  I'd say the best case scenario today is getting a USL team in Jenks.  As the Jenks riverfront area and the urban core of Tulsa grow, we will be a more attractive MLS market.

[Renaissance]

Let's not forget about Tulsa Landing, either.  A major assumption of the Mayor's office and Tulsa planners (at least, Jack Crowley and the rail folks) is that West Bank development is inevitable.  If Rick Huffman and HCW are still involved with potential plans, their initial Tulsa Landing scheme included a soccer stadium as well.

[jtcrissup]

quote:Originally posted by USRufnex



PGE Ballpark in Portland, OR is a much older facility that was not originally built for baseball, but seems to work okay... the 3rd baseline would be the endzone for soccer/football games, while the first baseline is closer to the field...

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/portor/pge.htm#

I have been to this park and played a couple of football games in it (against Portland State in college) and I thought it was pretty baseball focused.  I thought the layout as a football field was terrible for the fans and weird for one of the sidelines as you have nothing behind your bench but center and left field.  I think a soccer layout in a baseball stadium would be equally weird/unattractive unless you had some seats you could roll in behind the sideline to "close" it in a little.  It feels like you are not even playing in front of a crowd when there are no stands/people behind your bench, and thus the whole atmosphere of the game is diminished.  

All that said, I would be skeptical on a multi-use baseball/soccer stadium in downtown.  I would want to see how they convert the seating during the soccer matches to make it feel right.  I think it can be done, just not sure if those looking into it want to spend the $$ to do it right (which is why I would be skeptical...I would rather see it done right for 1 sport than half a$$ for 2 sports).

Make sense?

edit:  I don't know how to post the pic, but this link shows the lame layout of the football field at PGE for Portland State.  They get over 10K fans at these games, but you would never know it on the field...you can hear a pin drop in the huddle even when they are "being loud".

http://www.goviks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=19300&KEY=&ATCLID=1419818