New Tulsa Roughnecks at New Driller Park?

[Renaissance]

I seem to recall one of the articles saying that one of the city's requirements for the design was that it support conversion to soccer for local competitions.  Didn't read this as talking about pro soccer, but it's supposedly in ithe plans.

[perspicuity85]

I noticed from the USL web site that the soccer season runs at the same time as baseball season.  How do the teams that share stadiums work that out?

[USRufnex]

I'll put it this way, perspi:  It ain't pretty.  Whether it's for second division USL games or, for the shoulda-moved-to-Tulsa Kansas City Wizards in MLS...

For baseball:
http://tbonesbaseball.com.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/VirtualMap/08-Stadium-Map3.jpg

For soccer:


To be fair, Kansas City's OnGoal LLC is building a soccer stadium/mixed-use TIF project through Three Trails Redevelopment LLC to replace the old Bannister Mall there..... so playing Major League Soccer games at a minor league ballpark is simply a temporary measure for them... and make no mistake, the owners are losing money hand-over-fist in this arrangement, unable to draw the approx 15,000 fans per game MLS officials have quoted as part of their business plan..... USL-1 draws an average crowd of 4,000 to 5,000 per game...

This game from July 10th drew just under 8,800 fans--- click the "watch" link under Highlights for the 7/10 NY@KC game and you'll see the obvious problems at Comerica Ballpark... the grass berm seating is still nice, though... http://web.mlsnet.com/sights/

Any possibility of playing pro soccer at the new ballpark (Mayor Taylor only mentioned "kids soccer" in her statement last night) would need to benefit the authority for the ballpark (extra lease payment $$$ to the city?) and the Drillers (extra payments to them for field maintenance?)... would this make more sense and cost less $$$ than trying to convert the old Driller Park for soccer?!?

[USRufnex]

And to answer your question, perspi...

The owner of the USL-1 team in Portland also owns the AAA ballclub which seems to work well for them... and the league seems okay with scheduling 14 regular season home games around the Portland Beavers minor league baseball schedule at PGE Park... the same was done in Rochester for years before their USL club got a new stadium...

Syracuse, NY had a team in USL-1 in 2003 but had a really bad relationship with the minor league ballclub there and the team folded a year later...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse_Salty_Dogs

[rwarn17588]

Not a chance in hell.

I've talked to enough groundskeepers over the years to know that having soccer games regularly on a baseball field would be a maintenance nightmare. It's hard enough to keep ballpark that's baseball-only in tip-top shape through a long season.

Unless you want artificial turf, of course. [xx(]

It doesn't take a genius to figure out why major-league football and baseball teams moved away from multipurpose stadiums over the past two decades. It's because those type of stadiums don't work very well for either sport.

[USRufnex]

Compare Collinsville/St Louis MLS stadium plans to Jenks' River District... rinse, repeat...

http://collinsvilleherald.stltoday.com/articles/2008/08/27/news/sj2tn20080827-0827cvj-cooper.ii1.txt

Soccer stadium developer may balk at league fees
Cooper now says they may look to another group
By Chris Coates
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 9:15 AM CDT

The attorney who has spent a year wooing investors to fund a $573 million mixed-use soccer stadium complex now admits a key piece of the plan - a new Major League Soccer expansion team to be housed on the Collinsville site - may be too costly.

"We have to look at this as a business decision," said Jeff Cooper, chairman of St. Louis Soccer United, a group that's spearheaded the effort to secure a professional men's soccer team in the region.

The effort has focused largely on building a 18,500-seat stadium and retail center at Horseshoe Lake Road and Interstate 255 to lure the sport's biggest association, Major League Soccer, to grant St. Louis an expansion team.  But Cooper, who has been aggressively recruiting investors for the project, last week said that MLS has steadily increased the cost of adding a team, and the sum now totals around $50 million, far higher than they were originally told.

With the investment team finally in place, he said, some are questioning, even rejecting, the MLS price tag.

"We're not going to pay so much," Cooper said.

He said some are pushing to start looking at another association, United Soccer Leagues, a lower-bracket group with several dozen teams across the country, including the St. Louis Lions.

Cooper said USL is an option if the MLS fees prove too high.

"If they're unreasonable with the price, we can go elsewhere," he said.

That could happen as soon as this fall. St. Louis Soccer United plans to submit its plans to the league within the next few weeks, long before an Oct. 15 deadline.

MLS officials have said they could announce a decision about two expansions - the league's 17th and 18th teams - next year before March. Portland, Ore.; Atlanta; Las Vegas; Montreal; Ottawa and Vancouver are also in the running, along with a second team in the New York City area. That six-month lag, however, puts the rest of the project in a major holding pattern.

Cooper wants the stadium to sit amid a massive retail and residential complex totaling about 400 acres along I-255, from Horseshoe Lake Road to Interstate 55/70.

Preliminary plans released earlier this month by Webster Groves, Mo., architects Suttle Mindlin show the complex radiating from Interstate 255 and Fairmont Avenue, an existing street that traverses from Eastport Plaza west over I-255 and south beyond Interstate 55/70. Most of the project would sit on corn and soybean fields, with a main entrance running south from Horseshoe Lake Road, forming a boulevard that divides the site's uses. Retail, a movie theater and the soccer stadium would sit to the east, with homes, a hotel and youth soccer complex to the west. Some residences would also rise near I-55/70.

The project, called The Fields, would rely heavily on retail - around 1 million square feet in dozens of storefronts, including several spaces for big box stores, according to a site plan by East Alton-based Crossroads Development Group.

Crossroads partner Jamey Berg said the company has marketed the project to numerous retailers, including last spring at a Las Vegas trade show, with positive response.

But Berg also said they're holding back from a full push until an MLS agreement is inked.

"We're standing ready as soon as MLS is ready," he said.

Cooper said he's also anxious to roll out final plans.

Asked whether it's the best time to invest in retail given the dire economic climate, Cooper admitted it was a worry, even though indications show the trend is ebbing up. By the time they start any construction, at least 24 months away, the economic picture may improve, Cooper said.

"Everybody's concerned," he said. "But the good news is, we're not building today."

So far no leases have been signed, he said.

"We didn't want to jump the gun," Cooper said. "Now that we're close, we'll start that."

Also cautious, he said, is his group of investors, whom Cooper will not reveal until the project starts. He said the roster includes four or five single investors based locally and internationally. The city is aware of the investor list, he said.

"It's a good mix," said Cooper, who made millions in asbestos settlements through his East Alton firm, SimmonsCooper LLC.

Despite the concerns, Cooper is bullish that MLS will grant St. Louis a team. He said the group has done everything the league wanted.

"I don't know what else we can do," he said.

If approved, the project still faces numerous approvals from the city and Madison County. The parcel, which includes unincorporated county land, is mostly farmland, save for six small homes. Cooper said the project will surround those properties, whose owners have rejected offers from the developer.

Collinsville City Manager Robert Knabel said the city is looking forward to hearing from MLS. They're still confident the league will side with Cooper, Knabel said.

"We're optimistic," he said.