There is talk from The Rangers organization to switch tripple A affiliate OKC Redhawks to Round Rock,Texas.Where would OKC go or be left if this happened?http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/080710dnspoblograngminor.298e011d.html

There is talk from The Rangers organization to switch tripple A affiliate OKC Redhawks to Round Rock,Texas.Where would OKC go or be left if this happened?http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/080710dnspoblograngminor.298e011d.html

Rumor is OKC will become The Astro's AAA team.

PS: I just got my order form for Rangers post-season tickets! Woo-hoo! October here we come!

Round Rock is the current Astros AAA affiliate, they moved up the AAA in 2005. They are also owned by a group headed by Nolan Ryan and his sons so a switch would seem logical, the Astros AA affiliate is the Corpus Christi Hooks. Affiliations change all the time, Tulsa was the Rangers AA affiliate (1976-2002) until Tom Hicks decided he wanted to build a ballpark in Frisco and put his own AA team (formerly in Shreveport) in there, Tulsa is now a Colorado Rockies affiliate. The 89'rs were Astros, Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies affiliates that I can remember.

So after years (60s) of being affiliated with the Houston Colt 45s/Astros we may be back at square one.

Just as the Rangers are building their organization they want to throw Oklahoma City under the bus for Round Rock.

Thank God we don't have the Round Rocks (PCL), Cedar Parks (AHL) and surrounding cities wanting notariety as our capital city grows.

Austin is mentioned for MLS soccer and being sandwiched by Houston (MLS Dynamos) and San Antonio they may never become a major league sports city or would they want to be?

San Antonio is pushing for an MLS soccer franchise with the renovation of old 25,000-seat Alamo Stadium by the SAISD; so, the NHL may be their capital city's best bet.

There are over 1.6 million plus in Metro-Austin and Houston doesn't appear to be attracted to the NHL (probably has more to do with their elevation); look for Texas to

seek some type of Major League franchise to further enhance the quality of life for their capital city.

California did it with Sacramento; Oklahoma did it with Oklahoma City, Pennsylvania would like a major league something in Harrisburg so why not Austin?

i'm all for not switching with houston - the astros stink and their farm system is one of the worst in the majors...

anyway, there's 13 triple-a affiliations up for renewal after this season... so it's anyone's ballgame!

there's a series in the oklahoman running this week on possible affiliation candidates, and there was also something a few weeks back that also talked about possible team candidates.

okc has been in the minority as far as affiliations - i think we've got the 3rd longest affiliation of any triple-a minor league team - been w/the rangers since the early 80s...

i'm all for not switching with houston - the astros stink and their farm system is one of the worst in the majors...

anyway, there's 13 triple-a affiliations up for renewal after this season... so it's anyone's ballgame!

there's a series in the oklahoman running this week on possible affiliation candidates, and there was also something a few weeks back that also talked about possible team candidates.

okc has been in the minority as far as affiliations - i think we've got the 3rd longest affiliation of any triple-a minor league team - been w/the rangers since the early 80s...

And it makes perfect sense to keep the Rangers' AAA in OKC. When we call someone up it's just a three hour sprint down I-35!

BTW, can you guys do something with Rich Harden, like teaching him to throw strikes? Also, hurry up with Matt Treanor, we need him back, you can have Teagarden back.

It would be nice if we could get an affiliation with the St. Louis Cardinals. Their contract with Memphis comes up in two years. The AAA team in Memphis (Redbirds) is having some type of stadium contractual concerns (AutoZone Park).

So after years (60s) of being affiliated with the Houston Colt 45s/Astros we may be back at square one.

Just as the Rangers are building their organization they want to throw Oklahoma City under the bus for Round Rock.

Thank God we don't have the Round Rocks (PCL), Cedar Parks (AHL) and surrounding cities wanting notariety as our capital city grows.

Austin is mentioned for MLS soccer and being sandwiched by Houston (MLS Dynamos) and San Antonio they may never become a major league sports city or would they want to be?

San Antonio is pushing for an MLS soccer franchise with the renovation of old 25,000-seat Alamo Stadium by the SAISD; so, the NHL may be their capital city's best bet.

There are over 1.6 million plus in Metro-Austin and Houston doesn't appear to be attracted to the NHL (probably has more to do with their elevation); look for Texas to seek some type of Major League franchise to further enhance the quality of life for their capital city.

California did it with Sacramento; Oklahoma did it with Oklahoma City, Pennsylvania would like a major league something in Harrisburg so why not Austin?
There is really only one major sport in Austin, UT football. We are too close to San Antonio to attract anything but minor league sports with UT there.

Part of the reason the facilities are in the burbs are the reasons you stated plus a lack of desire of the City of Austin to invest in sports other than our weekly bike ride/run/triathlons. There needs to be a new arena here but the Erwin Center is right next to downtown so one will probably never be built. The F1 track has little involvement from the City of Austin. The Nimby's have taken over city government and they are pretty much anti-everything. Most of the growth has been those of us from outside the region and we bring our own affiliations, much like part of the problem for "new megacities" like Phoenix or Atlanta and the lack of support that many of their teams have.

For the most part the minor leagues that have been here have even been lower. The Express was AA until about 4-5 years ago, the Stars are the only other top tier minor leagiue team...I don't know that you can call the NBADL a top level minor league even though it kind of is. Kevin Durant gets more coverage than the Toros do, which are moving next season to the Cedar Park Center from the Austin Convention Center. I think for the most part Austin is accepting of its role and understands having San Antonio next door and DFW/Houston three hours away is just how things are.


And it makes perfect sense to keep the Rangers' AAA in OKC. When we call someone up it's just a three hour sprint down I-35!
It's about the same time frame from Round Rock to Arlington. The Rangers have traditionally had one of the best farm systems for a long time, they just had trouble hanging onto the players whose pay grade exceeded what they wished to pay. Houston is a mess right now.

There is really only one major sport in Austin, UT football. We are too close to San Antonio to attract anything but minor league sports with UT there.

It's about the same time frame from Round Rock to Arlington. The Rangers have traditionally had one of the best farm systems for a long time, they just had trouble hanging onto the players whose pay grade exceeded what they wished to pay. Houston is a mess right now.


Austin is beautiful city with a lot of potential; like OU being so close to OKC; TU is the big plum in Austin. NFL will probably never be on the radar for either of these capital cities.

MLS could be a possibility for both Austin and Oklahoma City; and the NHL could very well be in the cards for Austin.

It is only fitting that the Rangers move their affiliation from Oklahoma City to Austin since Nolan now has ownership interests in both the Rangers and the Round Rock AAA affiliation.

Good Luck, you're getting a great AAA player development system.

I am wearing OU stuff and rooting for the Redhawks when I go to a Redhawks-Express game at Dell.

I think the area population could support a major league team, I just don't think the people in power would. I think MLS would be the best option, I don't think the NHL would do that well here, I wonder how the Stars are going to do in a few years. The Ice Bats couldn't even fill up the recreational hockey rink (think Blazers Centre) they were in. The Stars attracted well this year because it was new and they started on a run at the end of the season. If the NHL goes anywhere else in Texas it will be Houston, I just don't think Austin and San Antonio would do well with hockey but I don't think the NHL is expanding/relocating any time soon.

The 89'ers were a farm team for Houston way back when Jim Gentile came down from the Astros to the 89'ers at the end of his career in baseball. That was way back in the '70's? or '80's?

From Wiki, they are acurrate from what I can remember.

Major league affiliations
* Texas Rangers (1983–present)
* Philadelphia Phillies (1976–1982)
* Cleveland Indians (1973–1975)
* Houston Colt .45's / Houston Astros (1962–1972)

Whenever a new team moves in or Redhawks gets bought, we need to sell out a few home games or set some record attendance stats for a few nights in a row to tell Texas shove it and to enjoy Round Rock.

Not so fast; my cousin who has been a lifelong resident in the Dallas-Terrell-Tyler area tells me that there is a good chance that Nolan Ryan may sell the Round Rock AAA franchise in Texas as opposed to keeping both franchises. Mark Cuban's group really cost them money during the Ranger auction.

Nolan will need more investors or sell the Round Rock affiliation rights--which he will probably do anyway.

It might be too late for us to expect this to have an affect on the Texas-Round Rock future affiliation.

Let's say OKC doesn't have an Major League affiliate after this season. Where would the players come from? Do they just field their own players?

I haven't heard of a AAA baseball franchise not being affiliated with one or more major league clubs.

I haven't heard of a AAA baseball franchise not being affiliated with one or more major league clubs.

Correct. Without an MLB affiliation they would join one of the independent leagues, such as the American Association, home of the Fort Worth Cats and Grand Prairie Air Hogs.

http://trsullivan.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/08/rangers_leaving_oklahoma_city.html

I'm really sad to hear this. I loved the Arlington/OKC connection. My new home and my old home in synchronicity with the Rangers. : (

WOW! Astro's farm system here we come!

Astro's and NL are both horrible.

Glad to see that Nolan Ryan did visit the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark today.

While soaking up some sun; his body language said it all!

Good luck Nolan with your new Ranger organization from the minors on up!

How cool would it be for the MLB commission to announce some new expansion clubs and OKC gets our very own MLB team. I know....I know....probably a million:1 chance of that happening but it would be very cool IMO.

How cool would it be for the MLB commission to announce some new expansion clubs and OKC gets our very own MLB team. I know....I know....probably a million:1 chance of that happening but it would be very cool IMO.

I wouldn't say that the chances are 1 million to one; the only viable community ahead of Oklahoma City would be Portland, OR and I'm not so sure that they are still interested.

Remember when we lost out on the 1997 NHL expansion derby (Nashville, Atlanta, St. Pau, Columbus)? People said there was no way we could support an NHL franchise and that the NBA was out of the equation.

People always look at minor league attendance and try to gauge how a city might be successful. Minor league attendance can be a good indicator; however, it's not a true gauge.

The Bricktown Ballpark looks as though it could easily be expanded to seat in the 40,000-plus range (expanded upper deck(s) and outfield seating).

Oklahoma City could support major league baseball if given the chance; we are probably 10-15 years away from being on MLB's radar. The 2020 census will be a big factor in MLB expansion.

Who knows, our city appears to be on the verge of a population explosion (next 10 years)--we know how Oklahomans feel about progress, most of us are afraid of it.

LOL - MLB will contract again before it expands. On a side note, if the Thunder played in MLB they would be 28th in attendance, beating out Florida, Oakland, and Cleveland.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance

That's right, contraction has been the talk of late; I still say that Portland, OR would be the best area to move a franchise before any teams are contracted and players distributed in a disposal draft.

Northern Virginia was another area seeking a MLB team; however, since the Expos moved to Washington D.C., I'm sure that killed that area's chances.

^^What about Nashville or Charlotte as expansion/relocation cities?

San Antonio tried to get the Marlins to relocate there a few years back before the stadium issues in Miami were resolved.

I think baseball will stay the same, no expansion or contraction, I also don't see any relocation any time soon either since most have fairly new or significantly remodeled stadiums. The contraction effort 7-8 years ago was to get rid of the Montreal Expos and Minnesota Twins and was derailed by quite a few, most notably the players union. That led to the swap of ownership between the Expos, Marlins and Red Sox and the Expos becoming the property of the MLB. John Henry owned the Florida Marlins, he sold the team to Jeffrey Loria (former OKC 89'rs owner 1989-93) who owned the Montreal Expos then Henry bought the Red Sox and MLB "bought" the Expos from Loria for the purpose of contraction. After the contraction initiative failed the Expos were moved to Washington DC and MLB sold the team. With new stadiums in DC, Minneapolis and Miami those teams will not be in contraction talks any time soon.

It's all but official now. OKC will be without a major league connection. The Astros may look to Nashville to take over the Brewers' AAA team.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100914&content_id=14655092&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex&partnerId=rss_tex

Should be in the running for da Brewers then...too good of a city and stadium to go w/o for very long

It's all but official now. OKC will be without a major league connection. The Astros may look to Nashville to take over the Brewers' AAA team.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100914&content_id=14655092&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex&partnerId=rss_tex

That article was written by Brian McTaggart - back-up beat writer for the Astros, Texans, and Rockets (i'm not eve sure that was a paid position). He just left the Houston Chronical to work for MLB.com. I wouldn't put much stock in this article because it seemed shallow and unresearched - at best.

Here's the thing. Triple A baseball sucks. The best minor league baseball teams to have are AA because that's where all of your hungry can't miss prospects are going to be for the majority of their minor leage stint. I hate to see us lose the redhawks, but i'd love the opportunity to get a AA team in here so that we can actually see the players before they were stars. Growing up going to Durham Bulls games (when they were AA for the Braves) i got to see some very talented well known players - many of whom are now in the HOF. I got to see them at the start of their career and it makes for a much cooler experience when you can watch someone on their way up rather than see the guys who can't quite make it work at that major league level.

triple a sucks, huh? i disagree... recent major league all-stars who have been redhawks: neftali feliz, michael young, nelson cruz, ian kinsler, edinson volquez, ryan ludwick, adrian gonzalez... seems like on any given night, about 1/3 of the rangers on the field were redhawks at one point this season or last...

That article was written by Brian McTaggart - back-up beat writer for the Astros, Texans, and Rockets (i'm not eve sure that was a paid position). He just left the Houston Chronical to work for MLB.com. I wouldn't put much stock in this article because it seemed shallow and unresearched - at best.

We'll find out Thursday 9-16. That's the earliest MLB teams can talk about it.

^^ any word?

^^ any word?

As to whether the Rangers are dropping the 'hawks? Yes, it's official.

Texas is looking out for Texas and they don't give a hoot about Oklahoma.

This State south of the Red River is down right G R E E D Y !

Didn't we see this coming?

The Ranger organization took their doube-AA team out of Tulsa for Frisco and now their AAA team out of Oklahoma City for Round Rock.

Why isn't Oklahoma City and Tulsa working together to meet half-way like Stroud and build something both cities could be proud?

Some sort of double-stadium complex for major professional baseball and football and stop this border traveling across the Red River to support Texas' this and that?

It wouldn't suprise me if they don't eventually try to lure the Thunder to the Fort Worth or Austin area. They initially wanted the New Orleans Hornets to move to Dallas (two NBA teams) and the Saints to San Antonio.

Is the hate between both cities irreconcilable differences that there's no solution in sight.

Texas continues to invade Oklahoma for its Fortune 500 companies and anything of value those greedy Texans can swallow.

Several prominent companies have left Tulsa (CITGO), Bartlesville (Phillips 66) and OKC (Kerr-McGee) for Houston and
Fleming for Dallas. Texas is going to burst open from its greed.

[B]Why isn't Oklahoma City and Tulsa working together to meet half-way like Stroud and build something both cities could be proud?


I am going to say this as nicely as I can - that idea is crazy. If people won't drive to downtown OKC to watch a baseball game, why would they drive all the way to Stroud? Do you drive to Stroud for anything right now? Why not?

If you think Texas cities "cooperate" on anything you are sorely mistaken, what they do makes anything between OKC and Tulsa seem like childs play. Dallas gave enough incentives to AT&T for them to relocate from San Antonio, San Antonio did the same thing with Whataburger to relocate there from Corpus Christi which is where they started. Dallas and Houston have an intense hatred for each other and Fort Worth is not a friend of Dallas. Austin and San Antoinio aren't going to put something in New Braunfels because it is between the two cities, the real world just doesn't work that way. The Express are in Round Rock because Austin didn't really want a minor league team here just like the Stars being in Cedar Park or the Cowboys being in Arlington.

The change in affiliation to Round Rock makes all the sense in the work and it has nothing to do with location, it has to do with the fact that Nolan Ryan is a part owner of the Express and his son runs the team. I bet if they owned the Albuquerque team they would have changed that affiliation to there. Tom Hicks dropped Tulsa after years of being the Rangers farm team because he had involvement with the team in Frisco. Just the nature of being a minor league affiliate.

I am going to say this as nicely as I can - that idea is crazy. If people won't drive to downtown OKC to watch a baseball game, why would they drive all the way to Stroud? Do you drive to Stroud for anything right now? Why not?

Kerry,

Why would anyone drive to Stroud(?); yes, you are correct, we could have said the same thing about Bricktown 20 years ago. Something has to spur the development.

Let's do like Texas, the big cities become bigger--Oklahoma City can use Hertz to start taking Dollar-Tnrifty from Tulsa before Texas gets them. Let's raid each others back yards.

The mentality of Oklahomans toward growth is so pessimestic. You've got to THINK BIG!

Take the case of the 6 month extension we voted upon to finish MAPS I; many city leaders initally didn't want to go back to the voters on this including old Mayor "Home Fries" Humphreys.

Humphrey's wanted to cut the Downtown Sports Arena from the project and avoid an election. He felt that we didn't need an arena that big and that we would never get an NHL or NBA team.

Thank God for Mayor Norick in the grand scheme of things to surge ahead and finish what we initially started.

If we hadn't built the Ford Center, the Hornets would have relocated to Louisville or Dallas would have gotten a second NBA team temporarily and who knows, we wouldn't have gotten that trial run.

^^What about Nashville or Charlotte as expansion/relocation cities?

Based on these two cities; they are overextended markets already and can't take on any more major league sports.

Nashville - NHL, NFL
Charlotte - NBA, NFL

Source: Portfolio.com excerpts:

Major League Baseball:


Scenario: MLB couldn’t expand by more than two teams. The best bets would be New Jersey (part of the New York City market, which already has two franchises) and Southern California (San Bernardino-Riverside).

Read more: http://www.portfolio.com/industry-news/sports/2009/12/07/scenarios-for-expansion-in-professional-sports-leagues/#ixzz0zu8bJGFb


Major League Baseball can't really grow much more, but professional soccer is ripe for expansion and is the cheapest franchise by far to operate. A look at which pro sports have capacity for more teams.

What North American cities are primed economically to host a major-league sports franchise and which ones are already overextended? Read More
Market Capacity
for Pro Sports

A look at the best places in the country to grow sports franchises. Read More Major League Baseball

•Open markets: MLB has few options. Only two open markets in North America have sufficient income bases to adequately support new teams, and one of them (Montreal) lost a franchise to Washington five years ago.


•Existing markets: Thirteen MLB teams play in 12 metropolitan areas that are currently overextended. (The San-Francisco-Oakland market has two teams.)


•Scenario: MLB couldn’t expand by more than two teams. The best bets would be New Jersey (part of the New York City market, which already has two franchises) and Southern California (San Bernardino-Riverside).

National Football League

•Open markets: Eighteen open markets have sufficient economic capacity to add NFL franchises. The obvious choice is Los Angeles, but there are several other intriguing candidates, including Birmingham, Honolulu, and Las Vegas.


Read more: http://www.portfolio.com/industry-news/sports/2009/12/07/scenarios-for-expansion-in-professional-sports-leagues/#ixzz0zu8zeRCH


National Basketball Association

•Open markets: Seventeen markets outside the NBA have income bases that are large enough to support teams. Louisville and Virginia Beach-Norfolk have had pro basketball in the past, and Las Vegas is an interesting possibility.


Read more: http://www.portfolio.com/industry-news/sports/2009/12/07/scenarios-for-expansion-in-professional-sports-leagues/#ixzz0zu9AZWZK


National Hockey League

•Open markets: Hockey has its pick of 16 open markets, but there’s a catch. Many of the best prospects, notably Houston and Las Vegas, are Sunbelt metros. And the NHL already has its share of troubled Southern franchises.


Read more: http://www.portfolio.com/industry-news/sports/2009/12/07/scenarios-for-expansion-in-professional-sports-leagues/#ixzz0zu9NlWrL

and we are now the junior Astros...
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-redhawks-to-be-triple-a-affiliate-of-houston-astros/article/3496829?custom_click=lead_story_title

Glad to see it's a two year deal. The Cardinals have two years left on thier AAA contract and aren't expected to renew. It would make me very happy to see St Louis players go through here.

Glad to see it's a two year deal. The Cardinals have two years left on thier AAA contract and aren't expected to renew. It would make me very happy to see St Louis players go through here.


Man, that two-year agreement is just what we need. If Houston can deliver we keep the Astros; if they can't, the option is open for us to negotiate with the Cardinals two years down the road.

On the otherhand; Memphis has two years to get its act together.

Memphis is having all kinds of issues: The City Council approved building the FedEx Forum without consulting the voters and AutoZone Park has issues which are about the same.

FedEx Forum is a beautiful arena and AutoZone Park ranks right up there with the Bricktown Ballpark; however, Memphis paid dearly for those structure.

FedEX and AutoZone did provide some relief.