OKC didn't put in a bid to host any of the games. I'm not entirely sure why, but that is why it is being played in Dallas. If I understand correctly, none of the USOC matches will be held in OKC.

They don't go by a bid process anymore. That changed in 2011. 10917

The team is playing well and have won 5 straight in all competitions and undefeated in 6 straight. Evan Newton has had 3 straight clean sheets and has been a definite upgrade in goal over last year.

Tonights attendance was 3,113 lowest this season.Don't know why there wasn't more of a crowd for tonights game

Good home win against the Portland Timbers 2.

My estimate was 3,000 (slightly less than half full). The Oklahoman listed the crowd as 4,291 in this morning's paper; maybe that included no shows or actual paid attendance.


Greig scored both goals in Oklahoma City Energy FC's 2-0 victory over Portland Timbers FC 2 on Friday night at Taft Stadium in United Soccer League action before 4,291 fans.

You also had 10,000 packed into Bricktown Ballpark watching the Dodgers take on Sacramento.

YouTube telecast: The Energy FC crowd was very vocal for those in attendance.

I am curious if it has anything to do with it being on Friday as opposed to their other games that fell on a Saturday.

The attendance has gone down every game so far. So are they going to have to schedule game son nights when NOTHING is going on? Seriously? As a comparison Sacramento Republic has had three home games on the same night when the Sacramento River Cats have also had a baseball game. They sold out all three (11,000) And, surprise surprise, my wife and I were actually at the game (dressed in Timbers gear). We were both disappointed in the crowd. Even though I loathe all things Bob and Tim I want soccer to succeed here. So what need to be done?

The attendance has gone down every game so far. So are they going to have to schedule game son nights when NOTHING is going on? Seriously? As a comparison Sacramento Republic has had three home games on the same night when the Sacramento River Cats have also had a baseball game. They sold out all three (11,000) And, surprise surprise, my wife and I were actually at the game (dressed in Timbers gear). We were both disappointed in the crowd. Even though I loathe all things Bob and Tim I want soccer to succeed here. So what need to be done?

Lol. You are pathetic always showing up in different teams gear. ��

How about borchard you stay in your glory days Blazer thread and stay out of this one.

You going and buying the opponents gear for each game? You need help

The attendance has gone down every game so far. So are they going to have to schedule game son nights when NOTHING is going on? Seriously? As a comparison Sacramento Republic has had three home games on the same night when the Sacramento River Cats have also had a baseball game. They sold out all three (11,000) And, surprise surprise, my wife and I were actually at the game (dressed in Timbers gear). We were both disappointed in the crowd. Even though I loathe all things Bob and Tim I want soccer to succeed here. So what need to be done?

Time and the exposure to the game itself.

Sacramento has 2.4 million in its metro area; that's roughly 1 million more than OKC (Sactown has the population of both OKC & TUL). NBA franchises account for most of the spectator dollars & corporate support in both OKC & Sacramento. You attended the game; you did your part regardless of which team you enthusiastically supported--you paid for the Timbers to get laid :wink:.

There's not a big difference in the level of play between the NASL & the USL. As for the future of soccer in OKC; we will just have to wait and see.

Time and the exposure to the game itself.

Sacramento has 2.4 million in its metro area; that's roughly 1 million more than OKC (Sactown has the population of both OKC & TUL). NBA franchises account for most of the spectator dollars & corporate support in both OKC & Sacramento. You attended the game; you did your part regardless of which team you enthusiastically supported--you paid for the Timbers to get laid :wink:.

There's not a big difference in the level of play between the NASL & the USL. As for the future of soccer in OKC; we will just have to wait and see.

Well, except USL went 6-0-1 against NASL teams in the Open Cup, lol.

So...no one wants to answer my question? Why has attendance gone down every game?

Time and the exposure to the game itself.

Sacramento has 2.4 million in its metro area; that's roughly 1 million more than OKC (Sactown has the population of both OKC & TUL). NBA franchises account for most of the spectator dollars & corporate support in both OKC & Sacramento. You attended the game; you did your part regardless of which team you enthusiastically supported--you paid for the Timbers to get laid :wink:.

There's not a big difference in the level of play between the NASL & the USL. As for the future of soccer in OKC; we will just have to wait and see.

PTFC is my favorite MLS team. My wife wore a Timbers shirt for me. Her favorite team is Seattle. So for that game I wore a Sounders shirt for her. So, we have now gone to 200% more games this year than last. So people can put us down, call us pathetic, say I "need help". But we have supported this team more than a majority of people in OKC, apparently. My question is why? It seems all the positive momentum from last year has been squandered. Why? And how? Has no one else noticed the dearth of advertising recently? Have they blown their wad already? Is there a big surge planned? Will they start giving away a car every Saturday? Because that worked for the Bar.... Oh wait. It didn't.

Don't feed the troll...

[Use Ignore User]

Hey look, my team lost. That's over and done. No NASL in OKC. So now, it's only the Energy. And as much as I detest the ass weasels who run the Energy, I really do want soccer to succeed here. So;
1. WILL it succeed in it's current form?
2. HOW will it succeed?
3. WHY has attendance gone down every game this year?
3. WHAT needs to be done to right the ship?

Or, you can just keep referring to me as a troll and blissfully ignore the issues and not acknowledge that, like foreshadowing in a bad Italian movie, there was a Barons van parked in the parking lot on Friday night and MAYBE it was a bad omen ;-)
Soccer succeeding in OKC really is important to me. I didn't give enough craps about the Barons to invest time to even ask these questions.

Hey look, my team lost. That's over and done. No NASL in OKC. So now, it's only the Energy. And as much as I detest the ass weasels who run the Energy, I really do want soccer to succeed here. So;
1. WILL it succeed in it's current form?
2. HOW will it succeed?
3. WHY has attendance gone down every game this year?
3. WHAT needs to be done to right the ship?

Or, you can just keep referring to me as a troll and blissfully ignore the issues and not acknowledge that, like foreshadowing in a bad Italian movie, there was a Barons van parked in the parking lot on Friday night and MAYBE it was a bad omen ;-)
Soccer succeeding in OKC really is important to me. I didn't didn't give enough craps about the Barons to invest time to even ask these questions.

They use the Barons van to bring merchandise from the team store to the games, probably just haven't got around to painting it. Not exactly high priority I would think.

What I found interesting Friday night was the west stands were more full for the first time this season than the east. How much of that was people going over there to avoid sitting in the sun I don't know, but just an observation.

I do think tickets were a little steep this year, I think they were trying to gauge to see how much people would actually pay to see if someday MLS was attainable, but I think that was probably done too soon. Needed to keep them lower to build a bigger following first then try that.

Want to do your part, invite friends to games. We've done that as much as we can and it's helped build some interest with typically non-soccer people. We have a couple that is now looking at season tickets who we brought to a game and had a blast. That's the easiest way to drum up interest, as a game attending fan, in my opinion.

Pahdz, the MLS ship has sailed. Unless one of the 5 "big guns" want a MLS team we wont get one. The expansion fee is way to high now.
I think leaving McGuinness was a huge mistake, yea they are now able to sell beer at games but it looked so much better with a packed house as opposed to 1/2 empty now.

Anyone know who the actual man in charge is at Prodigal?

I am well aware MLS is a slim possibility I was just mentioning why they increased prices.

Couldn't disagree more on the stadium. Appearing full does not trump the huge jump in quality of facility.

IMO: Wouldn't be so quick to say that the Major League Soccer (MLS) ship has sailed. You think that MLS expansion is the only option?

Kept hearing this about NHL hockey in OKC all through the 90s; OKC got passed up by the NHL for those last two franchises which were awarded to St. Paul & Columbus. Among the 4 NHL expansion & 1 relocation franchise (Nashville, Atlanta, St. Paul, Columbus & Raleigh) awarded in '97, St. Paul (Minnesota Wild) is the only consistent box office success. Hartford Whalers were relocated to Raleigh in that time frame.

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

We did better than NHL hockey--NBA Thunder baby!

Final: As with the NBA, the city needs to build a facility if we ever want to attract MLS.

I am well aware MLS is a slim possibility I was just mentioning why they increased prices.

Couldn't disagree more on the stadium. Appearing full does not trump the huge jump in quality of facility.

I agree with you about MLS. IMO it is not going to happen. I kind of disagree about the facility, at least at this point. It's painfully obvious (and Yes, if my team were the ones playing there I'd have to be honest and admit it, too) that the stadium isn't really complete. We walked under the west stands on Friday night and were greeted by a pile of aluminum rods just laying there. My wife was afraid that kids would run into them. Also, there is no scoreboard. The press box isn't finished. No ticket booth built. Would it have been better to stay at McGuinness until the field was COMPLETELY ready?

IMO: Wouldn't be so quick to say that the Major League Soccer (MLS) ship has sailed. You think that MLS expansion is the only option?

Kept hearing this about NHL hockey in OKC all through the 90s; OKC got passed up by the NHL for those last two franchises which were awarded to St. Paul & Columbus. Among the 4 NHL expansion & 1 relocation franchise (Nashville, Atlanta, St. Paul, Columbus & Raleigh) awarded in '97, St. Paul (Minnesota Wild) is the only consistent box office success. Hartford Whalers were relocated to Raleigh in that time frame.

2014-2015 NHL Attendance - National Hockey League - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance)

We did better than NHL hockey--NBA Thunder baby!

Final: As with the NBA, the city needs to build a facility if we ever want to attract MLS.

And don't forget that Atlanta relocated to Winnipeg

Would it have been better to stay at McGuinness until the field was COMPLETELY ready?

Considering they have already had several matches way over the capacity of McGuiness, I'd say no.

What do you need in a scoreboard that the video board doesn't already provide? Show me a clock and score and in soccer I am good.

Considering they have already had several matches way over the capacity of McGuiness, I'd say no.

That's actually not true, though. The biggest crowd last year at McGuinness was 4,722. They have only had one crowd larger than that so far this year. There were announced crowds last year of;
4230
4010
4102
4089
4722

So far, except for the opening night McGuinness could definitely have held the crowds so far this year

What do you need in a scoreboard that the video board doesn't already provide? Show me a clock and score and in soccer I am good.

If you can can actually see the time on that video board, then your eyes are much better than mine.

If you can can actually see the time on that video board, then your eyes are much better than mine.

Own a watch? You can keep time in soccer :)

To get butts in the stands we are going to need word of mouth, simple as that. I've taken a few buddies to games and sat in the supporters section and they loved it and want to go back. What they don't need to hear is how ****ty the Funks are, or how bad the Barons did, what they need to hear is that the Energy are on an awesome winning streak and they get to play FC Dallas in the Open Cup. I understand not liking the owner ship, I'm pretty sure a lot of the EPL teams supporters don't like their ownership but they still support their teams. Just need to get behind the team itself and build it up, if we do that and let people know we have a pretty decent team to support I'm sure more will show up.

.
Oklahoma City Energy FC - Record: 5-2-3 Home: 4-1-0 Away: 1-1-3



Home Game number
Home Date
Guest Team & Results
Taft Stadium Seating Capacity - 7,500
Attendance Average



#1
Sat., April 18
Seattle Sounders II 2-1 win
6,797
6,797


#2
Sat., April 25
St. Louis FC 2-1 loss
4,383
5,590


#3
Sat - May 23
Sacramento Republic 2-1 win
3,717
4,966


#4
Sun - May 31
Austin Aztex 1-0 win
4,291
4,797


#5
Fri - June 5
Portland Timbers II 2-0 win
3,133
4,464



From April 18 to May 23 (5 weeks between home games 2 & 3.) Energy FC were @ Austin for 1 game on Fri., May 1, (Attendance: 2696 @ House Park Stadium, Austin).

USL - Source: League - Schedules - United Soccer League (http://www.uslsoccer.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPID=157014&SPSID=917141&DB_OEM_ID=32800&DB_OEM_ID=32800)

After tonight's 2-0 win over Vancouver, the Energy are now in 1st place in the West.

The attendance has gone down every game so far. So are they going to have to schedule game son nights when NOTHING is going on? Seriously? As a comparison Sacramento Republic has had three home games on the same night when the Sacramento River Cats have also had a baseball game. They sold out all three (11,000) ...

The attendance numbers seem hard to get worried about yet. Starting strong and tapering down as the season goes along happens with a lot of entertainment products, other of our minor league sports have shown a similar pattern, it happens with many major league teams and it is noticeable with TV series too.

This is the second year and they just stepped up from a smaller venue. Sacramento is the league lead in attendance, last year they had nearly double the second place teams attendance, and like four and a half times the average of the rest of the teams in the league. We were number four in attendance last year and look to be in a similar position again, probably the only good thing comparing our attendance to Sacramento is good for is speculating about which team is most plausible to be promoted to a higher league if could come up with the money and stadium to do so.

Soccer Franchise Owner Hit With $2M Suit Over League Exit
By Benjamin Horney

Law360, New York (June 9, 2015, 6:52 PM ET) -- The North American Soccer League has filed suit in New York Supreme Court against the owner of an Oklahoma City professional soccer franchise, seeking more than $2 million for an alleged breach of contract related to the team's improper withdrawal from the league.

NASL hits Tim McLaughlin owner of USL Energy FC with $2M law suit over league exit : MLS (http://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/39adif/nasl_hits_tim_mclaughlin_owner_of_usl_energy_fc/)

NASL Jacksonville Armada:

http://www.news4jax.com/image/view/-/18141402/medRes/2/-/maxh/360/maxw/640/-/255riez/-/Major-league-soccer-coming-to-town.jpg


The energy and youthful vigor from that Armada staff paid off in the early going in the franchise’s short Jacksonville history. In the seven home preseason and regular season games, the Armada attracted a combined 64,526 fans. The first regular season home game broke North American Soccer League regular-season attendance records when more than 16,000 fans descended on EverBank Field to watch the Armada defeat FC Edmonton.

Jacksonville Armada soccer team has already sold over 64,000 tickets, plans multi-year presence | jacksonville.com (http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-05-25/story/jacksonville-armada-soccer-team-has-already-sold-over-64000-tickets)

Jacksonville (40th largest metro, 1,419,127) is an example of a city that has invested in its facilities. Oklahoma City needs to eventually build some kind of football stadium which could possibly bring some (OU & OSU) non-conference football games to the city in addition to NFL exhibition games along with soccer. Oklahoma City (42nd largest metro -1,336,767) needs something beyond the specs of Taft Stadium (an excellent facility for high school football & minor league soccer).

OKC doesn't have the soccer history of NASL cities like Jacksonville, Rochester and Tulsa. A reputable facility could make a difference.

If the Energy FC want to get to the MLS; they will need to partner with the city to build something that could eventually be used to get OKC to the next level. MLS will expand by 4 before 2020. There could be another wave of expansion or possible relocations following 2020.

That picture has more people than a Jaguars game lol

Oklahoma City Energy FC vs. Tulsa Roughnecks FC - 06-13-15 (Taft Stadium).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MbnWzTiAJo4

NASL Lawsuit vs Former OKC Owner Explained (kind of) - Articles - Articles - Homepage - Northern Pitch (http://northernpitch.com/_/minnesota-soccer-news/nasl-lawsuit-vs-former-okc-owner-explained-kind-of-r345)

The NASL’s Claims Against McLaughlin

The complaint describes the issue as an effort at collection of money owed, which is true in a sense. It may be a matter of semantics, but the lawsuit involves more than not paying an invoice. The parties have a contract with mutual obligations. The NASL says the contract was not followed. And presumably, McLaughlin will take the opposite position. Consequently, this lawsuit is a matter of contract interpretation and allegations of breaching the league’s contracts. Along those lines, the NASL is asserting 3 different flavors of claims.

1. Breach of Withdrawal Payment Obligations ---- NASL believes OKC withdrawal was a “Default Withdrawal” and not a “Proper Withdrawal.” These labels are defined terms in the contract, and determining the correct label determines how much the team owes for leaving. And OKC states it was a “proper” withdrawal and paid less than what the NASL wanted.

2. Breach of Asset Management Obligations ---- The NASL asserts that OKC was required to give the NASL its stadium lease under the agreement with the league.

3. Breach of Generic Obligations to Cooperate with League ---- The OKC contract with the league requires reasonable cooperation with the League’s commercial agreements, merchandizing, media rights, and the like.

You say you care about about soccer in OKC, but I have never seen you post about games, players, results, etc. Just attendance, Prodigal, and other general gripes.

Great win. Also, the Roustabouts have the most unoriginal songs and chants. Also a "KD to DC" sign was stupid considering most Tulsans I know also support the Thunder

So once again, nothing to say about the lawsuit? Just say post negative comments about me because I haven't drank the Kool-aid?!? I guess you also missed that I've actually been to two games. Which is 200% more than almost a million other people in the OKC metro

I don't give a **** about what the other part of the metro does, nor do I care about lawsuits. I care about soccer.

Beat Tulsa tonight 2-0 and now top of the table!

Great time Saturday night. Brought a non-soccer buddy, who couldn't believe the atmosphere in the south end. He's hooked and is on-board.

Pano shot from the south.
10936

The traveling fans from Tulsa.
10937

Green smoke from The Grid.
10938

Very cool.

Does the Grid have songs about Tulsa yet?

Yep, a few were directed at Tulsa. The atmosphere was definitely more rowdy than against other opponents. All in all a great night. We just need to get more fans in the stands.

Very cool.

Does the Grid have songs about Tulsa yet?

We have a few, I mean some of them you can just take out Tulsa and add a different city to it.

Build a bonfire
Build a bonfire
Put Tulsa at the top
Put the Roughnecks in the middle
and we'll burn the f*cking lot.

Tulsa backwards
Tulsa backwards
Tulsa backwards is asluT

You are from Tulsa
From f*cking Tulsa
You're only happy on welfare day
Your moms a hooker
your dads a dealer
Please don't take my hubcaps away.

When is the press box supposed to be finished?

The Tulsa supporters need some help, their chants and songs were pretty weak or plain unoriginal. Convenience store smack? I laughed, but that's it's sad that's what you have to resort to because you are losing.

I also didn't get the "We shot first" sign that one dude was holding.

The Tulsa supporters need some help, their chants and songs were pretty weak or plain unoriginal. Convenience store smack? I laughed, but that's it's sad that's what you have to resort to because you are losing.

I also didn't get the "We shot first" sign that one dude was holding.

They like to try and claim the old Roughnecks 1983 championship. That doesn't make sense though because the old roughnecks were in a different league and this roughnecks team had their name voted on. It's like if we were to vote and name ourselves Real Madrid 2 we can claim all their champions ships.

The Tulsa supporters need some help, their chants and songs were pretty weak or plain unoriginal. Convenience store smack? I laughed, but that's it's sad that's what you have to resort to because you are losing.

I also didn't get the "We shot first" sign that one dude was holding.

Where were you sitting? Just curious, because in the south end, we could not hear a single song or chant from them.
I was curious what they would come up with, but never heard anything but the one snare drum.

Where were you sitting? Just curious, because in the south end, we could not hear a single song or chant from them.
I was curious what they would come up with, but never heard anything but the one snare drum.

The green club, right next to you, so a little closer.

I will give them props for one thing, they had a trombone. I'd love if The Grid would mix in some horns. The Houston Dynamo have a strong horn presence in their support section and it's awesome.

Haha, horns yes, vuvuzelas no.
The Portland Timbers use a trumpet for the Tetris song/dance.
That was pretty cool to experience in person.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQK4zzQQ7JY

REAL horns...come on you thought I meant vuvuzelas? :)

How much of the attendance decline can be credited to the fact that there are no restaurants and bars within walking distance of Taft Stadium? For instance, if you go to a Dodgers or Thunder game you can make a real night of it - park your car in Bricktown, choose from dozens of restaurants, go to the game and then even grab a drink at a bar after, all while never returning to your car. You can't get an experience like that at 23rd and May.

How much of the attendance decline can be credited to the fact that there are no restaurants and bars within walking distance of Taft Stadium? For instance, if you go to a Dodgers or Thunder game you can make a real night of it - park your car in Bricktown, choose from dozens of restaurants, go to the game and then even grab a drink at a bar after, all while never returning to your car. You can't get an experience like that at 23rd and May.

I think that is probably a big factor, it kinda helps having a two hour tailgate before the match but no where to go afterwards. We really need a SSS* in a good downtown or close to downtown location. I know we probably won't get one of those for a while though.

*Soccer Specific Stadium.

How much of the attendance decline can be credited to the fact that there are no restaurants and bars within walking distance of Taft Stadium? For instance, if you go to a Dodgers or Thunder game you can make a real night of it - park your car in Bricktown, choose from dozens of restaurants, go to the game and then even grab a drink at a bar after, all while never returning to your car. You can't get an experience like that at 23rd and May.

Good point and something I never considered.

How much of the attendance decline can be credited to the fact that there are no restaurants and bars within walking distance of Taft Stadium? For instance, if you go to a Dodgers or Thunder game you can make a real night of it - park your car in Bricktown, choose from dozens of restaurants, go to the game and then even grab a drink at a bar after, all while never returning to your car. You can't get an experience like that at 23rd and May.

If soccer is going to succeed in OKC you'll need a downtown, Bricktown or better yet a riverfront venue. There are no reputable eating establishments in the Taft Stadium area outside of fast food restaurants comparable to what you have in Bricktown.

Use the 'Brick' next season for half the Energy's games; you'll see a big difference in game attendance and money generated in the Bricktown area.

This 25,000-seat stadium was proposed for OKC area in 2004-05 when the area was on the MLS radar:


Wantland Stadium was to include an MLS franchise with accommodations for 20,000-plus
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSJDHcqtX__TMPXc_t5z-tfAMW_b4psI1VjKKcEXILpjXuhRVUG
This could be a great stadium design for the riverfront near the AICCM.



Wantland Stadium now seats about 12,000 fans and can accommodate about 4,000 more on a grass berm, Kreidler said. It also is designed so it can be expanded to seat up to 25,000 people, and Kreidler said the university already has drawings prepared if someone were to step forward to finance the expansion.

Wizards, FC Dallas to play exhibition game in OK City - ESPN FC (http://www.espnfc.com/story/362730)

Exhibition game draws soccer fans to UCO stadium | News OK (http://newsok.com/exhibition-game-draws-soccer-fans-to-uco-stadium/article/1922365)

Use the 'Brick' next season for half the Energy's games; you'll see a big difference in game attendance and money generated in the Bricktown area.

I completely agree with you. Laramie, do YOU know any reason that neither soccer entity seemed to try to get access to BTBP? Why did both go hell bent for leather after Taft?

Hell no to the baseball stadium. Horrible sightlines.

Wait, you said nothing is around Taft, but you want to put that design by AICCM? Hey guys, lets all meet at Waffle House and then walk across a busy intersection and river bridge to the game!

I completely agree with you. Laramie, do YOU know any reason that neither soccer entity seemed to try to get access to BTBP? Why did both go hell bent for leather after Taft?

Whichever franchise got Taft Stadium would kill the other. USL Energy got a year head start; they finished off NASL OKC when they obtained rights to Taft Stadium.


Hell no to the baseball stadium. Horrible sightlines. Horrible sightlines in any baseball venue; however, make it clear, you need to temporarily test that area to see if building a stadium would make the difference.

I don't see the Funks investing in a 7,000-9,000 seat downtown stadium; they need to lobby OKC to make that investment because eventually we will need a soccer & football specific stadium downtown. IMO, the Funks will not be the group to get us to the next level. MAPS IV passage & the events following 2017 will shape our city's future.


Wait, you said nothing is around Taft, but you want to put that design by AICCM? Hey guys, lets all meet at Waffle House and then walk across a busy intersection and river bridge to the game!

Suggest that a stadium be built near the AICCM because the city already owns the land. Build combo pedestrian & 4 lane bridge across the river to provide access to the south portion; this should spur activity in that area with more residential-hotel development (Everyone can't crowd Eastern Avenue bridge-dam to the river area south) .

We do not need a football specific stadium downtown. I love football but that's a horrible idea.

If, or when, someone builds a soccer stadium MUCH thought should be given to the location. One need only look at where some of the MLS 1.0 stadiums were built to see why these teams (FCD, Chicago, Colorado) have trouble building a following. Building a stadium at the AICCM site would be a huge mistake. It's on the wrong side of the highway AND river, IMHO.
In order of best location, IMHO;
1. Bricktown
2.) Near the new Central park
3. Near the Wheeler District
4.) ANYWHERE close to the light-rail line.

Now the caveat; None of those will happen unless Prodigal can find some way to fill Taft on a consistent basis. maybe it will happen. maybe it won't. Time will tell. And to rebut what I keep seeing on another thread about how "we need less Blazers fans, and more hockey fans..." Well, what YOU need, seriously, are more Energy fans, and less casual soccer fans. You need people who live and die with the team, whatever level they play at. I would say the same thing if it was OKCFC I was talking about. Casual fans can be bought off, or distracted by;
movies
shows
shopping
concerts
onion burger festivals
rattlesnake roundups

Once again for people who complain that "Blazers fans weren't hockey fans", i say, "Who gives a crap?!? They came to games. Do you actually think 84,000 people show up Saturday, after Saturday, in Norman because they are FOOTBALL fans?
HELL NO! They are SOONER fans, first, and foremost.
Do you think the girl who got the Thunder logo tattooed on her thighs a few years ago did because she was a BASKETBALL fan?
HELL NO! She did it because she is a THUNDER fan.
And do you actually think that if one day, God forbid, Clay Bennett would decide to move the Thunder to , say, Kansas City, that there would still be the same level of NBA excitement in OKC?
Will people whine on this forum that "Oklahoma City needs more basketball fans, and less Thunder fans"?
All that to say this: if Prodigal doesn't figure out how to make the Energy relevant to the city somehow it will most likely never be more than it is. And that may be fine for some people.

We do not need a football specific stadium downtown. I love football but that's a horrible idea.

It's actually NOT a horrible idea, IF you are looking for someone else to pay for it to be built.
FC Dallas's stadium is now used for the FCS Championship game every year. Wouldn't it be nice to bend Dallas over and steal it away from them?
How many state championship games are played in too big stadiums? What if we had a 20,000 seat stadium where EVERY state championship game could be played?
And, oh btw, you get it for soccer all summer

Whichever franchise got Taft Stadium would kill the other. USL Energy got a year head start; they finished off NASL OKC when they obtained rights to Taft Stadium.

And now that lease agreement is par of the $2.5 million lawsuit against McL. If they find in favor of the NASL Prodigal may be FORCED to look into Bricktown Ballpark. Gonna be interesting to see what happens.