Soccer: NASL and USL professional leagues fighting over OKC

[Snowman]

We've heard this chorus line before with the NHL in 2000 and the MLS in 2004.

One of the NHL teams was reportedly just using OKC as leverage to get public funding from the city they were (are still in) and were not seriously considering moving, it would not surprise me if that was the case in other cities as well. Between the time the arena was built (maybe even once construction was underway) and the Thunder arrived, the statistics of available sports dollars coupled with a new facility here would make it a convincing threat to any city wanting to keep a team in their city.

[bradh]

There are now 5 USL teams in MLS with the addition of Orlando City

[Lord Helmet]

The question for MLS in OKC will all come down to whether the league wants to continue to expand by the time OKC is ready to move up. With Miami, Orlando City SC, NYCFC we're looking at 22 teams. There have been rumblings about Atlanta and a couple more cities already. Unless MLS increases the salary cap along with expansion the league will be too watered down as far as talent goes. There is already a serious shortage in players that can finish clinically on a consistent basis. Not saying OKC doesn't have the chance to move up, just saying that the league is pretty full as it is and without a larger salary cap they may not want to add more teams when OKC is ready.

[Richard at Remax]

Slight downside but according to the Energy Twitter feed they wont be selling beer on the stadium grounds. probably since it is a high school stadium

[Dubya61]

I'm more sold on getting to the MLS through the NASL (McLaughin & Sold Out Strategies) either through expansion or a possible future merger.

In all fairness to the USL-Pro; four of its former teams made the jump to MLS: Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps, Portland Timbers and the Montreal Impact.

Robert Funk Sr., explored the MLS in the early 2000s with a partnership to enlarge Wantland Stadium on the CSU campus to 20,000-plus; that project was put on the shelf when Funk purchased AAA PCL Oklahoma RedHawks.

Funk's track record hasn't been impressive about possible NHL & MLS expansion franchises. We've heard this chorus line before with the NHL in 2000 and the MLS in 2004. How much longer will the AHL Barons survive under this leadership?

Does the OKC USL-Pro (Funk) group have the expertise to take the city to the MLS level?

NHL club moving to Oklahoma City?

NHL club moving to Oklahoma City? - Hockey - CBC

Maybe the reason the NHL isn't coming to OKC is because they aren't the best thing for the metro. I would argue that the NHL is the worst managed league of the four and, as much as I love hockey in deference to the other three sports represented by a major league in contention at the time (2000?), we're fortunate to NOT have an NHL franchise here. The AHL Barons are a different entity than the Blazers and a suitable hockey presence in Oklahoma City. I don't know about how good the OKC USL-Pro group is, but we dodged a bullet in avoiding the NHL in 2000.

[Lord Helmet]

Slight downside but according to the Energy Twitter feed they wont be selling beer on the stadium grounds. probably since it is a high school stadium

That's a real drag. I wonder if they will allow BYOB in the parking lot beforehand for tailgating?

[Laramie]

We have supported a higher league sports' franchise than the MLS. If one of these groups breaks ground on a stadium or one is put before the voters for MAPS IV 2017, we should be poised to secure (expansion or relocation) an MLS franchise by 2020.

I recall when the Oklahoma Raiders first mentioned relocating the team from the Emerald City, their city leaders laughed. It became a pawn game when Kansas City was mentioned as a possible relocation destination besides OKC. They knew that the Oklahoma ownership group was seriously contemplating a move from Seattle if they didn't get a new arena. Seattle's Key Arena at the time was the smallest NBA venue in the league; also it had the highest lease among franchises. When negotiations included Kansas City; they knew the ownership was serious about relocation.

"Bennett said he remains concerned about Oklahoma City's long-term viability as an NBA market but has concerns about Kansas City, too, which already has two major-league franchises."--Oklahoman

Sonics open talks with OKC, KC Sonics begin relocation talks<br/><span class='hl2'>Bennett: City is likely destination if team leaves SeattleTeam's chairman says OKC likely destination if Sonics leave Seattle, but negotiations will include Kansas Cit


After five full years of this franchise being successful in OKC we have passed the NBA's litmus test as we being our third year of consecutive sellouts in the Thunder's sixth season in our city.

There is room for soccer to grow in our city as we have proven ourselves as an NBA city. Now we're ready for another high profile league to add to our sports menu. The NASL vs. USL-Pro battle may be just the fix to elevate OKC back to the MLS radar.

[elitespy]

I know this isn't a popular opinion among a lot of Americans, but why not just go to a promotion/relegation system like every other country? We have the MLS/NASL/USL that could serve as the different tiers of one league... Rebrand it and go from there. I know I am just one guy on a forum, but that would be the best way to go IMO.

[Richard at Remax]

I am on the fence about the MLS. when it comes to wanting a MAJOR sports franchise I want that particular sport to be where the best in the world compete. unfortunately for the USA and soccer the best go to Europe. NBA, NFL, and MLB are where the best in the world go to play (maybe not so much for NFL). That's why Im ok if the tier we are stuck with is USL/NASL. Where we don't have to shell out top dollar to build stadiums for not top talent.

If that makes any sense whatsoever. Hard to put it in writing.

[Laramie]

a mls expansion article.
No mention of okc being even a canidate....




David Beckham said to be planning 75,000-seat soccer stadium in Miami - chicagotribune.com

Glad Oklahoma City isn't associated in any way with this article; neither were San Antonio, Sacramento, Cleveland or Phoenix.

Post #409 on NFL in OKC

We hear these type of '5 second commercials' all the time. This was about a soccer stadium in Miami which about the same chance of getting under construction as a new gothic cathedral being built in Valley Brook, Oklahoma.

Oklahoma City will not be on the MLS' radar until after the NASL & USL-Pro begin their seasons and butts are put in the seats.

[shawnw]

MLS names five candidiate cities for expansion

[bluedogok]

There was a USL-Pro team announced for Colorado Springs today.
Colorado Springs Gazette - Pro soccer franchise coming to Colorado Springs

[elitespy]

I talked with some Energy people last night at a marketing event and they told me they were going to be announcing their MLS affiliation before Christmas. Here's to hoping it's going to be SKC..

[LakeEffect]

I talked with some Energy people last night at a marketing event and they told me they were going to be announcing their MLS affiliation before Christmas. Here's to hoping it's going to be SKC..

I really hope that happens.

[Lord Helmet]

I talked with some Energy people last night at a marketing event and they told me they were going to be announcing their MLS affiliation before Christmas. Here's to hoping it's going to be SKC..

That would be cool but I'm not sure that will happen since SKC still has Orlando City as an affiliate for one more year. While I'd love to see it I'm starting to think maybe it's FC Dallas simply due to proximity...just a gut feeling though.

[elitespy]

The Energy now have subreddit dedicated to em

OKC Energy FC - Oklahoma's USL-PRO team!

[Tydude]

EnergyFC: We're excited to welcome @uslprotulsa to the @USLPRO family! We're looking forward to having a turnpike rival in 2015. #Tulsa2015

[LakeEffect]

Tulsa set to get USL Pro club as third-tier expansion continues to build steam | Planet Futbol - SI.com

Some really good nuggets here, including a possible coach for OKC and that we're looking likely to be KC's affiliate.

[LakeEffect]

It's official, via Twitter (@EnergyFC):

We’re excited to announce our @MLS affiliation with the 2013 @MLS Cup Champions @SportingKC > Energy FC Announces MLS Affiliation - YouTube … pic.twitter.com/LcRVH2WRSx

And to welcome @PumaNielsen1 as our head coach > Jimmy Nielsen Named Energy FC Head Coach - YouTube … pic.twitter.com/zxo3Bs7SO4

[elitespy]

It's official, via Twitter (@EnergyFC):

We’re excited to announce our @MLS affiliation with the 2013 @MLS Cup Champions @SportingKC > Energy FC Announces MLS Affiliation - YouTube … pic.twitter.com/LcRVH2WRSx

And to welcome @PumaNielsen1 as our head coach > Jimmy Nielsen Named Energy FC Head Coach - YouTube … pic.twitter.com/zxo3Bs7SO4

Was just coming to post that, my wish has come true. I'm very excited about Nielsen being our first coach as well.

[Snowman]

Looks like we will have Tulsa as a USL Pro rival, one odd thing about their plan is using the baseball field for the drillers to play in. From the conceptual renderings it looks like they are pushing the field out so they can avoid the pitchers mound.

[shawnw]

(apologies in advance, very opinionated rant forthcoming)

Can't stand when stadiums that were built as "baseball only stadiums" hold football games (or other sports, would be similarly annoyed if a baseball team played in a football or soccer-only stadium). It's just so awkward. There's a bowl game at Yankee Stadium... what??? The XFL played on some baseball fields as well. We tore down most of those 70s era multi-sport stadiums partially on the basis of fan experience in a venue not designed for the sport and built single-sport stadiums at great cost, but then we still use them for multiple sports... so what happened to the importance of that fan experience? Sigh...

I'm sure it's a temporary thing for the Tulsa soccer team, so I don't mind it as much.

[Tydude]

i think NASL team is getting beaten baldly by the OKC USL team

[shawnw]

My understanding is that the NASL team will be "Division II" and the USL team will be "Division III", right? So they should not be in competition with each other any more than the Redhawks (AAA) and Drillers (AA) would be? Aside from the personal beef between the owners, I've not quite understood the strife between these two teams...

[BoulderSooner]

That is the designation given by the USFF They have mls tier 1 nasl tier 2 and usl tier 3.

However this was from a while ago. In practice usl and nasl are more and more co tier 2. And the usl now has a deal to be the sub league to the mls. While the nasl wants to compete with mls