NASL, USL-Pro or MLS; we need vision?
Oklahoma City needs to serious look at building their own (downtown, bricktown, riverfront, fair park or Adventure district-Zoo) American football-soccer specific stadium and decide based on our city's growth what we want to attract & construct. Should we build; build something 'multi-use' capable of being expanded with easy accessibility for parking and interstate highway system.
1. Downtown Bricktown, Riverfront: will require land acquisition, infrastructure & parking.
Pros: Easy access to food & hotel establishments
Cons: Rising construction costs in the area.
2. Fair Park: City owned land, some parking & infrastructure upgrades required.
Pros: More economical to build
Cons: Less access to food & hotel establishments.
3. Adventure District (Zoo): will require land acquisition, infrastructure upgrades & expanded parking.
Pros: Concerts could be held there to replace the antiquated Zoo Amphitheater.
Cons: Less access to food & hotel establishments.
We don't have to invest the bank, just the barebones necessary structure as we did with the downtown arena (aka: Chesapeake Energy Arena). There is a need for high school football, professional soccer (USL-Pro, NASL & NPSL) and large gatherings. When the dust clears, professional soccer is poised to be established in our city on some level.
Do we want to attract Major League Soccer (MLS)? MLS will be expanding four teams (2015-20) and at least one franchise on the verge of relocation.
Our track record with the NBA Thunder speaks volumes (3.75 years, 153 consecutive sellouts); we've proven that we can handle major league basketball on the highest level. A pro soccer franchise wouldn't be a threat to the NBA Thunder.
We want to offer our community a menu of year round spectator sports NBA, AHL, PCL, USL-Pro, NASL, Collegiate OU, OSU (football/baseball/basketball/softball/wrestling/tennis etc).
"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.
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