Stadium District (formerly Producers Coop)

[TU 'cane]

20K seems about right for OKC, im just concerned if we can support it long term. Soccer is growing still, but have we reached that point in OKC? Granted, if it's MLS, we'll see an upswing in attendance like any city sees from minor to major.

As we all know, corporate sponsors and partners are a big deal with professional sports teams. Having said that, in a perfect world, OKC could stand to gain a couple more Fortune 500 companies to help drive the MLS to choose OKC as an expansion market.

Fan attendance is another matter and I also wonder if OKC could support it long term. Two pro franchises in a metro area under 2 million is honestly an undertaking.

[OKCRT]

As we all know, corporate sponsors and partners are a big deal with professional sports teams. Having said that, in a perfect world, OKC could stand to gain a couple more Fortune 500 companies to help drive the MLS to choose OKC as an expansion market.

Fan attendance is another matter and I also wonder if OKC could support it long term. Two pro franchises in a metro area under 2 million is honestly an undertaking.

KC has three and they are right around 2 mil. OKC could support NBA and MLS IMO with no problem.

[TU 'cane]

KC has three and they are right around 2 mil. OKC could support NBA and MLS IMO with no problem.

Kansas City has a longer history with professional sports, though. The Chiefs and Royals have been there since the 60s I believe.

The metro is currently at 2.15 million and the CSA at 2.4 million. So, still a ways more than OKC. Kansas City is among a couple handfuls (if that much) of cities with 2-3 million metro (and less) with 2 or more professional franchises. There's a decent pool to research and it's been a while since I've dived in. Off the top of my head:

KC
Charlotte
New Orleans
Portland (they have MLS right?)
Indianapolis
Minneapolis

I'm not going to get into a measuring game since some people tend to try and read between lines, but I'm only saying supporting two major league franchises might be a little harder than we believe.

[hoya]

MLS isn't quite in the same category as other pro franchises though.

[2Lanez]

20K seems about right for OKC, im just concerned if we can support it long term. Soccer is growing still, but have we reached that point in OKC? Granted, if it's MLS, we'll see an upswing in attendance like any city sees from minor to major.

20,000 for a soccer stadium in OKC? Taft holds 7,500, and the Energy average around 5,000...

[GoldFire]

20,000 for a soccer stadium in OKC? Taft holds 7,500, and the Energy average around 5,000...

There's a big difference between the league the Energy are in now and the MLS. A lot more people will be interested in going to games just because it is MLS than are interested in going right now.

[2Lanez]

More people will be interested, yes. Four times the number of people? KC's stadium is a good comparison, which holds 18 in a bigger market with more pro sports. 15k here would be reasonably ambitious.

[shawnw]

IIRC we will not build a 20K stadium outright. We will build a <10K stadium that is expandable to 20K.

[dankrutka]

I read a study that indicated that a city needs about a million people to support each pro sports team. Cities that tend to have less than 1 million people per sports team become oversaturated. However, I would think that you could get away with less than 1 million number for a MLS team.

[Laramie]

MLS is in no way on the same par with the Fab four sports (MLB, NFL, NBA, NFL). OKC's projected population (1.4 million --2020) along with the booming population inside the CORE will take our city to a next level.

Salt Lake City (1.25 million pop.,) has its MLS franchise in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of SLC. Kansas City, Missouri's franchise is located in nearby Kansas City, KS (Children's Mercy Park).

OKC's Producer's Coop Mill site will provide a downtown stadium with an awesome view of the skyline; something Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake & Dallas (Frisco) can't duplicate.

Nearby Bricktown has the quality amenities that will bring out the best of OKC's soccer community, a clear advantage over Taft Stadium area. OKC continues to increase covered parking inside the Core and the future convention center complex (2020) will put us in a great position to secure an MLS franchise.

Our best gauge begins now, we have only one minor league soccer franchise in our metro. Funk-McLaughlin will start out with a 10,000-seat stadium for USL Energy FC that can be quickly expanded to accommodate 25,000 to 30,000. Our city can initially help with the infrastructure and roads to accommodate a future venue of this magnitude. There are many events that can be staged downtown.

City of OKC should take more interest in getting this project to fruition. Would like to see the state high school 6A & 5A playoffs moved back to OKC area from Tulsa's 30,000-seat Chapman Stadium.

[traxx]

Anything to get rid of the eyesore of the coop. And I think having HS playoffs there is a stellar idea.

[RGSR]

None of those cities have a population that is 17% Hispanic like OKC.

[kevin lee]

Around 1990 when Nashville acquired the Titans (giving the city two teams) their population was right around 1.3 million. Roughly the same size as OKC is right now. Since that day the city has boomed for various reasons. The second sport is the key. As long as it is relatively affordable then it can be a success.

I honestly think we're going to be late to the party. I've followed this situation really close. You've got others cities breaking ground or in the final design phases while we're still trying to clean up the land. There's 13 cities right now vying for an expansion team, with OKC and Louisville being the smallest. Its an uphill battle but hopeful.

[BLJR]

I think it will fly with corporate backing and they can always run ticket deals. The stadium would also offer a good outdoor venue for a concert here and there.

[_Kyle]

I honestly believe OKC can make this happen. Sports is big here in Oklahoma and I know if we make it expandable when soccer gets bigger here and not 20,000 seats to start with this will be a huge success.

[Jake]

By the time OKC hypothetically got a team it would probably be another decade to 15 years later so the population would hopefully be much larger by then.

[gopokes88]

You guys are crazy if you don't think OKC could support an MLS team and support it easily. This state is insanely sports obsessed. MLS doesn't conflict with college football and has a little but not much overlap with the NBA. Would be a smashing success, just like the Hornets.

[OKCRT]

There is no doubt in my mind that OKC could support MLS and NBA today. New Orleans has NFL and NBA and that's a smaller market than OKC. Funk should get with it asap IMO because the MLS is gaining steam. This is not like trying to support MLB. That might be hard for OKC to do but not MLS.

[Laramie]

A study in 2011 cited that OKC's support for MLS would be marginal. The OKC numbers they used since 2011 has gone up.

Corpus Christi, TX metro population 452,422 is listed as a 'YES' for support of an MLS franchise. MLS would need an additional 450,000 people; not 1 million like if a city were adding MLS, NFL or NHL as a figure used for comfort zone.

OKC with name-recognition will approach the 1,450,000 population by 2020.

http://wagesofwins.com/2011/10/31/could -your-city-give-a-sports-team-a-good-home/

[bombermwc]

Lets compare the Energy to MLS with Basketball. When we had the Cavalry (PBL), we had pretty poor attendance numbers in the Myriad, yet we won a couple championships. Throw in the Hornets and the Thunder and BAM! Total different story.

I think it's great that the Energy are doing well in the venue that they have. And i do think that if we went MLS, numbers would up tick. But im not sure we're there yet in terms of corporate sponsorship and honest fan base to keep it going past the initial push. Soccer is growing here and has been for decades. Some of the larger Thunder sponsors are having some problems now that they weren't 5 years ago....Sandridge, Chesapeake, etc.

But hey, we've got time. The Coop isn't gone yet and Funk can go ahead and build the stadium for the Energy and construct it in a way that it's easy to double it. It's just metal and concrete. Hell, some of those high school football stadiums in TX are bigger than this sucker will be, even when it's at 20K. Alan/McKinney, etc. But the best part is the location choice. If it all works out, it's the best possible location for everyone and i think we all got extremely lucky here. Not only is it central, but it will have the room to expand later without feeling boxed in.

Someone mentioned the hispanic population in OKC. I do think that is a factor, but regardless of the racial profile of the city, the economics are what drive the ticket sales. We're all pinching the pennies right now, so it's not an ideal environment for a new team. And the public/private partnership, as the city has already said, has a long way to go to be able to justify the expense given the economics of the city right now.

[OKCRT]

More people will be interested, yes. Four times the number of people? KC's stadium is a good comparison, which holds 18 in a bigger market with more pro sports. 15k here would be reasonably ambitious.

How many people went to Calvary CBA games? 2-3 thousand. How many go to NBA games? 18k. That is what we are talking about. And it will be at least 20k if they build an MLS stadium downtown and there will be other events besides soccer games.

[2Lanez]

Not exactly a fair comparison. Calvary ended in '97, Thunder arrived in '08. A lot changed between then. Thunder has fielded an exceptionally talented team, and been the only big league draw in town. MLS isn't as mainstream as the NBA. And so on.

[Laramie]

How many people went to Calvary CBA games? 2-3 thousand. How many go to NBA games? 18k. That is what we are talking about. And it will be at least 20k if they build an MLS stadium downtown and there will be other events besides soccer games.

The OKC Calvary (1997 Continental Basketball Association - CBA) when owned by Chip Land drew an average of 5,200 their first season, with several crowds that exceeded 11,000; afterword, it dropped to 3,000 as OKCRT mentioned. Mr. Land invited NBA officials to the Myriad Convention Center in an attempt to gauge OKC as a potential NBA market.

If a minor league franchise is doing great; that potentially could be a good gauge. Feel as though a city of this size that averages in the 5,000 range could tripe that with a major league franchise.

You would need to take into account the market (population/corporate support), stadium & ownership. We are suspect on the corporate end as bombermwc pointed out--much of that could change by 2020.

Fortune 500/1000 companies: https://www.geolounge.com/fortune-10...ies-list-2016/

Devon Energy 216
Chesapeake Energy 223
Continental Resources 798
Enable Midstream Partners, LP 859
OG&E Energy 921

Major corporations:

Enogex
Express Employment Professionals
Braums
CMI Roadbuilding, Inc.
Crowe & Dunlevy
Digital Designs
Globe Insurance Company
Griffin Communications
MidFirst Bank
Orange Leaf
Skulls Unlimited International
Taco Mayo Restaurants
Tinker Federal Credit Union
Tyler Media Group
Griffin Communications
Hobby Lobby
Love's Travel Stops
Paycom
Sandridge Energy
Sonic Drive Ins
Tyler Media Group

[OKCRT]

Not exactly a fair comparison. Calvary ended in '97, Thunder arrived in '08. A lot changed between then. Thunder has fielded an exceptionally talented team, and been the only big league draw in town. MLS isn't as mainstream as the NBA. And so on.

The point is you can't compare minor league to Pro league. If they are drawing 5,000 per game for minor league soccer it's a slam dunk that Pro Soccer will do just fine. 20-23k seat stadium with potential to go to 30k for special events would be about right for OKC. Lots of other events will be held there also. But,Funk better get cooking on this because it seems like every day another city is throwing their hat in the ring. OKC would be perfect for MLS since we only have the 1 Pro franchise now. This is not like MLB where you have 80 dates and a much larger fan base. I don't think OKC is ready for MLB but there's no doubt that it is ready for MLS.

[2Lanez]

The point is you can't compare minor league to Pro league. If they are drawing 5,000 per game for minor league soccer it's a slam dunk that Pro Soccer will do just fine. 20-23k seat stadium with potential to go to 30k for special events would be about right for OKC. Lots of other events will be held there also. But,Funk better get cooking on this because it seems like every day another city is throwing their hat in the ring. OKC would be perfect for MLS since we only have the 1 Pro franchise now. This is not like MLB where you have 80 dates and a much larger fan base. I don't think OKC is ready for MLB but there's no doubt that it is ready for MLS.

I agree, OKC could handle MLS. No argument there. But to say we need a bigger stadium than Dallas and Kansas City is wishful thinking.