Rayo OKC

[Snowman]

Calling San Jose a "small market" is comical. That slicing of the bay area exists only because there are three central cities in the region. The whole region's CSA has 8.6 million people making it the fifth largest metro in the nation.

It is only slightly closer between the center of Tulsa - OKC than the centers of San Jose - San Francisco or Oakland; for a lot of things it they are different markets, I have doubts MLS is going to be drawing a lot from San Francisco or Oakland.

[Laramie]

Calling San Jose a "small market" is comical. That slicing of the bay area exists only because there are three central cities in the region. The whole region's CSA has 8.6 million people making it the fifth largest metro in the nation.

Comical, don't make me laugh!

I didn't call it a small market. Simply put, Salt Lake City & San Jose are the two smallest markets in the MLS.

San Jose, CA has its own defined metropolitan area that ranks 34th among U.S. metropolitan areas behind current MLS markets Columbus (1,994,536), Kansas City (2,071,133) & Orlando (2,321,418).

[kwhey]

So instead of bringing an ECHL team here, Lund would rather hold a grudge and divide the market.

[borchard]

Looking forward to it! I'll buy ST's as soon as I can!

[AP]

NASL to officially announce Oklahoma City franchise | NewsOK.com

[kwhey]

Looking forward to it! I'll buy ST's as soon as I can!

Good for you. Enjoy the 800 people who will be there with you.

[Zuplar]

You don't have to be butt hurt that he was right all this time lol.

[Jake]

All the more reason for a soccer stadium, I guess.

[kwhey]

You don't have to be butt hurt that he was right all this time lol.

Because Lund and the NASL exercising their vendetta against Funk and McLaughlin and dividing the market is a good thing?

[elitespy]

I really don't think they will split the market, sure some of the soccer moms from Yukon/Mustang might switch over because it's closer but the core fans and the grid won't be leaving any time soon. Taft isn't really a fantastic location but at least it's in the city and not a suburb. I'm not too worried especially with the turn outs from the playoffs this year.

[borchard]

Good for you. Enjoy the 800 people who will be there with you.

Yep. Add about 50 more people and you have a good Barons crowd

[Swake]

It is only slightly closer between the center of Tulsa - OKC than the centers of San Jose - San Francisco or Oakland; for a lot of things it they are different markets, I have doubts MLS is going to be drawing a lot from San Francisco or Oakland.

San Jose to Oakland is 40 miles and to San Francisco is 48 miles. Tulsa to OKC is 106 miles. San Jose is less than half as far with almost four times as many people. For reference, Sacramento and it's 2.5 million people is closer to the Bay Area than Tulsa is to OKC.

It's all one very large urban area. Why wouldn't MLS fans travel from Oakland or San Francisco? The San Francisco 49rs now play in Santa Clara which is just five miles to San Jose and still over 40 to San Francisco. The Raiders are considering moving to the same stadium and keeping the Oakland name.

San Jose's "market" is 8.6 million people.

[Laramie]

Agree with Swake about the large market that San Jose now enjoys.

The point is that if you're going to look at SF and San Jose as the same market, then you're talking about the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area, which is pretty mammoth with over 8 million people in it.

That's a market that should be able to easily sustain two teams. There are a number of MLS teams in markets that are smaller than half of the CSA (ie, have fewer than 4 million people in them) that are doing quite well.

https://www.quora.com/Why-doesnt-MLS...nto-the-league

Atlanta and Los Angeles FC are slated to start in 2017, and in late March Minnesota United was given an expansion team to join in 2018.

As for Miami, the 24th spot remains in the hands of David Beckham's ownership group, Miami Beckham United, although the search for a suitable stadium site continues.

Examining the candidates for the next round of MLS expansion - ESPN FC Sacramento is on the radar for an MLS post 2020.

[Laramie]

All the more reason for a soccer stadium, I guess.

Couldn't hurt to build a 25,000 seat stadium to serve the needs of high school football, large outdoor gatherings & soccer in the core area of our city. Tulsa area 6-A football schools have an advantage because Taft can only host 5-A and below. Chapman's 30,000 capacity trumps anything we have except Norman's Memorial Stadium which is oversized for those events.

It would be an added boost for the merchants in the Midtown-Bricktown-Downtown area. I doubt if two mid level soccer franchises can survive in Oklahoma City proper.

The Thunder is still the big bad deva in Oklahoma City. The more well-rounded a market, the more people you attract--the more stable & solid those restaurants & businesses become.

We have a well established USL base in the core of Oklahoma City. OKC Energy FC has had a two year head start on marketing their brand. That doesn't mean that West Oklahoma City, Bethany, Tuttle, Mustang, Yukon, Union City & El Reno can't support another quality franchise in a tier II league. We'll see...

[borchard]

I just put my deposit down on ST's! :-)

[Laramie]

La Liga?s Rayo Vallecano And Local Businessman Team Up To Bring NASL Club To Oklahoma City | NASL

Home | Rayo OKC

[borchard]

Watching the US game right now. They are playing in Busch Stadium and it looks like a great atmosphere BECAUSE they lined the field down one of the foul lines, unlike what Tulsa does, and puts it almost in the outfield.

[bradh]

It's still soccer on a baseball diamond.

It's a shame, STL seems like a city that would kill it with an MLS franchise. If they had an ownership group and a SSS it would be great.

[kwhey]

So they gonna play or nah? Two months until you should be playing friendlies. It looks like Rayo Yukon is DOA.

[borchard]

Going to play, from what I know. Maybe stick to things you know like Barons hockey and the energy

[kwhey]

Going to play, from what I know. Maybe stick to things you know like Barons hockey and the energy

Because they have signed 0 players and 0 coaches. Lol. Two months. Better hurry. Maybe Yukon will change their minds and let you remove the paint from the end zones.

[elitespy]

From the looks of it one fan on Twitter, haha. I do find it funny that fans of the Parent club dislike Rayo Yukon so much.

[borchard]

From the owner that I talked to this morning:

1. They have moved into their new offices on N. Walker.
2. They have finalized a deal with a head coach. They are waiting to sign his contract and then have a press conference to announce him.
3. As soon as the coach is signed they will also be announcing players that will be coming here.
3. They have a Technical Director, who will be announced at the same press conference, that has been in contact with several European players who are ready to come to OKC.

[borchard]

From the looks of it one fan on Twitter, haha. I do find it funny that fans of the Parent club dislike Rayo Yukon so much.

Guess it good the games arent played on Twitter

[borchard]

And as far as this "one fan on Twitter" thing? The last time I looked Rayo had over 1,600 followers between the English-speaking, and Spanish-speaking, twitter accounts. And that's after, really, less than two months. Going to have alot more in the future, but that's already about 100 more than a good Barons crowd.