Drank coffee too late the in day yesterday afternoon, so I was awake and tossing and turning from like 3:30-6:00am. Anyway, one of the random things racing through my mind was whether or not Tulsa is in the running for any MLS expansion franchises in the next decade or two?
If we realistically are, what are the top things that need to happen to make it a reality?
If we’re not, is that just a done deal and I can forget about it or are there some realistic things we could do to move ourselves into that conversation?
The only way Tulsa gets an "MLS" franchise is if the US professional soccer structure changes and you start to see Pro/Rel with MLS, USL Championship, USL League 1 and USL League 2 (and perhaps some other 3rd division leagues). Right now there are 3-4 3rd division leagues including USL L1 so that would need to be cleaned up because how do you promote teams who are under different league structures, different rule structures, and different salary structures? We don't have a cohesive clear structure like England does. Plus, right now, there is no way in hell MLS owners ever approve a pro/rel system that doesn't have a system for them to recoup their franchise fee costs. They're not going to let a team like FC Tulsa compete in MLS and get a share of their ad and media revenue without having paid the dues to be a part of MLS.
That said, if MLS ever went to like a 48 team system, 24 eastern conference and 24 western conference sides, it's possible. A Tulsa franchise, which could be FC Tulsa, would need the estimated $200M expansion franchise fee, a 25k seat stadium...in this case it would likely need to be stand alone and soccer specific because there isn't a stadium in Tulsa that could handle it. Skelly could be used short term until a stadium was finished, but it really doesn't have the capabilities to host soccer on that level as the pitch would be too small. I've railed on NYCFC playing at Yankee Stadium and a field that was 55 yards wide at the most which is 15 yards narrower than most world class pitches. But NYCFC is getting a soccer specific stadium in Queens across from Citi Field at the old World Expo site. Tulsa probably could not build the stadium in downtown Tulsa as space there is now at a premium. Some serious razing of abandoned structures would need to be done but doing it right would be difficult and super expensive. Now you're looking probably closer to the Jenks Riverwalk area, maybe adjacent to the new outlet mall. And that will likely eliminate some fans since it won't be in the hip downtown scene. I know the Craft's have a ton of $$$ but they would need additional investors/co-owners. QT possibly. Nordam. Not sure who else in Tulsa would be up for said venture.
