Soccer stadium planned for far North OKC (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=520-Soccer-stadium-planned-for-far-North-OKC)

Plans have been submitted that show the intention to build a soccer stadium and related facilities as a part of the Chisholm Creek development on the south side of Memorial Road between Pennsylvania and Western.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ccsports4.jpg


Although the application was submitted by an engineering company on behalf of an unknown client, the obvious implication is that this could be the future home for Oklahoma City's professional soccer team, The Energy.

Plans show stands on all four sides of the stadium. Given the size and extent of the grandstand, it appears capacity would be between 5,000 and 10,000.

Also indicated are a small office building, controlled entry gates at each corner of the property, drink stands, restroom buildings, a video scoreboard, press box, ticket booth, VIP parking, and a removable stage at the south end of the field. The configuration appears to allow for future expansion of the east and west granstands.

The planning application describes a “multisport and entertainment complex in order to accommodate team sports such as soccer, rugby, track and field and concert events”. The site plan designates two different options for a food truck park.

The property is 13.11 acres and very near an 80-acre park being consctructed by the city to the south.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ccsports2.jpg


The Oklahoma City Energy are owned by Prodigal LLC which is headed by Bob Funk Jr.

The team was launched in 2014 and played its first season in Pribil Stadium on the campus of Bishop McGuiness High School. In 2015, the team moved to a newly renovated Taft Stadium which is owned by the Oklahoma City Public Schools.

There has been much talk among fans that the current season would be the last at Taft, as the field is unusually narrow for a soccer facility and the Energy is the last team in their league to be playing at a high school stadium.

The United Soccer League, of which The Energy is a member, has a stated goal of having each of its clubs playing at soccer-specific stadium by 2020.

The Energy have been averaging about 4,000 spectators per game this season, with their largest crowd being 6,757.

Looking for a long-term home, Funk had sought to purchase the 37-acre former Producers Coop property just south of Bricktown in 2016. The plan, which ultimately fell through, was to use 10 acres for a new soccer stadium and partner with investors to develop a mix of hotels, retail, housing and other uses on the balance of the property.

Funk has expressed the desire for the Energy to ultimately join Major League Soccer (MLS) within 6 to 9 years. Previously a plan had been discussed to open a new stadium with near 10,000 seats and the capability to add 10,000 more as part of an MLS bid.

If the Energy were to occupy this Chisholm Creek stadium, it would likely be a temporary home. Funk had previously expressed the desire to locate somewhere near the Oklahoma River. Engaging the large hispanic population on the near southside has been seen as an important long-term goal.

Several professional soccer franchises have utilized 'pop-up' stadiums as a way of creating a dedicated soccer facility for their teams in a quick and efficient manner while continuing to work on longer term plans.

Chisholm Creek is a 190-acre mixed-use development featuring TopGolf, Cabela's, and many other retails and restaurants and bars. Recently, Uncle Julio's recently opened to long lines and several other restaurants are under construction including Birra Birra (http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=43784&p=1012543#post1012543), Hopdoddy (http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=43798&p=1012956#post1012956), Firebirds (http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=43895&p=1018002#post1018002) and Chalk (http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=44045&p=1024796#post1024796).

Negotiations are close to being finalized for Oklahoma's first Alamo Drafthouse (http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=44061&p=1025458#post1025458) and construction will start soon on Costco (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=464-Costco-set-to-open-first-OKC-store) just to the east of Chisholm Creek on the southeast corner of Memorial and Western.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ccsports3.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ccsports1.jpg

Good spot to pick up the Edmond crowd, further away for the South OKC crowd although access will be easy right off the turnpike.

Even though this will likely be what is considered a 'pop-up' facility, they could easily be there for quite a while, as the long-term desire is for an MLS-quality stadium is still the plan for somewhere near the river.

I understand they have had extensive talks with the Strawberry Fields people but it's hard to imagine how that would work given the huge investment in the land there.

Personally, I am not a fan of this. If it will be a temporary home for the Emergy, what will it be used for once they have a new stadium? It will more than likely just sit empty. That area could be better used for something else, IMO.

A pop-up stadium, which is what the Energy are planing on using last I heard, wouldn’t take a lot of permanent work on that spot and could be removed rather easily. It would be a good placeholder while the rest of CC is developed, and then it could become a permanent stadium if the Energy stays there or be removed for a different development there.

Remember, Chisholm Creek is 180 acres and there is nothing planned for this particular area for some time.

If the Energy was to use this pop-up for 5 years, only then will that area even start to be developed.

And it could be easily adapted to another use.


It all makes a lot of sense as the Energy works to find a long-term site near the river. That could easily take 5-10 years.

The 3rd temporary stadium for the energy.

TBH, its getting kind of old. I can see why the fan base is shrinking.

I dont think its a bad spot for a permanent stdium though.

Kind of reminds me of the proposed university north park arena. You can go down there for dinner and a game, and then go have drinks afterwards. The one form of entertainment that Chisolm is missing right now is live sports.

If anyone thinks the traffic in the Penn/Memorial area is bad now, just wait.

Wouldn’t this be like the Dallas stadium in Frisco? It isn’t near the Hispanic area of DFW and does well.

I know many or most on this board hate anything north of 30th street, but this is an area really providing lots of entertainment for all with good quality food, shopping, etc. It isn’t very walkable, but I doubt 10,000 people would walk or mass trans ro a stadium in Strawberry Fields, etc.

Wouldn’t this be like the Dallas stadium in Frisco? It isn’t near the Hispanic area of DFW and does well.

I know many or most on this board hate anything north of 30th street, but this is an area really providing lots of entertainment for all with good quality food, shopping, etc. It isn’t very walkable, but I doubt 10,000 people would walk or mass trans ro a stadium in Strawberry Fields, etc.

Have you ever walked around Chisholm Creek? Granted, there are no sidewalks, but it's early enough in development that's it's super EASY to walk around. And there's already ample food and drink in the DIRECT area. I'm oddly completely okay with this location for now.


And as far as traffic goes, this won't make it any worse, seriously. Memorial and Penn/Western is already so terrible, making it "worse" is inconsequential. What's 6,000 more people in the area that already sees an insane amount of traffic.

Have you ever walked around Chisholm Creek? Granted, there are no sidewalks, but it's early enough in development that's it's super EASY to walk around. And there's already ample food and drink in the DIRECT area. I'm oddly completely okay with this location for now.


And as far as traffic goes, this won't make it any worse, seriously. Memorial and Penn/Western is already so terrible, making it "worse" is inconsequential. What's 6,000 more people in the area that already sees an insane amount of traffic.

I was referring to the whole area not being walkable. Chisholm Creek itself will be walkable.

Have you ever walked around Chisholm Creek? Granted, there are no sidewalks, but it's early enough in development that's it's super EASY to walk around. And there's already ample food and drink in the DIRECT area. I'm oddly completely okay with this location for now.


And as far as traffic goes, this won't make it any worse, seriously. Memorial and Penn/Western is already so terrible, making it "worse" is inconsequential. What's 6,000 more people in the area that already sees an insane amount of traffic.

That's an "optimistic" number really if your talking about soccer attendance. They don't get half that number now.

That's an "optimistic" number really if your talking about soccer attendance. They don't get half that number now.

Sort of my point. It's been like, 2,000 this season. Presumably with this new venue, you'd think they could average 6,000 being up into/near Edmond and North OKC though.

Even if we bumped it up to 10k, I really don't see it affecting traffic that much. You can't take a terrible traffic situation and dramatically make it worse. It's just going to get a bit slower. Still terrible, mind you.

So far this season the averaged attendance is 3,964. Also moving to a new stadium can help energy fc be in compliance with USSF and able to host Open Cups games instead of going on the road to a really crappy stadium and play bad teams.

^

I think that # is paid attendance, not actual butts in seats.

The stadium that went from being a potential game changer in downtown OKC to ending up behind a Walmart in essentially Edmond. What a historic turnaround...

The stadium that went from being a potential game changer in downtown OKC to ending up behind a Walmart in essentially Edmond. What a historic turnaround...

Just an interim step. They still want to build near the river.

Wouldn’t this be like the Dallas stadium in Frisco? It isn’t near the Hispanic area of DFW and does well.

As a DFW resident, I can say that the Frisco site is such a monumental failure. Please don’t try to mimic it. Their attendance would be dramatically higher if they’d located in the Dallas or Fort Worth cores.

“multisport and entertainment complex in order to accommodate team sports such as soccer, rugby, track and field and concert events”....does not sound like a temporary complex to me.

Pop-up stadiums are easy to build, and easy to expand or remove.

http://midfieldpress.com/2017/08/14/understanding-modular-stadiums-the-future-of-lower-division-soccer/

http://www.us.jll.com/united-states/en-us/news/4697/jll-builds-phoenix-rising-fc-soccer-stadium

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/2015/11/the-future-of-stadiums-might-be-no-stadium-at-all/amp

“multisport and entertainment complex in order to accommodate team sports such as soccer, rugby, track and field and concert events”....does not sound like a temporary complex to me.

Temporary for the Energy, not necessarily that it won't live on when they move.

I've been told directly by people who know that this will be a 'pop-up' stadium and meant to be a temporary move until the Energy can build what they want in the core.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGTkIdlXoXQ

Regarding “pop-up” stadiums:

For the past few World Cups, and Olympic as well I think, many of the stadium expansions were basically pop-up stadiums attached to existing stadiums. Some of them were then moved to be standalone “new” stadiums in other cities after the event.

While I'd prefer a permanent and larger stadium along the river, I really like the idea of a small stadium at Chisholm Creek. CC is going to be a mecca of restaurants and other entertainment venues. I can easily see the stadium getting a large attendance there and the restaurants and other venues benefiting from the stadium. When the Energy goes to their permanent home, it can be repurposed into a multi use facility as stated above.

I'm not professing knowledge on this subject, but has anyone considered the idea that this may not be being driven by the Energy? What I mean is this: while I would agree with the assessment that the Energy is almost certainly the desired tenant, has anyone considered the idea that the developer of Chisholm Creek is driving this as a pitch to the Energy? Would make sense for the developer to pitch this if:


They know Prodigal desires a new location and that a temporary location and "pop-up" stadium would be an acceptable option for now
There are no immediate plans to develop this particular portion of CC
The stadium would provide game and event nights to feed business to existing and incoming CC tenants

I'm just saying this seems to benefit CC as much or even more than the Energy, and creates a temporary activation similar to (but obviously much larger than) Bleu Garten did in Midtown, for instance. Would make sense for CC to make such a pitch to the Energy, and depending on timelines would also make sense for them to get engineering and even permitting underway just in case they were told yes.

There seems to be lots of assumption here that this is a done deal, and unless there is something else known that hasn't been reported here I'd caution against taking it to the bank.

I was told by someone in the know that the Energy hired ADG to design a new pop-up stadium for them, and this plan has ADG's name on it. Mass Architects has done all of Chisholm Creek's work.

Also, everyone involved in this project has signed strict NDA's.

Remember, Prodigal (parent of The Energy) has produced many sporting events and concerts over the years. This venue was specifically designed to be used for other sports and concerts as well as soccer.

The Energy aren't talking right now but I'm 98% sure they are driving this entire project.

^^^^^^^^
That’s why I said “unless there’s something else known that hasn’t been reported...”. Those details paint a fuller picture, of course.

I'm not a fan of the move north either, but after five years at this site, with all the pre-game food and entertainment options, once they do move to a central location (maybe the river), and once again don't have the nearby (walkable) food and entertainment options, we might hear similar groaning about that move even though it's the one we currently prefer.

I cant figure out why 5 miles makes such a difference, especially if the trade off is better local dining and drink options and other entertainment, and great parking.

I just don't see how the area they're putting this pop-up stadium in is going to seem walkable until Chisholm Creek eventually builds out around it. For the next several years, this is just going to be a stadium in the middle of a treeless field, and you can continue to count on approximately 7 home games a year being played in 90+ degree heat (though I'm hoping the move at least allows them to move the kickoff times of the mid-summer games from 7:30 to 8:00). I'm also interested to see how the parking situation plays out. I'm assuming they'll put temporary lots around the stadium for now, and eventually build a garage or two once the area around the stadium builds up. I'd expect the Energy to be here for 5-10 seasons at least, as I don't think the funding for the stadium along the river is going to come as easily as they think without a major boost in attendance, and I don't see this stadium moving the needle very much.

Well they just ensured that they'll lose the South OKC (And all points south..Moore/Norman) population for any games, killing their attendance even more. Like i said, the further you go in one direction, the more you lose people .And contrary to the inflated Edmond egos, it cannot survive off only Edmond spectators. The Energy has been going downhill for quite a while now. If they're supposed to be a gauge for how OKC responds to MLS, i hope that MLS is watching the bad decision making on the Energy's part and not holding the city back because of it. We already know that attendance in semi-pro does NOT equate attendance in pro, but this is bad. REALLY bad If we can't get more than a couple thousand folks in the stands for soccer games, forget it.

People already had to drive to north okc ro attend these games. Is a few miles gonna make that big of a difference? If so, they dont seem like committed fans.

Myself and my inflated Edmond ego will continue to attend the games if they move up here

Distance will be better for some, and worse for others.

Access, parking, and pre/post game food options will be better. Tailgating options will be better as well.

It’s a pop up stadium, but if they could manage to do something about shade, it would help as well.

I know we like to think that hardcore fans and supporter groups make and break teams and attendance, but the truth is that it’s mostly the casual fans and families that drive up the attendance numbers. Quality of play, which is improving, is a big factor.

Well they just ensured that they'll lose the South OKC (And all points south..Moore/Norman) population for any games, killing their attendance even more. Like i said, the further you go in one direction, the more you lose people .And contrary to the inflated Edmond egos, it cannot survive off only Edmond spectators. The Energy has been going downhill for quite a while now. If they're supposed to be a gauge for how OKC responds to MLS, i hope that MLS is watching the bad decision making on the Energy's part and not holding the city back because of it. We already know that attendance in semi-pro does NOT equate attendance in pro, but this is bad. REALLY bad If we can't get more than a couple thousand folks in the stands for soccer games, forget it.
Much more likely attendance goes up at games here. Visibility is high. Lots of food and other entertainment in the area. Tickets will seem cheap. Access is good.

If the southsiders won’t drive just a few miles north then they weren’t soccer fans to start with. And yes, Edmond supports soccer in a great way, as does north OKC. You way underestimate the participation level in this part of town.

Much more likely attendance goes up at games here. Visibility is high. Lots of food and other entertainment in the area. Tickets will seem cheap. Access is good.

If the southsiders won’t drive just a few miles north then they weren’t soccer fans to start with. And yes, Edmond supports soccer in a great way, as does north OKC. You way underestimate the participation level in this part of town.

Plus with the turnpike right there it makes it easy to pull from Mustang and Yukon.

My take on this:

1. The Energy has been getting strong pressure from the league to move out of Taft because it is not a soccer-specific stadium and because it is too narrow for cup matches.

2. Attendance at Taft has not been stellar.

3. They aren't nearly ready to build their long-term stadium in their preferred long-term location.

4. Chisholm Creek is an easy solution due to the existing infrastructure and accessibility. It's a good deal for CC because it draws people and that area would have likely remained vacant for quite a while.

5. Prodigal could continue to operate the venue for events and concerts if/when the Energy move to their permanent home.

6. 'Temporary' things have a way of becoming a lot longer than anticipated. And, they could merely decide to not uproot themselves once again and just expand/enhance the facility down the road.

Having been going to games at Taft for 4 years now...
I'm ready for some food and drink options.
Bring on the move.

Well they just ensured that they'll lose the South OKC (And all points south..Moore/Norman) population for any games, killing their attendance even more. Like i said, the further you go in one direction, the more you lose people .And contrary to the inflated Edmond egos, it cannot survive off only Edmond spectators. The Energy has been going downhill for quite a while now. If they're supposed to be a gauge for how OKC responds to MLS, i hope that MLS is watching the bad decision making on the Energy's part and not holding the city back because of it. We already know that attendance in semi-pro does NOT equate attendance in pro, but this is bad. REALLY bad If we can't get more than a couple thousand folks in the stands for soccer games, forget it.


My first reaction was negative to the move as I live in South OKC. But in afterthought, why not.
The Taft is poorly located and in a residential no mans land.
AT least the CC stadium maybe able to let you grab a drink before and after. I am not fond of this type suburban development but it can make for a fun outing which is not the case of the actual stadium.
For a temporary solution the Bricktown ballpark may have been interesting but it is a baseball stadium...

I think the actual physical location of the stadium itself is only one factor, especially once you consider the available amenities (including parking) in the vicinity.

If you are coming from the south on I-44, you will get off on NW 23rd, hit May, then you end up driving through residential neighborhoods to try and find a parking spot somewhere along the neighborhood, then you still walk a fair distance back to the stadium. And none of those neighborhood streets have sidewalks. So you end up walking with kids and strollers in the narrow street, with cars parked on both sides of the road, and more cars driving up and down looking for parking spots rather than watching for kids on the road. Purely counting driving time, it will be right at 10 minutes longer to get from I-44 & NW 23rd to Top Golf than it is to get from I-44 & NW 23rd to Miller & NW 26th (random block in the neighborhood next to Taft Stadium where I usually end up parking). I know it doesn't seem like that on paper, but by the time you get off I-44 and head to Taft, drive up and down a couple streets to find a parking spot, and walk to Taft, you can drive up I-44 to CC, park closer to the stadium, and walk a short distance to get there. The road will either have sidewalks to navigate with families, or (more likely in that location for now) empty fields to walk on with kids and strollers.

If you are coming from Yukon or El Reno, the Turnpike makes it pretty quick to get up there (If you have a Pikepass or are willing to pay the tolls, which is one of the biggest complaints against FC Dallas. It's not so much that they are in Frisco, it's that they are surrounded by Toll Roads.) If you are coming from SE Oklahoma City it will likely be quicker to keep on driving North on I-35/I-235 than trying to double back on I-40 and up I-44. It will be a lot quicker than trying to make it across NW 23rd (or any other through street) from I-235. If you are coming from NE Oklahoma City it will be quicker than taking I-44 across to NW 23rd or North May. Especially once you consider that every one of those approaches still has 10+ minutes of finding a parking spot and walking to the stadium added to the time.

As far as things to do before and after the game, you will have a lot of options at CC. Walking to and from Penn & Highland or the Top Golf area is the same distance that people are walking now simply to park. You can park your car once, then go eat/drink and go to the game and then eat/drink some more rather than having to grab food and then get back in the car to head to Taft. There will be a park across the street for families to picnic and play soccer with the kids before heading to the game. The time saved on ancillary activities more than makes up for the short driving distance.

I think you really have to do more than looking at a map to evaluate the new location.

Also, everyone involved in this project has signed strict NDA's.


A lot of good those did

I live closer to Taft, but I'm much more likely to go to a game at Chisholm Creek due to the surrounding food and entertainment options. I have a hard time convincing people to go to games with me now because it's just a game, but I suspect it'll be easier to get friends to go if we can eat/drink/golf/etc. and make an evening out if it.

Do they sell beer/drinks at Taft for Energy games?

Do they sell beer/drinks at Taft for Energy games?

I haven't been to a game yet this season, but last year they had at least one Anthem tent where you had a choice of maybe 4 different offerings. Not sure if they had other stuff (the usual light domestics) or if it was an exclusive agreement with Anthem. Not sure about mixed drinks, but I'm leaning towards no.

Do they sell beer/drinks at Taft for Energy games?

Yes, they have a contract with COOP Ale Works, but they only offer COOP's low point options since they are on school property. Their contract with Anthem Brewing ended last year. They also offer other low point options such as Modelo, Corona and Bud Light.

Yes, they have a contract with COOP Ale Works, but they only offer COOP's low point options since they are on school property. Their contract with Anthem Brewing ended last year. They also offer other low point options such as Modelo, Corona and Bud Light.

I knew there were issues due to the property being owned by the school district. And of course, 3.2 beer is likely to completely go away when the liquor laws change this October.

You can see on the new plans they have included several drink tents. Just moving off the school property completely frees them to sell all the real beer and alcohol they want.

Even ignoring all the other food/drink options on Penn and in CC, just the expanded drink options and the room for food trucks makes this a good move despite a 10 minute drive north.

But it's not walkable!!!!!

I've learned the Energy has been conducting focus groups of season ticket holders and random people around Oklahoma City.

They are trying to gauge interest and reaction to moving to this Chisholm Creek location for 3-5 years.

The moderators have told the groups the reaction has been largely negative and they are seeking more input.

It could simply be they've already made the decision and are hoping to better manage the move. Or, of course, they could change their plans based on the feedback.


I bet it is the former rather than the latter. They really have to move out of Taft soon and there is no way they will have a permanent home ready in the core by that time.

I'm sure they took a strong look at establishing the temp location near the river/downtown but I believe a driving force is to be near other eating/drinking establishments, so that obviously is limiting.

This to me seems like an easier way of getting into a soccer specific stadium without dealing with the higher land prices and possible public push back from building near the river or core. This is private land for a private matter so no need to get caught up with the City and taxpayers. I rather them try this cheaper option first and see how it goes before investing megabucks and the political capitol it will take when they look to locate along the river.

As a season seat holder I am in support of this move. I support the team and want to see professional soccer grow in the U.S. and OKC. I also like all of the surrounding amenities that CC brings. If they could build a nice hotel or two near this site it will be even better. I know Aloft is just down the street to the west, but you need to cross over Penn Ave. This almost makes me think of what Sporting KC did, except we don't have a Nascar track nearby.

All you really need to know about how well this move is likely to be received is that Sunday will almost certainly be the Energy's final home game at Taft, and I've not seen anything advertising it as such.

It seems the decision may not be finalized.

As I mentioned up thread, the Energy was conducting focus groups to get feedback on the possible move -- temporarily -- to Chisholm Creek.

It's possible they stay at Taft another season, although the pressures from the league seem to indicate they will be more or less forced to move to this new spot then use the info from the focus groups to try and minimize the backlash.


But let's face it, attendance has not been very good this season.

Went to a season seat holder event last night for the Energy. Ownership is proactively working on getting a solution, however they gave every one the line that with each day passing the likelihood of us staying at Taft next season grows. They would did not deny nor take credit for these stadium plans and from the focus group discussions there were a handful of other locations around OKC that ownership were asking for thoughts on. I honestly don't know what we will be doing. Ownership and staff seem to really be working hard on figuring out an alternative to Taft but are not wanting to rush into something half-baked. I have heard from a number of people who used to support the Energy in the first 2 seasons that they plan on returning when the team moves out of Taft... Not sure why they stopped coming, but that is their position. I see our attendance improving if we were to move to a better suited location with bars, restaurants, and other amenities close by. Taft is the only thing around, no bars or anything, so fans are only driving in and then leaving.

^

Thanks for the info.

It sounds very much like the feedback they have been receiving regarding Chisholm has not been good, which is why they may stay at Taft at least one more season.


I suspect that they could make it work at Chisholm and that attendance would actually go up... But the bigger issue is moving again in 3-5 years to yet another completely different area of town, as they almost certainly will want their permanent stadium near the river somewhere.

^

Thanks for the info.

It sounds very much like the feedback they have been receiving regarding Chisholm has not been good, which is why they may stay at Taft at least one more season.


I suspect that they could make it work at Chisholm and that attendance would actually go up... But the bigger issue is moving again in 3-5 years to yet another completely different area of town, as they almost certainly will want their permanent stadium near the river somewhere.

Talking with some of the people around me was very mixed, if not leaning negative on the location of Chisholm Creek, so I could see the majority of fans wanting a better, more central location in OKC.

But let's face it, attendance has not been very good this season.

From a team support perspective, they beat Tulsa on March 17 and then lost 12 of the next 13 games in all (and the the non-loss was a draw with Tulsa). Even though they came roaring back with plenty of wins and some draws, I'm sure it sucked the air out of fairweather fans.

From a team support perspective, they beat Tulsa on March 17 and then lost 12 of the next 13 games in all (and the the non-loss was a draw with Tulsa). Even though they came roaring back with plenty of wins and some draws, I'm sure it sucked the air out of fairweather fans.

Since that loosing streak we have dropped a number of players and signed some really great talent that knows the new coaches system and has performed very well this second half of the season. Most plays and staff are slated to return next season, so I see next season having more consistent success.

Since that loosing streak we have dropped a number of players and signed some really great talent that knows the new coaches system and has performed very well this second half of the season. Most plays and staff are slated to return next season, so I see next season having more consistent success.

Oh yeah. I never lost faith, but it had to have hurt attendance from people that aren't soccer/football club supporters.

It's my understanding that this pop-up stadium is still moving forward.

It's not a done deal but despite the feedback from the focus groups the Energy conducted which showed resistance to this far-north location, it still seems to be the best mid-term solution.

Obviously, they are already working towards a MAPS 4 stadium, but they may land at Chisholm Creek until the permanent home is sorted out.