MAPS 4 Stadium

[BDP]

I'm not a wordy person but I was saying that Dolphins attendance doesn't mean the team is financially struggling.

For sure. I was just going agreeing with you with a much more wordy response than was probably needed. lol

[Laramie]

MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium has a $41 million funding budget. Bob Funk Jr., was allowed to chose among the 4 choices, he chose the lowest most inexpensive 8,000 seat venue. It doesn't look favorable that USL will ever return to OKC under Funk-McLaughlin ownership.

The stadium IMO will need to be located near FAM or OKANA sites or somewhere favorable to existing parking to make it a more viable venue. The stadium will need to seat 12,000 - 15,000 or more. The more seating configuration options available, the more events like outdoor concerts, large gatherings or XFL/USFL spring football can be attracted.

We need a new USL ownership group to take over where the previous group left off or a spring football franchise (XFL or USFL).

IMO it is going to take time and money to build a fan base for soccer or American spring football. Don't feel the 'Funk group' is up to the task. Let's build something better than a 'bare bones' stadium to usher 2027 for our city.

MAPS 4 construction starts: https://www.okc.gov/government/timeline

[ShadowStrings]

My completely unrealistic dream is still for it to go by lower Scissortail Park in the land surrounded by SW 10th, SW 15th, Walker, and Harvey.

[Colbafone]

Check this out, just to sort of give us a scope of work.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/07/pro...20early%202026.



So that's being built in Rogers. About $15 million and 5k seats.

[shavethewhales]

Yup, that project is a really good benchmark for other cities looking to expand their sports amenities. USL is super stable and growing rapidly in popularity right now. Soccer in the US is out of the weeds it seems. FC Tulsa has been doing pretty well from all outside appearances, and I believe the OKC Energy would be selling out games if they were still active. A capacity of 5000 is pretty small - they'll be expanding that before long hopefully. Tulsa has regularly gotten more than that. 5000 is about average attendance across the USL, with the top clubs getting around 10,000 and the bottom clubs barely getting anyone to come.

[caaokc]

Yup, that project is a really good benchmark for other cities looking to expand their sports amenities. USL is super stable and growing rapidly in popularity right now. Soccer in the US is out of the weeds it seems. FC Tulsa has been doing pretty well from all outside appearances, and I believe the OKC Energy would be selling out games if they were still active. A capacity of 5000 is pretty small - they'll be expanding that before long hopefully. Tulsa has regularly gotten more than that. 5000 is about average attendance across the USL, with the top clubs getting around 10,000 and the bottom clubs barely getting anyone to come.

Would the Energy be selling out now? Attendance was pretty low when they were active

[SEMIweather]

Would the Energy be selling out,m? Attendance was pretty low when they were active

When the Energy actually put some effort into marketing the team, they were consistently getting around 5k at Taft. Realistically, if the Energy gets new ownership that actually cares about the team I think you could maybe achieve 7.5k average attendance in a new stadium with modern amenities, given that the Metro has grown since 2015-16 and the popularity of soccer continues to increase over time.

[borchard]

When the Energy actually put some effort into marketing the team, they were consistently getting around 5k at Taft. Realistically, if the Energy gets new ownership that actually cares about the team I think you could maybe achieve 7.5k average attendance in a new stadium with modern amenities, given that the Metro has grown since 2015-16 and the popularity of soccer continues to increase over time.

Every USL game is available on demand on ESPN+. For the last year or two that the Energy played I would go through almost every home game, fast-forwarding to somewhere in the middle of the 1st half so as to be fair. I'd then stop the video on a goal kick that would show the east stands. I'm not exaggerating when I say that there were times I would actually count less than 100 people in the entire stands. Many times there were 100-200 people there. This led me to believe that many times there were ~ 500-700 people actually at the game, but the stated attendance would be 2-3000. The stated reason that they didn't play LAST year was planned upgrades to Taft that would preclude them from playing. I haven't heard a reason for this year? But I've always wondered why they didn't make an effort to play at Bricktown Ballpark? FC Tulsa plays at the Drillers Stadium. And, IMHO, Bricktown Ballpark would be an amazing venue for several reasons: Parking. Eating, Drinking, Location. Does someone have an actual reason why this hasn't been done? And PLEASE don't say that the Dodgers wouldn't allow it. The Dodgers don't own the stadium. The city does, as far as I know. Anyway, sorry this was so long

[Dob Hooligan]

The Energy can't play at Taft Stadium because the USL decided they would no longer allow non-regulation size fields to be used for USL games. Taft won't remove the track portion of their field in order to allow that to happen.

The Dodgers are the controlling tenant of the stadium. They don't think it is a good use of their time and field. The Tulsa Drillers also own the USL team, IIRC.

I don't think there is really a good market for soccer in OKC. People have been talking and working since the Slickers of the early 1980s. Just never any sustained success.

[AnguisHerba]

The Energy can't play at Taft Stadium because the USL decided they would no longer allow non-regulation size fields to be used for USL games. Taft won't remove the track portion of their field in order to allow that to happen.

The Dodgers are the controlling tenant of the stadium. They don't think it is a good use of their time and field. The Tulsa Drillers also own the USL team, IIRC.

I don't think there is really a good market for soccer in OKC. People have been talking and working since the Slickers of the early 1980s. Just never any sustained success.

It seems like Soccer is in a different moment now in the United States generally. Some stats from @JoePompliano on Twitter:
From 2007 to 2023
- MLS Annual TV increased from $8M to $250M
- MLS Average Attendance Increased from 15,000 to 21,000 (40% increase)
- MLS Average Franchise Value Increased from $37M to $579M.

But first and foremost OKC would need an invested ownership group to actively market and grow the sport, and the Funks are not that (as has already been said many times).

[SEMIweather]

Every USL game is available on demand on ESPN+. For the last year or two that the Energy played I would go through almost every home game, fast-forwarding to somewhere in the middle of the 1st half so as to be fair. I'd then stop the video on a goal kick that would show the east stands. I'm not exaggerating when I say that there were times I would actually count less than 100 people in the entire stands. Many times there were 100-200 people there. This led me to believe that many times there were ~ 500-700 people actually at the game, but the stated attendance would be 2-3000. The stated reason that they didn't play LAST year was planned upgrades to Taft that would preclude them from playing. I haven't heard a reason for this year? But I've always wondered why they didn't make an effort to play at Bricktown Ballpark? FC Tulsa plays at the Drillers Stadium. And, IMHO, Bricktown Ballpark would be an amazing venue for several reasons: Parking. Eating, Drinking, Location. Does someone have an actual reason why this hasn't been done? And PLEASE don't say that the Dodgers wouldn't allow it. The Dodgers don't own the stadium. The city does, as far as I know. Anyway, sorry this was so long

The stated reason for this year is that the USL would no longer give them an exemption to play at Taft due to the pitch dimensions being too narrow. This is reasonable - all USL pitches are supposed to be 70 yards wide, and measuring on Google Maps you can see that the pitch at Taft was approximately 65.7 yards wide. But, your guess is as good as mine (or anyone else's) for why they haven't tried to play somewhere else. They could certainly fit in a pitch at the Bricktown Ballpark - it would be a tight squeeze, but I've measured and it would work. The UCO football stadium would be another option.

[shavethewhales]

Most people sit along the center of the field. The cheap tickets are at the end zone and that's often where the supporters group sits. OKC is a huge market for soccer, there's no denying this. The thing is, you can't just plop down a team and expect it to work. People come out for good teams that are well managed by an owner that understands both the team and the fans. The Energy had a ton of issues that turned off fans. The Tulsa Roughnecks also struggled when they were owned by the Tulsa Drillers ownership group. The team was sold a few years ago and rebranded as FC Tulsa. The new ownership understands soccer far better than the previous group, and even though the team isn't always that great they have been growing the fanbase and attendance. Playing at a baseball stadium isn't ideal, but it works and the location can't be beat. I'm not sure about the field dimensions at Bricktown, but if they could do it there then it'd work great. Tulsa's stadium seems to have been designed with a thought given to soccer, though we did have to install a retractable pitcher's mound.

[citywokchinesefood]

I think the biggest problem with the Energy is that Bob Funk Jr. is not a serious person, and Bob Funk Sr. does not give a flying **** about soccer. Every article I have seen about Junior is that he has made his own name, and is his own man, all done with his father's money. Prodigal is an apt name for the company that has mishandled the Energy for its entire tenure in OKC. I genuinely believe that the reason we do not currently have the Energy playing in OKC is because of two things: Senior was sick and tired of losing money for a team that isn't even in the MLS, Junior didn't put in the effort to scout alternative locations and create the relationships necessary to utilize them. The Bricktown Ballpark is a gorgeous facility for a AAA ball club and would have been a great interim location. The Chickasaw like money, and they like to keep their facilities activated. The fact that prodigal didn't attempt to utilize their facility or one of the many others that could have accommodated the Energy until a purpose-built facility is ready is irresponsible. Their stewardship of the organization needs to come to an end, Prodigal has been an embarrassment for Oklahoma City. We should have a local pro soccer team that is a serious organization, we have the correct demographic. This city will support a well run professional sports franchise, the Thunder is one of the best examples in pro sports, and we should hold the grifters asking for handouts to the same standard we hold them too.

[Dob Hooligan]

I think the biggest problem with the Energy is that Bob Funk Jr. is not a serious person, and Bob Funk Sr. does not give a flying **** about soccer. Every article I have seen about Junior is that he has made his own name, and is his own man, all done with his father's money. Prodigal is an apt name for the company that has mishandled the Energy for its entire tenure in OKC. I genuinely believe that the reason we do not currently have the Energy playing in OKC is because of two things: Senior was sick and tired of losing money for a team that isn't even in the MLS, Junior didn't put in the effort to scout alternative locations and create the relationships necessary to utilize them. The Bricktown Ballpark is a gorgeous facility for a AAA ball club and would have been a great interim location. The Chickasaw like money, and they like to keep their facilities activated. The fact that prodigal didn't attempt to utilize their facility or one of the many others that could have accommodated the Energy until a purpose-built facility is ready is irresponsible. Their stewardship of the organization needs to come to an end, Prodigal has been an embarrassment for Oklahoma City. We should have a local pro soccer team that is a serious organization, we have the correct demographic. This city will support a well run professional sports franchise, the Thunder is one of the best examples in pro sports, and we should hold the grifters asking for handouts to the same standard we hold them too.

I think the only relationship the Chickasaw have with the ballpark is the naming rights. They do not mange or operate the facility IIRC.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^^
That’s correct. Naming rights only. The ballpark is owned by the City and managed under agreement by the Dodgers, who by contract have exclusive rights to operate and to produce events within.

[BoulderSooner]

I think the only relationship the Chickasaw have with the ballpark is the naming rights. They do not mange or operate the facility IIRC.

this is correct

[Laramie]

What about using C. B. Speegle Stadium at Capitol Hill High School for the next two-to-three years:

Energy FC could build up a south side base of fans, this could carry over until the the MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium construction starting in 2025 target opening late 2026 or early 2027 is completed. An 8,000 seat chair back stadium
(expandable) with $41 million MAPS funding is budgeted.

BTW: Rumored that Bob Funk Sr., health is failing, your prayers would be greatly appreciated.

[SEMIweather]

What about using C. B. Speegle Stadium at Capitol Hill High School for the next two-to-three years:

Energy FC could build up a south side base of fans, this could carry over until the the MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium construction starting in 2025 target opening late 2026 or early 2027 is completed. An 8,000 seat chair back stadium
(expandable) with $41 million MAPS funding is budgeted.

BTW: Rumored that Bob Funk Sr., health is failing, your prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Same issue as Taft, not wide enough to meet USL standards. This is almost a moot point because it's obvious that the Energy under current ownership have no desire to come back until the MAPS 4 Stadium is completed, but if the team theoretically got new ownership and they did want to bring the team back in advance of a new stadium, I think that the UCO football stadium would be the best option. Playing surface is easily large enough to fit a regulation-sized pitch. Stadium is located in a high income part of the Metro, with lots of families, and is less than a mile from Downtown Edmond which would offer much better pregame amenities than the area surrounding Taft.

[Canoe]

Why is it assumed that the energy will get this arena and not a different team?

[Laramie]

Use of Richison Stadium (Capacity 12,000) on UCO campus would be the best option for now.

USL needs to give Prodigal a deadline...

[jedicurt]

prodigal honestly probably doesn't care anymore. even when they were running the Barons, why more energy went into the PBR events they were hosting than hockey. i was on the advisory board for the barons, so know first hand. i assume they were the same with the energy, it was always just the thing they did between PBR events.

[SEMIweather]

Why is it assumed that the energy will get this arena and not a different team?

Because Prodigal still owns the rights for a USL franchise in OKC, and the USL is the only second division soccer league in this country.

[OKC2017]

one of the best sites for a major league stadium near downtown is the area encompassing the strawberry fields proposed development.
one of the main issues would be the adjusting the city's street grid; but between walker and shartel and between sw 3rd and sw 7th streets you
can fit a 25K seat stadium that can be expandable even beyond 40K seats if ever needed. an incorporated into the stadium parking garage,
multiple points of access mainly through okc blvd, and a grand main entrance/fan zone just a block from scissortail park. in my opinion, if mayor holt and the city
are really serious about turning okc into a major league city they should seek out the private investors and developers to make it happen.
if major league soccer smells the money in the air they would not hesitate to expand to this market as long as the vision, leadership and the business plan is
solid. i think it is also worth noting that since major league soccer games run mostly throughout the summer it would complement instead of compete with
nba basketball in the city for major league sporting events downtown and therefore have year round activity. the demographics also point to a slow but steady growth
in the interest for the sport amongst the newer generations so looking into the future the city may ride that wave of new and greater demand for live major league
sporting events and entertainment. another site with potential but accessibility challenges is wheeler park between i-40, the river, western and lee.

[Pete]

^

There is a huge problem with the Strawberry Fields area: they've paid a fortune for all that land and therefore it would cost the City a ton to acquire what they need in that area.

The Producers Coop land is expensive too but only because they are asking an unreasonable price. They have very little invested there and probably would cut a deal for the stadium so that project can finally move forward.

[Richard at Remax]

What about the Paycom site?