By FRANCO PANIZO
As it turns out, NASL is not the only league eyeing Oklahoma City for expansion.
USL PRO, the third division for soccer in the United States, is expected to announce an expansion team in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, sources close to the situation told SBI. The announcement will be made at a formal press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
The news of the USL PRO team comes a day after NASL commissioner Bill Peterson revealed via Twitter that NASL had invited an Oklahoma City ownership group to present a formal expansion bid later in July.
So what does all this mean for professional soccer in Oklahoma City?
It’s a little unclear as of now, because the ownership group looking to field the NASL Oklahoma City team also owns the PDL club Oklahoma City FC and is planning on filing a lawsuit against USL PRO with the hopes of being able to field an NASL side in the same market. The ownership group is currently not allowed to compete with USL PRO due to its ownership of Oklahoma City FC.
Sources told SBI that the ownership group had discussed fielding an expansion team in USL PRO but that the league ultimately decided on another group’s bid, which resulted in the former expressing interest in NASL.
—–
What do you think of USL PRO picking Oklahoma City as the site for its next expansion team? Would you rather see an OKC team in NASL or USL PRO? Ideally, would you like to see an OKC team in both leagues?
Share your thoughts below.