The NASL has finally made its long-awaited mark in Oklahoma City with the backing of a European partner.
Rayo OKC, whose majority owner is Spanish club Rayo Vallecano, is set to become the 14th NASL franchise, the league announced on Tuesday. With its introduction, Rayo OKC joins Puerto Rico FC and Miami FC as the NASL’s newest expansion franchises.
Boasting a red-and-white color scheme, Rayo OKC will be owned by Rayo Vallecano owner Raul Martín Presa while Oklahoma native Sean Jones joins as a minority owner. Sold Out Strategies, co-owned by Brad Lund and DeBray Ayala, will serve as managing partners.
“Our launch of Rayo OKC is another groundbreaking addition to the international soccer community,” said NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson. “The club’s unique partnership with Rayo Vallecano de Madrid highlights the global nature of the game and the global vision of the league. Rayo OKC will be the first American club able to take advantage of the expertise of La Liga to identify top players and build its roster accordingly.”
Beginning in the 2016 Spring Season, the club will will play its home games at Miller Stadium, a new $17 million facility on the campus of Yukon High School. The stadium has a capacity of 6,500, but has the ability to expand to 11,000 for soccer.
Rayo Vallecano, which was founded in 1924, has spent the past five seasons in the top flight of Spanish soccer. It currently sits ninth in La Liga.
“Pro soccer fans in Oklahoma have just been served up a true winner,” Peterson said. “With what will be an incredibly strong connection to the La Liga side in Madrid, Rayo OKC will set the competition bar even higher across North America. The potential this partnership brings to the game is unmatched, and we believe that fans in Oklahoma just got a front row seat to the next level of soccer in this country.”
Prior to Rayo’s introduction, the NASL had previously looked set to launch a team in Oklahoma City in 2013. However, plans fell through the following March when prospective owner Tim McLaughlin purchased fifty percent in the USL’s Oklahoma City Energy FC.
What do you think of the Rayo OKC announcement? Like that it is backed by Rayo Vallecano? What do you expect from Rayo OKC in the coming weeks and months?
Share your thoughts below.
Rayo will get the same out of this team as they would had they written me a check for their total investment. Can’t wait to hear about this dumpster fire…
Fake grass…ouch. Same as the comment above, I simply refuse to watch Sounders home games on that vomit-inducing abomination of a pitch…
Wonder if Kasey Keller is going to be invovled at all after his days spent with Rayo in the 90’s.
He is going to leave his Sounders’ gig for this. Not likely.
I don’t so much mind the high-school field. You gotta start somewhere. However, the fake grass is a real downer. Really? Fake grass. I absolutely can’t stand watching soccer played on this surface. I get it. It holds up. You don’t have water it…etc.. I can’t watch Seattle play at home for more than 5 minutes before i need a couple of drops of Visine.
It pains me to read this announcement as I am a supporter of the NASL……..You are presenting the “beautiful game” in a high school stadium and most likely on synthetic surface. Oh, did I mention the gridiron lines on the field? Shame on you!
And you want to achieve D1 status and a national tv deal? How can I possibly take this league seriously? Get a clue.
This gets a big LOL. Sadly, it is getting harder and harder to take NASL seriously.
That high school stadium cost $17 million dollars. Most high schools don’t even have stadiums and most colleges in this country don’t have stadiums that cost that much. It’s better stadium than some of the other stadiums within the NASL, so the fact it’s a high school’s stadium is irrelevant. That said, the new owners already said they plan to build their own home in the future.
Another team headed for failure. playing in a high school field with 1000 people watching them . Rayon stinks in La liga and I have seen their fans are not too happy about them wasting money on a minor league team in the US.
Can Oklahoma City support two teams? The USL’s Energy already operates in OKC
No
Gotta say, I like that logo. Room for improvement, but it’s a good starting point…
The better NASL does, the better it is for US soccer. People complain about player development. Well, Rayo OKC just added another 20+ spots for players to develop in a professional environment.
When is NASL going to expand to the West Coast. Not a legitimate league until they do!
Pacific Northwest would be ideal.
Mexicali should be next, along with Quebec. I’m feeling that whole continental league thing for NASL
Hahahahahaha what a joke! Seriously these clowns want Division I status? It’s going to be great for the game in this country when a Division I league is playing at a high school stadium.
Well the last NASL went defunct and left us without a professional soccer league in this country. Now this NASL thinks the “next level of soccer” is playing in a high school stadium.
Also, in a stadium that is 3 times further from the city center than their competitors stadium. I don’t see this ending well, don’t force it people.
It would be like the new Chicago Sting announcing they will play in Algonquin, if that is your best option, you might be better off sitting this one out.
I am completely shocked that Joe positive here has something bad to say about the nasl, that is so unlike you slow