Major League Soccer is set for more expansion in the next several years, and the group behind USL’s Oklahoma City Energy is hoping to be a part of it.
Speaking to KOCO 5 News, Energy owner Bob Funk Jr. said the team’s ultimate goal is to move into MLS. Funk said the first step towards that end goal would be the construction of a soccer-specific stadium while continuing to make inroads with the local community.
“We are trying to take a very measured approach in how we get to our overall goal. We’re aspiring to get into MLS,” Funk Jr. said. “There’s no guarantee that we’re going to get there. There are a lot of things that have to fall into place. There’s a large ladder and we have to walk up that ladder in order to get there. One of the things we have to do is sell our our stadium, prove that it’s a viable product and, at some point, we need to build a soccer-specific stadium. It can be multipurpose, but it needs to be soccer-specific.
“Getting involved with the youth movement in Oklahoma City and adding that into the chain, those are the steps we have to get to to really make a bid and say to MLS ‘Oklahoma City is a viable market. It’s a market that can support a Major League Soccer team and we have the stadium. Please come take a look at us,’ but we have to have a stadium first. We have to have that foundation first.”
The Energy began play in the USL Pro in 2014, and reached a new level in the club’s sophomore 2015 campaign. On the field, the club put together a run all the way to the Western Conference finals while boosting an average attendance of 4,635, good for seventh best in the league. The club currently plays at Taft Stadium, which seats 7,500.
“The community support for us is so important for our overall goal, which is to get to the MLS,” Funk Jr. added. “It’s something we’re aspiring to and striving for and something we really want to attain. We’ve got to have everyone on board pulling in the same direction to get there.”
In addition to the Energy, Oklahoma City now features the NASL’s Rayo OKC. The NASL expansion club played its first game of the Spring Season this past weekend, earning a scoreless draw in front of a sellout crowd of 6,416.
What do you think of the Energy’s MLS aspirations? How would Oklahoma City handle an MLS team? Expect the city to be a serious contender for an expansion spot?
Share your thoughts below.
yes yes.. we all want to play at the top division..
instead of running this non-story how about posting about the US Open Cup draw today?!
Big B, some people would refer to the USOC draw as a “non-story”. But I definitely get your point: A lot of people want to be rich and better-looking.
I look forward to the day that more people are more interested in the USOC.
Not to mention the woman doing the interview is engaged to the president of the team. Seems a bit of an arms length transaction
There is a zero percent chance that the energy get an mls team. This is just posturing because Rayo got more fans and is in a higher league than them. The track record for energy owners jumping ship isn’t great, given that one of them left nasl for usl and now bashes the other group! No way MLS gets involved in this fiasco!
OK, thanks for dropping that nice nugget about the relationship between the interviewer and interviewee.
I’d love to know how many people actually payed for their Rayo tickets and how many were “comped”.
I also kind of doubt that most people perceive about the difference between the quality of play between the USL and NASL–especially after the USL handed MLS the NASL’s head on a platter after kicking that *** last year in the USOC.
I agree with you on the fact that the Energy deciding to remind people about their goal of making to MLS seems timed as a response to the OKC debut last weekend and the moves that club has been making.
I completely disagree on MLS holding one partner running away from the NASL to join their little brother, the USL, against the organization.
It actually might make them a bit MORE attractive to MLS.
I also never underestimate the power of money and being in the “right place, at the right time” when talking about MLS; get that stadium deal done and OKC might actually manage to find their way up there. Sure, it’s a long shot but it’s far from impossible.
It may be posturing but that’s what happens in business. Have you seen the Sprint, Verizon, T Mobile, etc commercials?
It’s likely that the owner “jumped ship” to become a partner at the Energy because he thought it was more viable to eventually become an MLS team through working together than competing with each other. Unfortunately the owner at Rayo didn’t see it like that and went and found an outside investor from the Spanish first division. Do any homework on that organization and you will find that they are corrupt and their fans are upset because they are spending money on Rayo OKC rather than the original Rayo. http://newsok.com/article/5463650
I was at the home opener of the Energy and would guess that the attendance was around 6500. The Energy may have averaged 4500 in attendance last year but the last 6 games including playoffs were all sellouts (7000+) and had an incredible atmosphere. I would expect an uptick in average attendance this year from the carry over from the momentum gained at the end of last season.
If the Energy or Rayo can prove that OKC is a viable market, either together or separately, then there is a shot that MLS will consider OKC for future expansion. If the Energy build a soccer specific stadium and the Energy and Rayo are averaging 7K fans each then I think that would get MLS’s attention.
I can’t see OKC as a MLS expansion market now. A decade and change ago, there was some talk about MLS there, but it never went anywhere. I can’t see what made things different now.
If they can show Garber the money, there’s a shot. That’s been the MLS story for the last 5-10 years. There seems to be no limit on the size of the league.