Some Oklahoma City Council members are optimistic about a planned soccer stadium near downtown Oklahoma City.
Energy FC owner Bob Funk Jr. has purchased the Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, which is planning to move operations to Altus, freeing up the 40-acre site just south of Bricktown.
Meg Salyer and John Greiner both showed optimism about the project in interviews with The Journal Record’s Brian Brus:
The co-op’s profile doesn’t fit the retail and entertainment business district that’s grown up around it, and it does fall within the Core to Shore redevelopment plan for the properties between the Oklahoma River and the new main street boulevard, previously the Interstate 40 Crosstown. “We’ve already recognized that the co-op is one of the possible TIFs we could create,” Greiner said, referring to a tax increment finance district. “I would think that could be one of the possible funding mechanisms. If this proves to be a real deal, you could possibly even see it as a MAPS 4 project.”
Salyer pointed to the Oklahoma City Thunder as evidence for how the community might support a major league soccer franchise.
“And it’s obvious that soccer is exploding in growth in our community,” Salyer said. “The city has invested in improved soccer facilities in our parks already. And I think it’s incredibly exciting for a group of local investors to acquire that property. … I can imagine how spectacular our city skyline would be with a soccer stadium behind it. It really does bring in another piece of the puzzle in creating things for people to do downtown.”
Funk wants to lift the third-tier professional soccer club into the top U.S. league – Major League Soccer. But he’ll need a larger venue than the 7,500 seats at the team’s current pitch – Taft Stadium. There’s no proposal before the council, and Funk hasn’t said whether he’ll ask for that kind of help.
One councilor, Ed Shadid, told The Journal Record it’s a mistake to use the Oklahoma City Thunder’s success as a template for soccer.
“For a small market city like Oklahoma City to get an NBA team is an anomaly, and certainly one that has repeatedly made it to the finals,” Shadid said. “It’s a different equation entirely. When you’re talking about Major League Soccer, I do not believe it will have the same parameters and steep curve of success.” Shadid also said the evidence is thin that professional teams have a positive impact on the local economy. Lacking a sports event to attend, locals will spend the same money on some other entertainment, studies have shown.
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