Tulsa officials to scout stadium sites

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Major League Soccer representatives planned to scout for potential stadium sites Thursday, the Tulsa World reported Tuesday. <br><br>Mayor Bill LaFortune, other city leaders and potential

Tuesday, August 27th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Major League Soccer representatives planned to scout for potential stadium sites Thursday, the Tulsa World reported Tuesday.

Mayor Bill LaFortune, other city leaders and potential investors also planned to inspect sites for the proposed 22,500-seat stadium. The mayor has said that landing an MLS team is a high priority for his administration.

But a local ownership group and financing for a stadium would have to come together first.

Major League Soccer officials rejected Skelly Stadium when the league formed eight years ago. Soccer fields _ or pitches _ are wider, longer and flatter than American football fields and are almost always natural grass.

While Tulsa scrambles to assess the feasibility of an MLS bid, Oklahoma City organizers are moving forward Tuesday with preliminary talks for an Edmond team.

Representatives of JE Dunn _ a Kansas City design and construction firm with close MLS ties _ will meet with officials of the University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond Public Schools, the city of Edmond and Express Sports, an Oklahoma City-based company that operates the Oklahoma City Blazers hockey team. JE Dunn is scheduled to present options for renovating UCO's 10,000-seat stadium into an MLS stadium.

Building a new stadium also may be an option, sources close to the Oklahoma City group told the newspaper. The project would involve a partnership of the university, the public schools and the city of Edmond.

Financing of a Tulsa stadium remains an open question. It's estimated that a 22,500-seat facility would cost about $40 million.

Tulsa officials want to avoid general obligation debt requiring a vote of the people. They are considering tax credits and tax increment zones.

The MLS operates with 10 franchises.

Five are owned all or in part by Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Los Angeles Kings and the Staples Center.

Two teams, Kansas City and Columbus, are owned by Lamar Hunt. One team is owned by the Kraft family, which owns the New England Patriots of the National Football League. The other two teams are operated by the league.

Hunt has been at the forefront of league interest in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

Hunt's Columbus team has become a model for the rest of the league since the opening of Columbus Crew Stadium in 1999. Billed as the United States' first soccer-specific stadium of its size, it has been host to a variety of events ranging from the Major League Lacrosse championship game to a Brittany Spears concert.