http://www.aisl.org/AISL Now “Livin’ on Tulsa Time”-Tulsa Revolution Welcomed as League’s Newest TeamApr 26, 2007 from the AISL Newswire
American Indoor Soccer League commissioner Paul Lapointe officially welcomed the league’s newest franchise, the Tulsa Revolution, to the fifth-year league this morning. “We are thrilled to welcome the city of Tulsa and the Revolution to the AISL,” said Lapointe. “Tulsa is a city with a long soccer heritage in the professional game, and has the potential to become a cornerstone in our league.”
The Revolution will play a partial schedule for the 2007-08 season, but will join the league full-time for the 2008-09 campaign.
The Revolution is the brainchild of local soccer enthusiast Adam Mellor. A native of Wales, Mellor, who at 23 will be the AISL’s youngest owner, has had a great passion for the game since he was a child. “It has always been a dream of mine to play for a professional team until I was struck with injury,” Mellor said. “I never thought actually owning a team would ever be a goal I could reach but I proved myself wrong. I've always had a strong passion for the game and will be a part of it forever. I want to bring the team to Tulsa mainly because this is my home. Although soccer is a growing sport here, it is still a small one. I would like to create a spark in the community giving them something to talk about and be excited about, and to give players a dream that they someday could fulfill.”
The Revolution, who will sport team colors of “denim blue”, “steel silver”, and black, will play their home games at Soccer City Tulsa, located at 5817 South 118th East Ave in Tulsa. Soccer City features two 180’ x 80’ indoor soccer fields featuring a MaxPlay artificial surface and clear Plexiglas dasher boards. As part of its recent renovations, Soccer City also has a completely new concession area and two viewing levels for spectators.
Tulsa has a long history in professional soccer. In 1978, the legendary Tulsa Roughnecks began a six season run in the North American Soccer League. Some of the players who made their mark for the Roughnecks both outdoors and indoors include Iraj Danaifard, Alan Woodward, Billy Caskey, Barry “the Boomer” Wallace, and Victor Moreland.
After the Roughnecks folded, the Tulsa Stampede and the Tulsa Tornados would play for one year in the short-lived United Soccer League (no relation to the current multi-division United Soccer League). After the USL ceased operations in 1985, it would be several years before a professional team would come back to central Oklahoma. In 1989, the Tulsa Renegades would join the Southwest Indoor Soccer League, which is the direct ancestor to the current United Soccer League.
The head coach for the Revolution will be named within a few weeks.
With the addition of the Revolution, the AISL now has six teams set for the 2007-08 season: the Cincinnati Excite, the 2007 AISL champion (Springfield) Massachusetts Twisters, the (Long Island) New York Hampton Surf, the (Waukegan, IL) Northern Illinois Rebels, and the Rockford Thunder. The league is also currently in negotiations with a group that is interested in bringing a team to Akron, OH for the 2008-09 season.
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Now in it's third season, the American Indoor Soccer League has offices in West Springfield, MA (Administrative) and Cleveland, OH (Media Relations). For more information on the AISL, contact commissioner Paul LaPointe at (413) 569-0088 or director of media relations Rich Paschette at (216) 741-4144. Information on the league can also be found on the AISL's official website,
www.aisl.org.