Bittersweet swan song

Athletics’ upset loss in playoffs marks last game at old Drillers stadium

The opportunity was there for a dream ending, but in the end, it wasn’t meant to be, and Athletics Stadium closed its doors for good following the Tulsa Athletics’ 2-1 upset loss Sunday night, July 10.

The stadium at the corner of 15th St. and Yale Blvd., which was home to the Tulsa Drillers baseball team from 1981-2009 and to the Athletics soccer club the past four seasons, will soon be demolished and then replaced with the national headquarters for the American Bicycle Association and USA BMX, including offices and a training center for bicycle motocross athletes.

The Athletics enjoyed an excellent final season at their re-purposed stadium, going 11-1-0 during the regular season, the second-best record (out of 84 teams) in the amateur National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), one level below the United Soccer League (USL).

After winning their first-round playoff matchup 4-1 over the Liverpool Warriors (a team based in Saginaw, Texas, not England) on July 9, the Athletics fell in the second round to Dutch Lions FC (of Houston) in the South Central Conference Final.

Tulsa defender Terence Smith tied the game 1-1 in the 75th minute, but the Athletics surrendered another goal in the 86th and could not get it back. Tulsa generated numerous scoring chances throughout the match, hitting the crossbar six times, but had difficulty finishing, and it cost them.

Thanks to their outstanding regular season, the Athletics actually had the opportunity to pull off a fairy tale ending by conceivably winning the NPSL championship on their home field, because only a date with Chattanooga FC in the South Regional semi-final (on July 17) would have been an away game. If the Athletics reached that point and managed to win, they could have hosted the South Regional final, the national semi-final and then the NPSL’s championship game on Aug. 6.

“The game can be a fickle mistress at times, that’s why it is so fascinating,” said Athletics co-owner Sonny Dalesandro after the crushing defeat. “Tonight it meant that we lost the grounds where we were born. What cannot be taken away is the statement that was made. Tulsa is a great soccer town and we feel honored and privileged to have spent time at this hallowed stadium. While today the hearts of our players, fans, and staff may be heavy, the future is bright and exciting.”

With it being the Athletics’ second playoff game in as many nights, 1,834 showed up to witness the stadium’s final hurrah. Overall on the season, Tulsa averaged about 2,200 per game.

End of an era

Over the years, the stadium has seen its share of big-time events: 29 years of Drillers AA baseball, during which Tulsa won three Texas League championships (1982, 1988 and 1998) and saw countless future Major League Baseball players take the field; Bedlam series baseball games; high school football playoff games; and some notable concerts, including five sold-out nights of Garth Brooks in July 1997.

“Drillers Stadium represents a lot of great history and memories for myself and the Drillers franchise,” said Drillers Vice President of Media/Public Relations Brian Carroll, who joined the organization in 1987. “It is amazing when you look back at the names of the players who played there, guys like Pudge Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Larry Walker, Juan Gonzalez, Johnny Damon, Hank Blalock, Zack Greinke, Alex Gordon and so many more future Major League stars. It is sad to see its time end, but Drillers Stadium will have a prominent place, not only in Drillers history but in Tulsa history.”

Drillers President and General Manager Mike Melega also expressed nostalgic feelings for the old ballpark.

“I spent 16 wonderful years at Drillers Stadium so it is going to be very bittersweet to see the stadium that has provided so many great memories for Tulsans go away forever,” Melega said. “Like thousands of Tulsans, I will never forget Drillers Stadium and what it meant to our community.”

It was the arrival of the Athletics that made the stadium relevant again after the Drillers moved to ONEOK Field six years ago.

“I remember sitting in the bleachers, like a dream, ‘Did I really just rent old Drillers Stadium? What have I gotten myself into?’” recalls Dalesandro, a lifelong Tulsan who played at Cascia Hall High School and for the old USISL’s Tulsa Roughnecks in the 1990s. “So to have done that, and to have that yield success for us here, and to help be a catalyst to bringing the game back (to Tulsa), it’s really, really special.”

As we previously reported, the Athletics have not yet found a new home, but are currently exploring several options. 

“That can be a slow process,” Dalesandro said of negotiating the club’s next move. “We really don’t want to play in a high school. We will if we absolutely have to, but coming in and doing what we’ve done here, I think has afforded us a little bit of creative license to do weird stuff, or to at least look at ideas that haven’t been done anywhere else in the country, so we want to try and stay in that frame of mind.”

For more from John, read his article on transforming ONEOK Field from baseball to soccer and back again.