The new ownership group of Energy FC intends to bring high-level women’s soccer to Oklahoma City as a key component of the club’s rebirth.
Echo, the majority owner of Energy FC, announced Wednesday that the club is undergoing a community-driven brand review that will not only reconsider the Energy FC name, logo and color scheme, but also reimagine the club with a men’s team and women’s team in mind.
“What we’re committing to today is that we will have a women’s component to the club moving forward,” Court Jeske, president of Echo Soccer, told The Oklahoman.
While the men’s team is expected to resume play in the USL Championship, a second division league a tier below Major League Soccer, the club is in the early stages of finding the best league fit for a women’s team, whether it be in the amateur, semi-pro or professional ranks.
Spurring all of this is a plan for a $1 billion stadium district in Lower Bricktown.
Christian Kanady, the founder of local investment firm Echo, intends to donate the land to build the stadium, which was approved to be built under the MAPS 4 initiative.
“We want to make sure that this stadium is built from Day 1 with men’s and women’s sports in mind,” Jeske said.
Jeske, who joined the Echo group after working as chief commercial officer of the USL, has been in touch with U.S. Soccer to ensure that the planned stadium will meet whatever specifications are required for each level of soccer.
Building upon Oklahoma City’s support of women’s sports as the Softball Capital of the World, Jeske and his team have aspirations of bringing international women’s soccer to OKC.
“This should be a home where the U.S. Women’s National Team comes and plays their first match in the state of Oklahoma,” Jeske said. “It should be a stadium where we can host international women’s events through Concacaf or FIFA in future years as well.”