With the inception of Rayo OKC, Madrid’s Rayo Vallecano becomes the first La Liga club to be a majority owner of a pro soccer team in the US. Will it work?

When making a list of places to turn to for investment in a second-tier American soccer team, one might think that the options would be limited to the local area. It could be a wealthy businessman or woman with an outside interest in the sport, for example. Or perhaps a sports agent from the city or state, their deep ties and a vested interest in soccer the primary reason for their potential involvement.

Thanks to a friend-of-a-friend discussion, though, next season will see an Oklahoman team compete in the North American Soccer League with Spanish backing. Rayo OKC, who are funded by the owner of La Liga’s Rayo Vallecano and an individual from Oklahoma City, will take the field in April. Their moniker, badge – and possibly yet-to-be-released kit – will all be tied to their majority owners from Spain.

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“I was stunned when I heard they were interested – I thought it was just a pipe dream; I thought they would be looking for a major US market,” Brad Lund, one of the managing partners of Rayo OKC, told the Guardian. “We are kind of the guinea pig for the futures of other clubs. It’s a compliment to where soccer in the US has come, and it’s a compliment to our market.”

The Oklahoma market has been under consideration by the NASL for a number of years, with Lund being at the forefront of this push. In July 2013, his group, Sold Out Strategies, and their managing partner, Oklahoma Soccer LLC, managed by local businessman Tim McLaughlin, had secured a place in the league. The pair had owned an amateur franchise together by the name by the name of Oklahoma City FC, and the following April, it was declared that the NASL franchise would run with that name. Oklahoma City FC were intent on competing in the 2015 season. A new kit and team crest were unveiled.

But a month before that announcement, McLaughlin had opted to purchase a 50% stake in another soccer venture in the city, the Oklahoma Energy, who were set to join the USL, America’s third tier, in 2014. Energy’s start would be one year before the Oklahoma City FC would enter the NASL, and McLaughlin’s withdrawal meant that the Energy were able to gain the rights to Taft Stadium, a venue whose lease rights McLaughlin previously owned. The move also left Lund, Sean Jones – the owner of a number of healthcare companies and a keen investor – and their partners searching for new backing for their NASL team.

Those behind Oklahoma City FC had initially identified Tim Hankinson – a coach of 30-plus years, previously with the San Antonio Scorpions – to create a squad for their would-be franchise. Upon hearing the news of the lack of investment, Hankinson mentioned that he had heard through a friend that there may be some interest in an American soccer venture from a club in Europe. He asked if the group would be willing to talk to them.

“We said, ‘Well, we’re more concerned that it’s the right partner than where they are located,’” Sean Jones said. “‘Who do you have in mind?’”

Hankinson’s friend was connected to Rayo’s director of football, Felipe Minambres, and, having discussed the possibility of a partnership over the phone, Jones and one of his managing partners, DeBray Ayala of Sold Out Solutions, eventually agreed meet with Minambres in Madrid, in September of 2014. Jones and Ayala spent just 48 hours in the city, estimating that “40 hours of those hours were spent in meetings.” Over the two days they all but agreed with the Rayo owner, Raul Martin Presa, that a deal made sense for both parties, Jones said.

“Maybe they see that the growth in soccer is going to be in Asia and the United States over the next 20 years,” Jones said. “Perhaps they think it’s a great way to expand their brand, as well as find new fans for Rayo and find new talent around the world.”

The following months, representatives from both parties hammered out the legal aspects of the deal, while the likes of the league’s commissioner, Bill Peterson, flew to Oklahoma to meet with Jones and Rayo staff. There were never any disagreements on issues, Jones said, just timing problems while the La Liga season took priority. There had been reports in the press that the league had moved on from the Oklahoma market. But on 21 August 2015, it was reported by ESPN that La Liga had given approval for Rayo to purchase stock in Oklahoma City FC, which, if the deal went ahead, would make them the first La Liga club to be a majority owner of a professional soccer team in the US.

“Sean said, ‘Look, we told you we are committed to this, we are going to go forward, and, by the way, we have formed a partnership that is innovative; it’s strong and we think it’s going to be successful,’” Bill Peterson, the commissioner of the NASL, said. “We talked about philosophies and goals and what we were trying to accomplish.”

On 10 November 2015, the league announced that Rayo OKC would compete in the in the 2016 season, with the Spanish club taking over the controlling stake in Oklahoma City FC. Peterson added: “They are not going to stumble, in my opinion, and they are not learning on the job. They have a bunch of people who know what they are doing, and it won’t surprise me if they are wildly successful.”

Brad Lund, the managing partner, said that the biggest benefit he has seen in Rayo Vallecano’s involvement so far is just how hands-on the La Liga club have been. Their staff have helped out with the likes of ticketing, sponsorship and marketing. He also thinks that the decision to include the Rayo’s title in the name of the club was a “no-brainer,” despite the Madrid club being a world away from the soccer scene in Oklahoma and conventional American titles. Rayo OKC’s badge will mirror Vallecano’s logo, too: the lightning bolt features on both; the small crest on Rayo OKC’s logo has been replaced with a scissor-tailed flycatcher, Oklahoma’s state bird.

“Rayo means bolt, or ray, or lightning. ... They are very proud of that brand, the long history of it, so we felt it was important to incorporate that with local things,” Sean Jones said. “The big team in Oklahoma City is the Thunder – and I think Oklahoma is well-known for it’s weather – so there is a little bit of a tie-in.”

On the field, Rayo Vallecona’s staff have also worked with those in Oklahoma to hastily put together a roster in a much shorter timeframe than perhaps they would have liked. The team’s head coach, Alen Marcina, previously of the Scorpions, has been selecting players that he believes will be a good fit for the team. He has been working with Felipe Minambres to finalise these deals.

So far, Marcina, Minambres and staff have a roster that is made up of individuals from nine different nations – some of whom have come from the Silverbacks, who disbanded after the 2015 season. Though Rayo’s involvement so far may appear to be primarily for commercial benefit, Marcina said that he is not ruling out players from the Spanish club joining Rayo OKC in the future. The American club have not made any loans from Spain as of yet.

“Some players that may have played for Rayo at some point in their career could eventually be on our roster,” Marcina said. “There is also a good possibility that there will be some guys who are currently on the Rayo roster. We want to create our identity and play the Rayo way.”

Marcina hopes that his team will be competitive on the field in their first season, forming an attacking identity, building as the months go on. The Oklahoma-based partners have been refreshingly modest in their expectations, too. There has been no grandiose talk of top-tier aspirations, huge investment, winning the league, or immediately packing out their suburban stadium. Instead, Jones and Lund say that attendances of 3,000 to 5,000 would be a good place to start (the league’s average in 2015 was close to 6,000), and accept that they will need to stamp their mark in a market that already has a professional soccer team. The partners see the rivalry with the Energy as a positive, as each will need to be “on their toes” to provide the best product for swayable fans in the city.

So far, the team’s brand-building has been predominantly face-to-face, led by the 14 members of staff in Rayo OKC’s front office. Those spoken to for this piece admitted that it is up to them to educate locals about the Rayo brand. Around a month before season opener, in April, the team will up its marketing campaign, Brad Lund said. He added that they have seen a two- or three-fold increase in the number of soccer fans understanding of Rayo Vallecano since the team was announced last November.

“Unless you are a true soccer fan, a lot of people here have no idea who Rayo is,” Sean Jones, the club’s minority owner from Oklahoma, who owns a number of healthcare companies in the area, recently told the Guardian. “They know what La Liga is. They know who Atletico and Real are. And they may have heard of Rayo Vallecano, but don’t really know anything about it. ... That’s our goal: to change that over time, so more people understand who they are.”