NASL files lawsuit against Oklahoma City ownership

Tuesday evening, reports emerged from New York indicating that the North American Soccer League has taken legal action against Tim McLaughlin, owner of OKC Pro Soccer LLC. The league is seeking $2 million in damages, due to McLaughlin improperly withdrawing his team from its relationship with the league in February 2014. McLaughlin paid the league $500,000 when he notified them of his intention to break the agreement, which the league deemed to be an unacceptable amount. The league is seeking a total compensation of $2.5 million, including the $500,000 payment from 2014.

Shortly after withdrawing from his agreement with the NASL, McLaughlin reportedly purchased a 50% ownership stake in the USL's Oklahoma City Energy (USL affiliate of Sporting Kansas City), who began to play their home matches at Taft Stadium in 2015. The lease rights to Taft Stadium were originally awarded to Oklahoma City FC, but McLaughlin reportedly controls those rights.

Since that time, OKCFC has met with multiple delays, and though they've managed to secure a stadium for the 2016 season, it seems highly unlikely that they'll be joining the league in such a short time, if at all.