New Stadium, New Name For Tulsa Athletic

It’s been a little different setting for the Tulsa Athletic this year.

Firstly, the team is playing at LaFortune Stadium and not down the street at the old Drillers stadium. And another thing, the name isn’t Tulsa Athletics anymore; the team has been renamed the Tulsa Athletic.

Oakland is to blame for that.

"The Oakland Athletics of MLB took exception to our name and cited potential confusion in the marketplace,” said owner Sonny Dalesandro. “What do the Oakland Athletics really want with me? I mean, they can't possibly be serious that there's confusion. Our crest is pink with a line and a unicorn. There's is an Elephant holding a baseball bat."

Being a fourth-tier amateur soccer club, the Athletic don't have the legal team of a major league ball club.

But, the club could try to trademark.

"We went through all the steps on our own and the trademark office issued us a patent for the crest, so okay that's great,” said Dalesandro. “Then, they issued us a second letter that says they mistakenly issued us the patent."

And, Oakland is being persistent.

"There's still settlement things that are still going on with it, so I don't know,” stated Dalesandro. “I don't even know if they know we've changed our name."

If the Athletic defeat OKC Energy U23 in the 104th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, it'll set up a date with the big boy Tulsa club the Roughnecks next week.