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New pro soccer team and stadium coming to Tampa....


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6000 seat stadium sounds like a a stadium for kids not a pro team

bring back the rowdies

Does this mean you'll support soccer now smazza?

http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/257458.html

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The problem that I see is that if you are expecting a large latin population to support it, then it will probably fail. Why? Because most of them are used to higher level soccer from their countries they will NOt support a second tier american soccer team in a 6000 seat stadium. it will look as a joke to them.

It failed miserably down here in Miami and I think it will fail again in Tampa.

If Tampa wants soccer they need to try to get an  MLS team play at RJS or similar large stadium and get internationally known players. It was amazing how the Rowdies collapse after the grea support they had in the 80s, anything less than that will fail.

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The problem that I see is that if you are expecting a large latin population to support it, then it will probably fail. Why? Because most of them are used to higher level soccer from their countries they will NOt support a second tier american soccer team in a 6000 seat stadium. it will look as a joke to them.

It failed miserably down here in Miami and I think it will fail again in Tampa.

If Tampa wants soccer they need to try to get an  MLS team play at RJS or similar large stadium and get internationally known players. It was amazing how the Rowdies collapse after the grea support they had in the 80s, anything less than that will fail.

From my understanding, attendance and support was never the problem.

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Yes international soccer is where the talent is at.  That is obvious.  Will the Latin population still support a home team? I think so for several reasons.... England has four divisions and every division is "making it,"  this is because people in a town will support their local town in it's own division.  There is no where else in this entire region of Florida to watch a live professional soccer game.  Also, you don't need footwork like Ronaldo to make the game interesting... Many people LOVE the game.  I think that there will be PLENTY of fans wanting to go to watch games and I think the Latino community will show out.  Personally, I think that 6,000 seats is good for the first couple of seasons, but my hope would be that they would design the stadium with expansion in mind.  I would not be surprised if the Rowdies draw a 15,000 strong crowd within a decade.  There are a LOT of people in Tampa and there are plenty of people that love soccer. 

/everyone that posted on Greg's blog that said a team wouldn't work are retarded.  I saw ONE Mutiny game as a child and I am very sad and would like to see more.

that's all.

:)

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Attedance was never thr problem? For the Rowdies, no. The Mutiny couldn't draw 10000 when they gave away free tickets.

No onw will go to these games. This league features players who are also high school coaches, etc.

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Just to clarify Dominicans, Cubans, and Puerto Ricans are not big on Soccer so you can pretty much count those out.  Not once did we play soccer in grade school, and I ended up watching my first TV game here in the states.

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I believe this team will be the equivalent of a Tampa Yankees or Threshers game where it is a minor league soccer team.

Tampa could not support the Mutiny, it was too expensive for what you got, and the fans just didn't get around it  They folded as the teams were league owned and they were one of the less profitable teams.  I think a Mutiny would have done better now, than when they were trying to get the league started.  Trust me, bring a Beckham in for the opposing team, and people will show up.  Freddy Adu came to USF for a soccer exchibition game at USF when he was like 15, and 5000 people attended.  People are intersted.

The rowdies were individually owned and were successful on teh field and financially.  They got their start when there were no bucs and no tampa stadium.  They lasted over two decades and only folded due to the league folding - not based on their support and their fan base.  I know 4 of the original Rowdies really well, and am familiar with the details.

If I were to build this stadium, I'd build it in Town and Country too.  It is the only part of tampa where WASP's are not the majority.  West Tampa is 52% hispanic.  I went to Mutiny games and trust me, 75% of the fans were hispanic so that certainly is the right demographic. 

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http://www.tampabay.com/sports/soccer/article633711.ece

From st pete times today....

Tampa Bay Rowdies to get new life in USL

By Eduardo A. Encina, Times Staff Writer

Posted: Jun 19, 2008 06:25 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAMPA  Andrew Nestor's goal to give the Tampa Bay Rowdies a second life includes a new soccer stadium in northwest Tampa.

And he has promised to build it with his own dime.

Nestor, a 25-year-old Massachusetts business executive, leads an investment group that has been awarded a professional soccer franchise that aims to begin play in the USL First Division in April 2010.

Also included in the investment group are Bern's Steakhouse president David Laxer and Hinds Howard, Nestor's business partner with Citrus Ventures, a Massachusetts-based merchant bank and ventures firm that invests in and advises early-stage companies.

The team will play in the USL's top-tier league, which consists of 11 teams, including teams in Atlanta, Miami, Montreal and Puerto Rico, and will add a team in Austin, Texas, next season. The 28-game season runs from April-November. The average attendance is just over 4,000 fans a game.

"We're genuinely excited about this," said USL executive vice president and chief operating officer Tim Holt, whose league offices are headquartered in Carrollwood. "It comes down to execution. All the ingredients are there. It's the right place at the right time."

Nestor said the money is there. The owners have already paid a one-time $350,000 franchise fee and Nestor said he expects an operating budget of about $2 million. Holt said the new Rowdies will be the first USL franchise to launch in a custom-built soccer stadium that they've built.

"It's unique thing because we've gotten there over time with most of our venues," Holt said.

Nestor said the team's stadium plan is completely independent of the county commissioners plan to build a 30-field soccer facility for $15 million, of which an initial proposal for a larger complex that included a stadium for $40 million.

Tampa has had two pro soccer teams that folded. The Tampa Bay Rowdies played in the NASL for 18 years, playing at Tampa Stadium mostly, but folded in 1993. The MSL's Tampa Bay Mutiny, which played at Raymond James, lasted just six years, never able to capture a soccer atmosphere with the lack of an intimate venue.

"We obviously need to prove ourselves to the community," Nestor said. "We as a group understand that there are a lot of question marks."

The ownership group, however, still has plenty of details to work out. Nestor said the ownership will fully fund a 7,500-seat stadium, but a site and price tag have yet to be determined.

The team hired former Rowdies player and Mutiny coach Perry Van Der Beck as technical director and to head the team's youth soccer initiative, but it still needs to hire a general manager and head coach.

The team will retain the old Rowdies colors of green and gold, given permission to take over the NASL brand by former Rowdies owner Cornelia Corbett, but a logo hasn't been released.

The franchise's centerpiece will be the stadium, which ownership hopes will be centralized to draw from throughout Hillsborough and also Pinellas and Pasco counties.

"We have a concrete plan," he said. "Everything is measured at this point. We have a strong group, support from the league and other owners and we will definitely play in 2010."

[Last modified: Jun 20, 2008 12:17 PM]

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The fact that they are planning to use the colors of green and gold should be setting off bells with the university.  This is an opportunity to get a soccer stadium built on campus with a revenue sharing arrangement...

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The fact that they are planning to use the colors of green and gold should be setting off bells with the university.  This is an opportunity to get a soccer stadium built on campus with a revenue sharing arrangement...

agreed.  That would be awesome if USF used this as a chance to leverage something already in progress to provide some capital improvements at the school...  They should pursue this 100%.... 

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