Prospective Tampa A-League Club

[Bluesfan]

I have always had my doubts about the prospects of a new pro club in Tampa. There has only been idle speculation until now. In today's Tampa Tribune, Perry Van Der Beck claims he is working as a consultant for a group interested in buying an A-League club for Tampa. No real meaty information, just a few tidbits to ponder.

1. He promised more details within the next few months (I will believe it when it happens)

2. Perry has taken the group to see Charleston's operation. (An excellent group upon which to model)

3. He also has them considering building a small SSS rather than play at an existing facility (We could only hope this proves true)

This is the first concrete proof that Tampa might have an A-League future.

[gyr0]

Good to hear. I myself am a deposed mutiny fan, and given the proper conditions, i am confident tampa could easily support pro soccer. The youth base in the area is strong, and having played club ballfor many years, i know of the many fine organisations which exist in the area. lets hope this works out.

[RowdiesToMutiny]

I was talking to a player for a current A-League team several days before the story appeared in the Trib and he seemed pretty confident that it was a done deal--"You'll have an A-League team by next season."

Keep your fingers crossed!!

[BigJohn]

I have also heard that Ed Austin from the former Rowdies and Front Office of the Mutiny has been working to bring a team to Tampa. Ed has entered the local political arena and has announced his run for County Commissioner. I think it would be great to have a pro soccer person involved in decision making positions. It would be worth following his campaign and getting the word out.

[SoccerPrime]

I am sure the stellar turn out for the MLS preseason game helped this.
Orlando is a go for A-Leage in 2005 and hopefully South Florida (the other south Florida :) ) will be a go too. 3 Florida A-League teams...wow...

[RowdiesToMutiny]

Here's a thought--

With the Glazers buying up shares in Manchester United, and an Ajax A-League team in Orlando and a Real Madrid A-League team in Miami (think that's correct), I wonder if there's any chance at all that the Glazers could be tempted to back a Tampa
Man U A-League team.

Wouldn't that produce some nice rivalries!

[mutinywxgirl]

I was just in Boston this past weekend and there was a contigent from MLS there - I went and told them that I'm still driving around NYC, no less, with my MutinyGirl plates on my car. They laughed, but said to continue doing that until the Mutiny is brought back.

Glad to hear about Ed. Nothing could be greater! He'd be awesome.

[Bluesfan]

I hope that this group has the right backing (i.e. $$$$$$) and is willing to look forward and backward.

By forward, I mean building a stadium and investing heavily in marketing the club. The stadium is key and could go several ways. Playing at USF is just not an option, it offers zero atmosphere and no amenities. My personal favorite would be to pitch Busch Entertainment with the idea of building a ten to twelve thousand seat stadium on the property of Busch Gardens.

Busch could build the facility and partner with the club to manage it. I envision European and South American clubs coming for training camps and friendlies and their supporters could be sold all inclusive packages by Busch for tickets to matches, the theme park, and a hotel. This would create quite a bit of revenue to support the club and give us a great sponsor/marketing partner.

The club needs to draw from the past as well. They need to figure out what made the Rowdies do so well and the Mutiny not so well. I would like to see Mike Connell as the head coach (well actually I would like to see John Gorman as coach but he can find better gigs in England) and if Ed Austin is involved, maybe he could even wrangle the Rowdies' name, logo, and unis from Cornelia Corbett.

Many ex-Rowdies still live in Tampa and these guys need to be utilized as ambassadors for the team.

[mutinywxgirl]

Originally posted by Bluesfan
Many ex-Rowdies still live in Tampa and these guys need to be utilized as ambassadors for the team.

Truer words could not be spoken! Though I live elsewhere, my heart is still with both the Rowdies and the Mutiny. Soccer in Tampa is beyond special - testified by the number of former players still in the area.

I will be following all of this with great interest!

[drew_VT_6]

Maybe the Southern Division could be revived again with Atlanta, Charleston, Orlando, Tampa and Puerto Rico and maybe even include Richmond?.

This would save on the traveling expenses teams like Rochester, SyracuseToronto, Montreal, etc would have to pay.

Either way it's good to see the (possible) growth of professional soccer in this country.

[Bluesfan]

If we do indeed get an A League club, who would you want to coach the side? Here is my short-list of possible coaches:

1. John Gorman - Ex-TB Rowdie Allstar Defender. Resume includes being Glen Hoddle's assistant at Swindon and Tottenham. I am not sure of his current employment. He is probably out of an A League club's salary constraints and he would have to cross the Atlantic. Very doubtful.

2. Mike Connell - Ex-TB Rowdie Ironman. Resume includes local youth and high school coaching. He would be an excellent choice since he knows the youth programs in Tampa real well. Another plus is he is one of the most recognizable Rowdie players.

3. Tom Fitzgerald - Former University of Tampa and Columbus Crew coach. Not flashy or inspiring, but a solid local selection. Once again has good local connections and knows pro game.

4. Perry Van Der Beck - Former Rowdie and also ex- Tampa bay Terror (NPSL) and Mutiny coach. Maybe for once he should be given a decent chance at building a pro team since he pretty much go the shaft twice before.

5. Tim Hankinson - Ex Mutiny coach. Yeah, I know he is the Rapids coach now, but in MLS he stands a good chance to be 'available' by season's end.

Those are my picks in order of preference. Would anyone like to second my choices or offer alternatives?

[gyr0]

I would venture to suggest alternative in Steve Peet, ex US soccer staff coach currently working as director of Lakeland Lazers Soccer Club. An excellent knowledge of local talent, coupled with numerous connections within the game, and a driving "win at allcosts" work ethic would render him an excellent choice to make the step up. Moulded my club team from a perrinial under achiever to State Cup winners within a season, which was no small feat, so I can speak of his abilities first hand. By no means is this me being fanciful or favoritive, as I hated the man with a passion, yet he achieved and continues to achieve results and several years down the line, i respect that highly.

[Billy Bowlegs]

Hey Lisa and others:

Long time since I trolled these boards. The A-league rumors for Tampa Bay are intriguing.

I've become an A-league fan now, after the MLS folded my native hometown side. The Rhinos are now my adopted hometown side. Can't wait for the new season to start up here on the north coast of NY state! The only negative is that our new soccer stadium won't be ready this season.

I would love to see Tampa get an A-league team. I think that is the way to grow the professional sport in this county - develop interest from a grass roots level, with scaled down (by MLS standards) organizations, good community relations, and playing games in appropriately sized stadiums.

PS - for any of you Rowdies nostalgics, TOFFS (the old fashioned football shirt, available on the web at www.toffs.com) is now offering a semi-respectable looking Rowdies replica jersey. They've had some in the past that were not even close to the original, but the new away replica jersey (kelley green) is pretty good. I just got mine, and while it doesn't exactly duplicate what John Boyle and Derek Smethurst suited up in, it does stir the memories.

[efernandez9]

hi Billy - good to hear you

the bluesfan that had the idea about the Bush soccer complex....is great, it will sell. Email them your marketing concept.

I will support tampa and Ed Austin, had the pleasure to meet him in lower leagues of carrollwood


Billibowl.....2 questions: in us dollars what was the cost of the replica jersey (including shipping)
2. how long was the delivery time.

Nice site to visit, thanks for the tip

[Billy Bowlegs]

Hey Efe - good to hear from you, too. What are you up to these days?

Glad you enjoyed the TOFFS site. To answer your question, I think I paid between 50 and 60 dollars for the jersey.

According to today's dollar/pound exchange rate (1.82 dollars to the pound), you'll be paying around 55 bucks, plus shipping, which is another 3-5 dollars. Not too bad, really. I've seen some of the TOFFS jerseys sold stateside in soccer stores for the usual 70-80 dollars you pay for other replicas.

Ordinarily, I think they say to allow around 4 weeks for overseas orders, although I've heard they are often faster. One problem I had was that another jersey included my same order was out of stock, so it took about 6 weeks overall to get the stuff.

By the way, I noticed they have a new Rowdies home white replica - it looks even more authentic than my green one does! I may have to pick one up myself.

While you're ordering your Rowdies replica, why not pick up a retro Colo Colo shirt, or maybe a classic Chile Nats team jersey? You could re-enact the battle of Santiago from the 1962 World Cup in your own back yard with your friends.