No way. He was just kidding. Right? Ha ha, not funny. Doesn't MLS own the name anyway? They were running the club at the time of its demise.
That is kind of what I was getting at. If the team was just made inactive then there would be a possibility of BE buying the owner-investor rights and reactivating it as a short cut to a Tampa MLS team (pending Orlando's approval I'm sure). If the team was completely folded like Miami (who MLS let the property rights to the Fusion lapse) then it seems like just a crazy rumor.
Hmm. I did a search on the USPTO website and one Tampa Bay Mutiny trademark is live while two others are dead. But I'm not a lawyer so I have no idea if any of it means anything. http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=toc&state=4802:axp2nz.1.1&p_search=searchss&p_L=50&BackReference=&p_plural=yes&p_s_PARA1=&p_tagrepl~:=PARA1$LD&expr=PARA1 AND PARA2&p_s_PARA2=tampa bay mutiny&p_tagrepl~:=PARA2$COMB&p_op_ALL=AND&a_default=search&a_search=Submit Query&a_search=Submit Query The one that is live was filed by MLS back in 2011 and is a plain wordmark. The dead ones are the original ones from 1995 with the modern looking font.
Doesn't matter, it ain't a rebrand. They announced a push for MLS and renos to Al Lang. The renderings look terrific.
All privately funded too for an estimated $80 million. Interested to see which investors get involved. http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay...h-campaign-to-bring-major-league.html?ana=twt Enjoy a few more looks at our vision for Al Lang Stadium's privately-financed expansion and renovation. #MLS2StPete pic.twitter.com/OUoI9a4f2g— Tampa Bay Rowdies (@TampaBayRowdies) December 6, 2016
80 million sounds cheap. Crew Stadium cost $25M in 1999. (Equivalent to $36M today.) And it's an erector set.
Meh, sounds about right. looks like they are leaving the current grand stands and adding the other sides for the most part. it looks great, and the design is really nice, but it does not look expensive either. I love it.
I watched the stream of the announcement on Facebook and it sounded like it, because when someone asked about what's needed for a referendum to pass he replied that it would only happen if the bid were approved. I could be remembering wrong, though. You can watch the archive of it here and skip to the questions at the end. https://www.facebook.com/TampaBayRowdies/videos/10155496873248835/ Just checked and I remembered correctly. About 1:01 into the video he says it.
I agree with the thumbs up on the stadium design. Sitting in the stands that first season at ALF I dreamed up nearly the same idea. A stand that would allow for a view of the water. I like the asymmetrical design. Avoids a cookie cutter template look. Kenn you are on record against the St Pete location, but getting a piece of dirt is half the battle of building your own yard. The Al Lang site really greases the wheels on getting a stadium done sooner than later. As I said in a previous post, Bill Edwards is a St Pete guy through and through. If he was going to take the club to MLS it was going to be on the west side of the bay. The Rowdies will certainly have to overcome the issues that have troubled the Rays. Playing the majority of their matches on weekends will certainly help. The atmosphere of being on the waterfront is far better than the neighborhood around the Trop just a short distance away. They also have less games to sell. The Lightning set attendance records at the Trop so it CAN be done. The real question is, what are the chances? Before today I would have rated us a long shot for a spot, but with a privately financed stadium, I got to think that we are in the hunt with pretty good odds. Edwards said we could be ready to play in 2019. That might be hyperbole (the stadium wouldn't be ready), but it shows he is playing for keeps.
When asked about current capacity and what happens when they sell out that, he said he would add more seats as needed. The problem with a permanent structure is that it would have to be approved by voters
As someone who was skeptical about the St. Pete move at first I found it to be a very easy trip from the Tampa side for the Saturday night games. Feels a bit different than the trek to Rays and Lightning games in the past, along with having to do it less often. Hopefully more people realize that. I think now our odds are down to filling the place, assuming he has the investors lined up already (kind of sounded like he does). The team and the fans really need to make a push to get those last 2000 seats or so accounted for on a regular basis. Of course having MLS as an open goal now won't hurt. Can't count on the Cosmos games any more, lol.
As a Tampanian, I will remain skeptical about anybody's chances on the Pinellas side of the Bay. It does seem to make sense, though, that getting a stadium built on the ALF location would be far easier than on the Hillsborough side (where would they play during construction?), so, fine. And those are some mighty nice renderings. But Edwards is right - there has to be more evidence that people will come for the current product, now, where it is, to make skeptics like me modify our stances. Yes, I know, I know, I know, 5,878 a game, blah blah blah, third in the league, blah blah blah. That's still a decent DII number, but you are going to have to sell a higher percentage of capacity and start turning people away before reasonable people will say, "Well, yeah. Okay." Getting your own yard is key. If it's this one, fine. But there's a reason everyone who's ever played on that side of the Bay either skipped back over to Tampa or wants to.
I gave up my tickets when I moved to Baltimore two years ago, but I plan to buy season tickets to support the cause. I will send the tickets to friends and donate them to some schools to spread the word.
Short of Vinik taking over the whole thing I don't know how this gets back to Tampa. And put it this way, as awful as the Rays attendance has been (averaging 15,878 last season), it's still twice what's needed to pack Al Lang currently and just shy of what its new capacity would be. Surely it's not that out of reach for the Rowdies.
Edwards did outline a strategy. Sell tickets. He isn't a guy used to losing and is building a team to get to MLS. The media needs to support the team better, he needs to line up some sponsors and pack the house.
Do we have any stats about what sort of bounce teams have managed once announcing MLS intentions? I hate to invoke the magic words of "marketing" but it's hard for a minor league team to make much more noise than that.
The 1975-80 Rowdies, sure. No, that's a goal, not a strategy. ( a ) As are a lot of other people vying for (apparently) very few slots ( b ) They haven't actually won anything since he's owned them. What, exactly, gives him this "not used to losing" reputation? Do the third one first. Then the second one will be easier and the first will follow. And even then, they're still behind other cities that sell out frequently and have higher-net-worth investors.
Yes, selling tickets is a goal. To clarify, last night was a direct appeal to fans to pack the house. He made it clear that is what the bid is lacking first and foremost. He probably has Minnesota type numbers in his head, not Cincinnati, let's be real. He mentioned season tickets several times, so he does understand how the game works. If they can fill that temporary stand with season ticket holders it will do alot for the bid. I will give you that he will be competing against other proven winners. My comparison was more towards the sad sack group running the Rays. I know any professional sports owner is a good business person but they sometimes lack the ability to translate it into sports management. Edwards has lots of connections in St Pete that will help with the referendum. He alluded to an investor group that might be revealed soon for all we know. As far as not winning on the field? The man knows little about soccer. He admitted to buying the club before even attending his first soccer game. I think we are in the breaking a few eggs before you can make a cake stage. He clearly isn't afraid to pay his own way. The event last night was far from polished. That is his style. What came through to me is he does have an emotional connection to the community and now the club. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't succeed with MLS, I think he walks away, but not getting there isn't something he is even thinking.
So the announcement rates a second page article in the Times with no pictures. For something that could potentially dramatically change St. Pete's waterfront. After all the anguish over that stupid pier. Wow. Meanwhile across the bay in Tampa, WFLA sent a live reporter to the announcement and brought back t-shirts and scarves to the anchor desk. WTF.
Raising season ticket prices significantly for 2016 is not going to help that cause; now they are higher than almost any other USL team . I will likely go ahead and get a package, but $270 for the lowest priced ticket with basically no benefits is a bit steep. Many other teams start around $170 or less (some significantly less - FC Cincinnati starts at $75 for GA) and offer some real benefits like a free guest ticket, free parking, and gear. Plus the buy online option for season tickets does not seem to be working this morning.
I guess it helps that Cinci has more tickets to sell so they can make it up in volume. But I find the midfield seat prices most irritating. They're $60 a game. I can get club seats to the Lightning for that much.
Online season ticket purchase is back up, starts at $291 after tax. Benefits include 10% off merch at the team store and priority access to non-Rowdies events...and that's it. Regardless, I got mine.