Dear Rowdies Fans, As our first year of operations winds down, I want to thank everyone for their support. I, along with the rest of our ownership group and our staff, look forward to an upcoming year which will include some exciting occasions such as our uniform presentation, signing of key players and coaching staff, and numerous events for our fans. As we go into 2009, I want to ask your support for our stadium development project at Waters Avenue and Veteran’s Highway. There is a Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) vote on the TBR planned development zoning application on January 13, 2009 at the Hillsborough County Center in Downtown Tampa. A majority vote by the County Commissioners will give TBR approval on our proposed stadium land that we own to proceed with construction of a beautiful long-term home for the Rowdies. We need to show the BOCC that the community supports this stadium. Please show your support by both: Signing the electronic petition HERE Attending the vote on 1/13/09 to show the BOCC how much this community wants and needs Rowdies Stadium These simple acts will go a long way. Thank you and have a happy and safe holiday season. Regards, Andrew Miguel Nestor Owner & President http://www.petitiononline.com/Rowdies/petition.html Benefits of Rowdies Stadium Local economic boost in a time of recession, including job creation, tourism, and additional business development Improvement in quality of life and community building – a new home for Tampa Bay to come together and create new memories for generations Rowdies Stadium Programming Tampa Bay Rowdies: roughly 20 soccer events from April to October Average league reported attendance for Southeastern teams in USL-1 in 2009 was 3,058 fans per game Secondary programming will be focused on amateur-based or lower-level professional sports including lacrosse, rugby, college soccer, high school soccer, youth soccer and high school football Location The land owned by TBR is a centrally-located site that will cater to all surrounding counties The proposed site is already zoned properly for a stadium usage; the planned development application to be voted on is only for specific zoning variances Rowdies Stadium on-site parking capacity will be on par with all local Tampa Bay area stadiums and soccer stadiums throughout the US Rowdies Stadium will be located to the east of Veteran’s Highway, an industrial area directly north of Tampa International Airport and not directly connected to any residential neighborhood associations The Veteran’s Highway has over 42,000 cars per day and that number will grow to over 80,000 cars per day by 2014 due to widening of the highway and construction of a noise wall to the east
Happy New Years Rowdies Fans! Thank you to all of you who have signed the petition in support of the Rowdies Stadium proposed site. If you have not yet signed, please do so by clicking on this link HERE. All signatures must be collected by this Thursday. We appreciate your support and call upon you again. Your attendance is needed at a very important Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners public meeting where a vote will be taken by the county commissioners to approve the Rowdies Stadium planned development application providing our approval to proceed with our stadium plans. It is crucial that we have supporters in attendance at the hearing wearing green and gold colors and soccer jerseys of all kinds! Date: January 13, 2009 (Tuesday) Time: 9AM (please arrive early) Place: Hillsborough County Center 1st Floor Downtown Tampa 601 E. Kennedy Blvd 1st Floor Tampa, FL 33602 Audience: Board members and general public Please arrive early to get a seat in the main meeting room on the first floor. For directions, visit the county center website at: http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/about/findus.cfm The proposed stadium site, at the intersection of Waters Avenue and Veteran’s Highway, is owned by the Tampa Bay Rowdies and is an ideal, central location for our soccer stadium. There is sufficient land for a great soccer-specific stadium with all amenities which has already been designed by a world-class design firm. The site is currently zoned properly for stadium usage and is adjacent to the Veteran’s in an industrial area just north of the airport. The planned development application to be voted on is only for specific zoning variances which would allow for typical stadium operations. This privately funded venue will create a local economic benefit during a time of recession, which means job creation, tourism and additional business development. We want to build here but we must have the support of the community to win this vote. YOUR attendance is important to our success. The stadium will be home to your Tampa Bay Rowdies professional soccer club, as well as other sporting events including lacrosse, international rugby, college soccer and high school / youth sports. We understand it’s not ideal to attend a hearing on a Tuesday morning, but it’s imperative that we show support. Please spread the word to other supporter’s who can help us win this vote and thank you for helping in this manner. Andrew M. Nestor Tampa Bay Rowdies Owner & President