It's Al Lang...For a While

Discussion in 'Tampa Bay Rowdies' started by kenntomasch, Sep 12, 2012.

  1. Helix

    Helix New Member

    Jun 13, 2006
    St. Pete, FL
    Club:
    FC Sankt Pauli

    That's a matter of opinion. An incredibly arrogant and misguided opinion held only by "holier than thou" Tampanians. If anything, St. Pete is a much more fitting market for a minor league sports team.

    Tampa can have the Rays. And then I can laugh when they still draw flies.
     
  2. XaviusX

    XaviusX Member

    Mar 21, 2001
    Tampa, Florida
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Though I don't disagree with you totally, I have to agree with the fact that building a SSS in Hillsborough County is the best case scenario. The numbers don't lie. It needs to be built in a central part of the bay where it can be accessed by as many soccer fans here as possible.
    If the club does finally decide to build their SSS in downtown St. Pete, then I have no other choice but to support it.

    Also, you mentioned that St. Pete is a "much more fitting market for a minor league sports team". Well, what happens if we end up with a new owner(s) with deep pockets who decides that he/she wants to take this club to a higher level (i.e. MLS)? You'd want the club to be in the best possible position to be able to compete not just on the field, but in the stands.
     
  3. tbpirate

    tbpirate Member

    Jul 15, 2009
    Tampa,FL
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Seattle said the pitch at Al Lang in narrow. I know Legends Field was barely a regulation field. Does anyone know the field size of Al Land? It would be so great to have a SSS with a proper 120 x 80 field.
     
  4. Bluesfan

    Bluesfan Member+

    DC United
    Aug 12, 2000
    Tampa
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Scotland
    I don't think the club has ever released dimensions. It is both a bit narrow and also short.
     
  5. Bluesfan

    Bluesfan Member+

    DC United
    Aug 12, 2000
    Tampa
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Scotland
    Tonight was the kind of good crowd (4595) we should expect to see with three weeks lead time and some good press from the Open Cup along the way to hype the team. This was the seventh largest crowd in club history and best June gate since leaving Tampa for St Pete by a long shot. Bested the previous June best by nearly 2,000. In fact they were 200 shy of the best June match attendance at GSF.

    Little by little this club is showing some promise at the box office. Average year-to-date attendance is up nearly 800 over last season with the marquee Independence Day match up next. The club record for Independence Day is 5,123 (2010) in Tampa and I would think the way they are trending we might see that surpassed.
     
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  6. speedcake

    speedcake Member

    Dec 2, 1999
    Tampa
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    The unintentional irony in this post is thick.

    Unfortunately, this person will likely get what they want and the rest of us will be sold short.

    Also, your douche canoe-esque response has my finger hovering over the ignore button. If anything, you've made me want the team moved back to Tampa even more now. Just so you have something to rant about.
     
  7. brentgoulet

    brentgoulet Member+

    Oct 12, 2005
    PuertoPlata, DomRep
    maybe saturday 8/10 when the Cosmos comes to Tampa for the 1st time in almost 30 years ?
     
  8. speedcake

    speedcake Member

    Dec 2, 1999
    Tampa
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It will be interesting to see what the crowd looks like on July 4th, as well. If the team somehow manages to increase attendance three games in a row then that would be welcome news.
     
  9. brentgoulet

    brentgoulet Member+

    Oct 12, 2005
    PuertoPlata, DomRep
  10. cruzazulsdad

    cruzazulsdad Member

    Aug 3, 2008
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    GREEN & GOLD
    TILL I'M DEAD & COLD
     
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  11. Bluesfan

    Bluesfan Member+

    DC United
    Aug 12, 2000
    Tampa
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Scotland
    Excellent crowd tonight (5034) despite rain all week and a gloomy outlook for game day. I called it that they would get 5k for a rainy day or 5.5k for no rain. The showers probably cost us having an Independence Day record crowd. Tonight's crowd was fourth largest in club history and the largest in St. Pete save for the Soccer Bowl match. Still, the club finishes the spring season with an average attendance of 4037, which if that holds would surpass the current best season average from 2010 at GSF. Attendance is up thirty percent over last season.

    One month to sell tickets for the Cosmos match. Things are looking better than I expected at season's start.
     
  12. speedcake

    speedcake Member

    Dec 2, 1999
    Tampa
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Attendance is up two games in a row, up significantly. With over a month to sell the Cosmos game, I think we've got a really good chance to see attendance rise three games in a row. A lot of things are starting to come together and it's leading to much bigger attendance numbers. Have to say I'm pretty happy for the moment.
     
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  13. Bluesfan

    Bluesfan Member+

    DC United
    Aug 12, 2000
    Tampa
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Scotland
    I think the scheduling has been pretty favorable this season, but maybe they are finally figuring this thing out. It would be nice to see us pass the Strikers in the attendance table as well as on the pitch. We aren't too far behind them.
     
  14. XaviusX

    XaviusX Member

    Mar 21, 2001
    Tampa, Florida
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There were plenty of new faces in attendance during yesterday's match. I met a young couple after the match that had just moved down from Michigan and had never attended a Soccer match in their lives. They were completely sold! :)
     
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  15. Mutiny RIP

    Mutiny RIP Member

    Apr 15, 2006
    Bradenton, FL
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    With limited resources, the Rowdies have done a pretty good job this year with marketing and game day experience.
     
  16. Bluesfan

    Bluesfan Member+

    DC United
    Aug 12, 2000
    Tampa
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Scotland
    On the pitch the club may have come up short this season, but they were a success at the gate no matter which way you measure it.

    -Average attendance increased for the second year in a row
    -The club was able to crack the 4,000 average attendance mark for the first time ever
    -They sold the heck out of the Cosmos match and it was the second largest crowd in club history
    -The Independence Day match came up just shy of eclipsing the 2010 match as the biggest July 4th crowd ever
    -Three matches were top ten all time gates
    -This was the first year where they didn't have a sub 3,000 game.
    -Tied 2010 for number of 4,000+ gates (6)

    Overall, a promising trend in late 2012 became a solid performance in 2013. They shored up the attendance floor and proved that they could pull off an occasional big event. In 2014 it would be nice to see them make the jump from 4k to 4,500 a game.
     
  17. XaviusX

    XaviusX Member

    Mar 21, 2001
    Tampa, Florida
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  18. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    While I understand the switcheroo thing and the idea of getting more use out of the field, I cannot for the life of me imagine someone saying, "Hey, artificial turf would be great for getting more people to come to games."

    We need to continue to move away from turf, not toward more of it. Somewhere in the braintrust there's a synapse that's not firing correctly if they think that artificial turf is in the best long-term interests of this club.
     
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  19. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And for old people.
     
  20. speedcake

    speedcake Member

    Dec 2, 1999
    Tampa
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    all of the sighs.
     
  21. speedcake

    speedcake Member

    Dec 2, 1999
    Tampa
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Why would we invest $1 million in improving Al Lang before knowing what will happen to the facility in the next couple of years?

    A video scoreboard would definitely enhance the game day experience, fine. But instead of turf, why not invest the other $650,000 in things like a full roster, better players, a full front office staff, more marketing, and maybe some bleachers in the outfield for away supporters to stand in?

    I get that turf would look prettier, and won't be a mess during rainy day games. It might also be cheaper to maintain than switching sod in and out each season. Although, only the infield diamond is covered in sod. How expensive can that be once a year? Are the Rowdies even paying for that? I was under the impression the St. Pete Baseball Commission was paying for it.

    $1 million is quite a bit of money to dump into a...dump of a baseball stadium.
     
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  22. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Only makes sense if you are going to buy the place.

    And that doesn't make sense, either.

    It seems like you would get a lot more out of the other investments you mentioned rather than turf or a scoreboard, again, as you don't know about the long-term future of the facility.

    But anybody can buy turf or a scoreboard. It takes actual smarts to do the other stuff. It's largely busy work.
     
  23. speedcake

    speedcake Member

    Dec 2, 1999
    Tampa
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    On one hand, that they have a million dollars on hand to put into upgrading Al Lang is good, I suppose. I just don't see how spending a dime on Al Lang until the stadium's future, and the future of the site, is settled is a good investment.

    Especially when we may be very close, relatively, to when such decisions might be made.

    If the Rowdies have a plan, or a vision, it sure is hard to get behind it and get people to support it when you don't tell anyone about it.
     
  24. BayVol

    BayVol Member

    Jun 30, 2002
    Clearwater, FL
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Nice to see "city leaders" are quoting the Rowdies intentions. I do not believe it. Too many variables today to know exactly what management wants. Makes for a nice discussion though.
     
  25. speedcake

    speedcake Member

    Dec 2, 1999
    Tampa
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That is definitely something to keep in mind; no Rowdies officials were directly quoted for the article.
     

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