Rowdies News and Updates

I'm concerned that we lost Deigo, but that is why we have depth. Hope to see him back in the fall. We will need all hands on deck.

 

I am happy that Seminole Hard Rock & Casino is on board with the Rowdies. Props to Edwards for this move and getting a Spanish twitter account to try and lure in the hispanic population of this area.

I've always hoped that more hispanics (and other ethnicities) came to games, but as a fellow hispanic, I understand the "old guard" are "regionalistic". I don't understand why they are "regionalistic" in this area, b/c there is no other soccer draw unless they drive to the armpit of the state that is Orlando. It has just baffled me over the years. If the Rowdies can tap into that demographic as well as the other ones, it would be pleasant.

At least the Rowdies are trying. I give them props for doing so.

 

As iconic as having the club's name on the chest is, let's not lie to ourselves: This was always going to happen. There's too much money to be made to not have a front-shirt sponsor, it's just the way the business works nowadays.

Personally, I really like that we got a globally recognized brand like the HARD ROCK as our first major shirt sponsor. Hey, it could be worse; it could have been 1-800-Ask-Gary or Culpepper & Kurland (those douchebag lawyers who would rather make "Mission Impossible" trailers than win actual court cases).

 

Rowdies/Seminole Hard Rock Casino jersey sponorship.

Tampa Bay Rowdies, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa announce exclusive partnership
http://www.wtsp.com/sports/article/358326/4/Rowdies-Seminole-Hard-Rock-announce-partnership

Seminole Hard Rock Become First Jersey-Front Sponsor For Rowdies
http://www.620wdae.com/onair/steve-duemig-6168/seminole-hard-rock-become-first-jerseyfront-12105286/

Hard Rock Casino to become first jersey-front sponsor for Rowdies
http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2014/02/26/hard-rock-casino-to-become-first.html

Rowdies Sign Hard Rock Casino as Jersey Sponsor
http://soccer365.com/rowdies-sign-hard-rock-casino-as-jersey-sponsor/

 

I agree that this is a promising sign that Edwards may be able to put together better sponsorships than in years past.

An effective marketing strategy to reach the latin market has been long overdue. Twitter isn't exactly proof of a major initiative, but I guess they have to start somewhere.

Why? Why bother to fight to secure the Rowdies name and wordmark? Seems like a waste if you just going to plaster a sponsor logo on the chest. They could have stuck with FC Tampa Bay to do this.

This is where everyone keeps repeating the conventional wisdom and that doesn't make it a fact. How much is this deal really worth? There is too much money to be made NOT to have a front shirt sponsor logo spoiling the uniform? Last time I checked, the Lightning, Rays, and Bucs don't have one. And those clubs could actually make money doing it. The Rowdies not so much. Minor league baseball teams don't even do this. They sell everything else in their operation to a sponsor, but not the shirt. Not the IDENTITY of the club.

The Rowdies would have been better served to exhaust every other sponsorship opportunity before screwing up their shirts.

 

You are talking MLB, NHL, and NFL where by league rules jersey sponsors are not allowed. For many many many pro leagues in the World Jersey sponsors are a genuine stream of revenue.
You cannot compare the big 4 leagues in North America to other league in and out of North America.
There was a time in the NHL and MLB when there were no sponsors on the boards or outfield walls if I remeber correctly but that has changed due to the immense amount of revenue they bring in. The big 4 leagues also have billion dollars of TV revenue that works in the US markets.

 

Because it's our club name! The name on the chest isn't the be all of this team. People were probably arguing similar points when the Rowdies got rid of the hoops on their sleeves in the mid to late 1980s. They will still be the Rowdies.

Trust me on this: it's a lucrative deal.

cflsteve is correct; there are restrictions placed on teams in MLB, NFL, NBA, & NHL to not display sponsors on their uniforms. However, around the world, in every sport (including Baseball, Hockey, Basketball, & [the now defunct] NFL Europe), teams have sponsors on their unis. I think a league like the NHL, which has struggled a bit financially compared to the other major leagues, should explore the option of uniform sponsorship.

Since soccer has no timeouts or commercial breaks when watching the run of play on TV or online, they need to sell advertisement space in other ways; this includes displaying ad boards on the sidelines and Shirt sponsors. All the other major sports in this country that you've mentioned have TV timeouts during their run of play to show TV commercials.

 

I would agree if any of the big 4 were to go the way of most of the Worlds pro sports with Jersey spnsors it would be the NHL. One thing that has probably enabled them not to have to as of yet is the very visible Sponsor space on the boards during the entire action of the game they can be seen. The NHL is also the only one of the big 4 that have a very lucrative TV deal with a Canadian Networks to go with the US networks.

 

Sorry Charlie. We live in America. A club's identity is tied to its uniform. Major League clubs get this. Minor league clubs get this as well. Only the stupid soccer europosers don't get it. Certain things SHOULDN'T be for sale and a club's shirt is one of them. The Rowdies fought for that logo to just substitute it for the Hard Rock? You aren't listening. They could have done a sponsorship with the Hard Rock without spoiling the shirt and identity of the club.

The fact that everyone has such a hard on for getting shirt sponsors on these boards is pathetic.

 

Excuse me? Cats like you I just don't get. The club's identity should always be paramount, not some flavor of the month sponsor. When this jersey comes out and everyone says how awesome it looks you are all either lying or idiots. It will look like shit.

Since you speculated, I will answer you (since I was there and all). Nobody cared about the ASL Rowdies not playing in the same kits as the NASL club did. The team was playing in a shirt with freaking ROWDIES across the chest. Made everyone who went to the games pretty happy. So wrong you are.

How would you know and how do you know we agree on what the definition of 'lucrative' is? So we have established the fact that the club is a whore, now we are just haggling on price? There are plenty of other things they could sell to a sponsor to get a 'lucrative' payout before you sell the very identity of your team. That should be priceless. Most American sports people get that.

The point is that the shirt shouldn't be for sale. Not here not anywhere. Europe and South America have this wrong. The club's identity should be paramount. The big four leagues in America (and Minor league baseball) get this (or at least most of their owners do). Comparing board and outfield sponsors to shirt sponsors is apples and oranges.

No they shouldn't. They should control their expenses better.

See, you just found the answer. Sell ad boards to someone with more resources than a soccer store. Sell naming rights to the pitch (Orlando City did this). Sell the presenting sponsorship for individual games. Sell ads for whatever you want besides the shirt.

 

HAHa it is way more than Euro soccer clubs.
$$$$$ they have to come from somewhere. Just like around the 70's MLB and NHL did not want any sponsor signs on the boards or outfield walls. Guess what that lasted only so long because the price tag was just too high.
The big 4 afford it with TV money at its highest levels. Once they lose that they lose alot

 

I respect your opinion, Bluesfan, and I really love the fact that Rowdies fans from way back, like yourself, are still interested in this new incarnation. I wish we could make everyone happy, but the soccer world has changed and the Rowdies are changing with it, for better or for worse.

BTW, when I say "Trust me on this: It's a lucrative deal", I do mean trust me. I know a bit more about what's going on with this club than most fans out there.

 

Fair enough. We can agree to disagree. I didn't mean to get all pissed at another fellow supporter, what chapped my hide was idiots like cflsteve who have no skin in the game telling me that this is great for my club. In my humble opinion it blows. Someone like me, that has deep rooted contempt for how this bunch has gone about resurrecting a brand identity that held a special place in my memory, views this as a tipping point. They have done so many thing wrong, but to their credit have been getting their act together in some ways as of late. This is a huge step backward.

They finally got a good facsimile of the classic kits last year. Not perfect (how hard is it to get truly hooped socks), but pretty darn good. I almost bought one last season, after refusing to buy the crap they had in years past, but I honestly just never got around to it. Now forget it. Would never buy one with a sponsor on it.

Honestly, I wouldn't be all hot about this if they put the sponsor on the back under/over the number. That is a reasonable concession. If they are going to go with a sponsor on the front then retire the classic kit. It shouldn't have a sponsor plastered on it. Come up with a new, unique identity for this club. Then break out the classic shirt as a throwback (sans sponsor) for special matches.

 

I truly did not mean to offend you in anyway. In fact as a very very very young boy the Rowdies were my fav as they were the one club that could take on the Mghty Cosmos. In fact I am truly fast becoming a Rowdies fan again. Being in Philly I have stated that Luke M would have come to the Union with his ties through Reading PDL.
I also think it is great to see how they are tranforming Lang field into a soccer pitch from a badesbal stadium. Adding the section behind the benches looks fantastic. Now that I beleive they are the main tenant the baseball diamond now being removed is great to see as well.

 

Facts. They aren't removing the baseball diamond. Just some sod over the dirt, just like every other year. The new seats are temporary. They are hosting baseball there the next two weeks in fact.

The upgrades are appreciated, but still doesn't make it a soccer stadium.

 

Thanks for the info. I hope it does continue to be more like a soccer pitch with better sod on the diamond etc. With the stadium still having double use as a baseball and soccer pitch the temp seats brought in for each soccer game look great.

Venues in all three pro leagues USL Pro, NASL, and MLS are still getting multi sports use Lang is one that is taking great steps converting from baseball to Soccer.
Indy Eleven soccer/track, TD Place Ottawa, football/Soccer, even Clarke Stadium in Edmonton are on their way to having new turf that will be for soccer and football but will have the soccer matches without football lines.
Exciting to see the new clubs and the clubs that have been there from the start making these efforts.

 

I appreciate the passion being displayed regarding the sponsorship and its impact on the team jerseys. In the rest of the world, it is the club shield that is important. The club shield remains close to your heart regardless of the sponsorship. In the US, we support the shirt. The players change but the jersey stays the same.

But not really. I live in the Dallas Fort Worth area. All major sports have teams here along with an MLS club. Every team has either changed jersey designs or come out with a third (or more) jersey in the last three years. The Dallas Stars even changed the team colors. FC Dallas has changed sponsors. So, their jersey changed as well.

I respect history and don't want to change the team colors (although I do like the black jerseys better than the white ones). But, I want to cheer for the team, the players in the jerseys. They will change. Yet, the thread will be the same, year in and year out, "Come on you Rowdies!"

Regardless of sponsorship or jersey composition, I'll be cheering for this year's team. And, I'll be wearing my new 2014 jersey (I hope) when I see these guys in San Antonio on May 3.

 

Rowdies Stars Collide video from channel 13
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/video?clipId=9959519&topVideoCatNo=236673&autoStart=true

 

Talking football with the Rowdies head coach
https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/rowdies-news-and-updates.1873744/page-16

 

Preseason Recap: Rowdies 4 Marauders 2
http://www.nasl.com/article/uuid/1u76b63tp8sv21x6t7bu0komoe/preseason-recap-rowdies-4-marauders-2

The Marauders gave us a hell of a match.
Kyle Clinton scored a beautiful goal from about thirty yards out. The Naimoli Athletic Stadium is a great place to watch a game. The stands are right on top of the action.

 

Intersting ways of getting sponsors onto NBA Jerseys. The new Commish has stated that the sponsor will be on the back of the Jerseys but like the CFL having Jersey Patch sponsors on the front corner of the Jersey's I can see something like the Red Bulls example here as a posibility.
For the CFL who started putting Jersey Patches on the Jersey with each team having their own specific sponsor. This year each team had a Jersey sponsor for the season but the league had two Jersey patch sponsors for all teams to wear on the Jersey's for the playoffs. Creating a second stream of revenue for jersey patch sponsors.
Canadian Pacific and SUn life bought exclusive Jersey advertisement patches for playoffs for all teams

 

Tampa Bay Rowdies to face Iceland's Valur FC in international friendly
http://boxscorenews.com/tampa-bay-r...ur-fc-in-international-friendly-p76339-68.htm