| Full name | Tampa Bay Rowdies | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Rowdies | ||
| Founded | 2008 | ||
| Stadium | Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida (Capacity: 7,227) |
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| Owners | Hinds Howard David Laxer Andrew Nestor |
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| Head Coach | Ricky Hill | ||
| League | North American Soccer League | ||
| 2011 (NASL) | Regular Season: 3rd, Playoffs: Quarter-finals |
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| Website | Club home page | ||
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| Current season | |||
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. Founded in 2008, the team currently play in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team play their home games at Progress Energy Park in St. Petersburg, Florida, and is coached by Ricky Hill.
When plans for a new professional soccer team in the area were announced in 2008, the franchise called itself the "Tampa Bay Rowdies", the same name used from 1975 to 1993 by Tampa's franchise in the old North American Soccer League. However, a trademark dispute over the rights to the Rowdies name and logos resulted in the new team being known as F.C. Tampa Bay during its first two season of play. On December 15, 2011, the team announced that the dispute had been resolved, and the franchise's name was officially changed back to Tampa Bay Rowdies.[1] The current Rowdies use the same green and yellow colors and the iconic hoops as the original team.[2]
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The original Tampa Bay Rowdies were an expansion franchise in the original North American Soccer League, which played for 10 seasons in Tampa Stadium starting in 1975. They were an immediate success, winning a Soccer Bowl championship in their inaugural season, making it to league final in both 1978 and 1979, and regularly making the NASL playoffs. The team showcased international stars such as midfield captain Rodney Marsh (England), league leading goal scorer Oscar Fabbiani (Argentina), forward Steve Wegerle (South Africa), defender Arsene Auguste (Haiti), and popular player and high goal-scoring Derek Smethurst (South Africa). Head coaches included well-known managers Eddie Firmani, John Boyle, and Gordon Jago. The club's substantial fan base were dubbed "Fannies". They enjoyed broad popular support in the Tampa Bay area until the NASL folded in 1984, after which the team played in various minor indoor and outdoor leagues before finally folding in 1993.
On June 18, 2008, it was announced that a new soccer club would revive the Rowdies name as the "FC Tampa Bay Rowdies" and play as an expansion team of the USL First Division, the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.[3] However, in November 2009 FC Tampa Bay announced their intent to instead become the co-founders of a new North American Soccer League, which would begin play in 2010.[4] These plans were subsequently superseded by the USSF Division 2 deal, which created a compromise one-season only league comprising teams from both the USL and the new NASL.
Before actually beginning play, the club announced in January 2010 that they would drop the Rowdies moniker and become simply "FC Tampa Bay" due to an ongoing legal dispute over the merchandising rights of the Tampa Bay Rowdies name.[5] However, the name was still used informally. On October 15, 2010, the team announced that they will no longer use the "Rowdies" nickname at all,[6] but that they are still working to regain use of the name.[7] On December 15, 2011, the team announced that it had regained use of the Rowdies nickname and the team would be immediately renamed to the Tampa Bay Rowdies for the 2012 NASL season.[2]
The team played its first official game on April 16, 2010, a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace Baltimore. The first goal in franchise history was scored by striker Aaron King. The first home game was held on May 8, 2010, a 2-2 draw against Austin Aztex. The club started their inaugural season with a 5-1-3 record, but then won only 2 of its last 21 games and failed to make the playoffs with a final record of 7-12-11.[8] They did, however, capture the 2010 Ponce De Leon Cup.
For the 2011 season, FC Tampa Bay will play in the new North American Soccer League, a second division league, and will also change their home pitch, as they will play their home games across Tampa Bay at Al Lang Field in downtown St. Petersburg. On January 18, 2011, Ricky Hill was announced as the next head coach of FC Tampa Bay, filling the vacancy created by the firing of previous coach Paul Dalglish.
According to an official press release, the new team logo is meant to invoke the past through the use of a traditional shield shape, stripes and a traditional soccer ball in the top portion of the shield. The star above the shield represents the North American Soccer League Championship won by the original Rowdies in 1975. Additionally, the stripes were worn on the sleeves of the original kit of the Rowdies. The new logo adds a navy border to the color scheme to set the new team apart from the original NASL team.[9]
The Rowdies' home pitch is Al Lang Stadium at Progress Energy Park, a 7,227 seat baseball stadium located on the downtown waterfront of St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rowdies are the only regular tenant of the stadium, so the playing surface was converted for soccer use by removing the pitcher's mound and replacing the infield dirt with grass.[10]
During its inaugural season in 2010, FC Tampa Bay played at George M. Steinbrenner Field, an 11,000-seat baseball stadium in Tampa. The club shared the facility with the Tampa Yankees, the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the New York Yankees,[11] which presented some difficulties. Since the pitcher's mound and infield dirt could not be altered, the soccer field ran across the outfield grass, creating a playing surface smaller than most professional soccer fields. Still, some of the clay baseball diamond bowed out into the soccer pitch.[12] Also, since the Tampa Yankees play several games every week during the summer, scheduling was an issue.[13]
Ralph's Mob is an independent supporter group for the Rowdies named after "Ralph Rowdie", the fictional mustached footballer featured in the logo of the original Tampa Bay Rowdies.[14][15] The group is known for wearing green and gold striped scarves, socks, and face paint, and for loudly cheering on their team while teasing opponents, much like the "Fannies" of the original Rowdies.[16][17][18] Ralph's Mob has a designated seating area at home matches. Many members also travel to away games, particularly when the Rowdies play at in-state rival Fort Lauderdale.[19][20]
as of December 28, 2011[21]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Year | Division | League | Regular Season | Playoffs | Open Cup | Avg. Attendance |
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| 2010 | 2 | USSF Division 2 | 6th, USL (10th) | Did not qualify | 2nd Round | 3,866 |
| 2011 | 2 | NASL | 3rd | Lost in 1st Round | Denied entry | 3,159 |
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