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| Full name | Tampa Bay Rowdies | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Rowdies | |||
| Founded | June 18, 2008; 17 years ago (2008-06-18) | |||
| Stadium | Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg,Florida | |||
| Capacity | 7,500 | |||
| Owners | Tampa Bay Rays (Patrick Zalupski) | |||
| Head coach | Dominic Casciato | |||
| League | USL Championship | |||
| 2024 | 6th, Eastern Conference Playoffs: Conference Semifinals | |||
| Website | rowdiessoccer.com | |||
 Current season | ||||
TheTampa Bay Rowdies are an American professionalsoccer team based inSt. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of theUSL Championship in the second tier of theAmerican soccer pyramid. They formerly played inUSSF Division 2 (in 2010) and theNorth American Soccer League (NASL) (from 2011 to 2016), which were also second-tier leagues. The Rowdies play their home games atAl Lang Stadium on St. Petersburg's downtown waterfront.
The current club is aphoenix club of theoriginal Tampa Bay Rowdies, who were active from 1975 until 1993, most notably in theoriginal North American Soccer League. The original owners of the current club announced their intention to use the old Rowdies' trademarks at their introductory press conference in 2008, but licensing issues forced the new club to use the nameFC Tampa Bay until December 2011, when it gained full rights to the Rowdies name and other intellectual property.[1] The current Rowdies have always used the same green and yellow color scheme and "hoops" as the original team and revived much of its club culture even before it could legally use the "Rowdies" name and other trademarks.[2]
The current Rowdies captured the NASL championship inSoccer Bowl 2012, and their team shield includes two stars: one for their 2012 win and one for the1975 Soccer Bowl championship won by the original Rowdies. The club has had a long-standing rivalry with theFort Lauderdale Strikers, with whom they have contested theFlorida Derby since the original Rowdies and Strikers first met in 1977. The Rowdies were also named co-league champions in 2020 after winning the USL Regular Season title and Eastern Conference Championship, but the title game was canceled due toCOVID-19. They were Eastern Conference Champions again in 2021, but lost in the title game.
In 2018, the owners ofMajor League Baseball'sTampa Bay Rays purchased the Rowdies and assumed control of Al Lang Stadium.[3] When the Rays were sold to a new ownership group in 2025, the Rowdies were included as part of the sale.[4]
Theoriginal Tampa Bay Rowdies were an expansion franchise in the originalNorth American Soccer League and played for 10 seasons inTampa Stadium starting in 1975. NASL indoor competitions saw the Rowdies claim three titles during the1976,1979–1980, and1983 seasons. The Rowdies played until the NASL folded in 1984, after which the team played in theAISA,ASL and theAPSL before folding in 1993. Between the years of the former and current Rowdies franchises, theTampa Bay Mutiny played in theMajor League Soccer during 1996 through 2001, leaving less than ten years between professional soccer teams in Tampa Bay since the former Rowdies' first season in 1975 and FC Tampa Bay's first season in 2010. While the Mutiny have no connection to either Rowdies franchise, the team often paid tribute to the former Rowdies by wearing jerseys of their colors, and even wearing the logo of both the Tampa Bay Mutiny and Rowdies on the same shirt.
On June 18, 2008, local businessmen David Laxer, Andrew Nestor and Hinds Howard announced plans to start a new soccer club which would revive the Rowdies name as FC Tampa Bay Rowdies and start play in 2010 as an expansion team in theUSL First Division, the second tier of theAmerican Soccer Pyramid.[5] However, in November 2009, FC Tampa Bay announced its intent to instead become the co-founders of a newNorth American Soccer League, which would begin play in 2010.[6] These plans were subsequently superseded by theUSSF Division 2 deal, which created a compromise one-season only league comprising teams from both the USL and the new NASL. In December 2013, local businessmanBill Edwards bought a controlling interest in the club.[7] In October 2018, theTampa Bay Rays baseball club announced their purchase the Rowdies for an undisclosed amount, pending St. Petersburg City Council approval. Once the sale was finalized, Rays presidentsMatthew Silverman andBrian Auld became vice chairmen of the soccer club.[8][9]
In January 2010, the club became known as "FC Tampa Bay" due to a legal dispute with sports apparel company Classic Ink over the merchandising rights to the Tampa Bay Rowdies name and related trademarks.[10] The name was still used informally by the club until October 2010, when the team announced that it would not use the "Rowdies" nickname at all until the ongoing rights issue was resolved.[11][12]
On December 15, 2011, after two seasons of play, the club announced that it had finally reached a licensing agreement to use the "Rowdies" name and classic logos, allowing it to change its name back to "Tampa Bay Rowdies" before the 2012 season.[1][2]
The team played its first official game on April 16, 2010, a 1–0 victory overCrystal Palace Baltimore. The first goal in franchise history was scored by strikerAaron King. The first home game was held atGeorge M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa on May 8, 2010, and ended in a 2–2 draw withAustin Aztex FC. 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, leading to dismissal of managerPaul Dalglish.[13] They did, however, capture the 2010 Ponce De Leon Cup.
For the 2011 season, FC Tampa Bay transitioned to the newNorth American Soccer League, a second division league, and also changed their home pitch, as they moved acrossTampa Bay toAl Lang Stadium inSt. Petersburg. Former original RowdieRicky Hill was named the club's manager in January 2011.
After winning only 2 of their first 10 matches, the club rebounded to finish third in the league table and qualified for the NASL playoffs. A highlight was a 1–0 mid-season friendly win over theBolton Wanderers of theEnglish Premier League at Al Lang Stadium.
The 2012 season marked the return of the Rowdies name, as the club was finally able to secure full rights to use the moniker. It was also the most successful season in modern Rowdies history, as the club finished second in the league table and became NASL champions with a victory inSoccer Bowl 2012.
Tampa Bay amassed 45 points in 28 matches during the regular season under returning manager Ricky Hill, tallying 12 wins, nine draws, and seven losses. The Rowdies earned a bye to the semifinals of the2012 NASL Playoffs, where they beat theCarolina RailHawks by a 5–4 aggregate in the two-leg series. In the championship round againstMinnesota Stars FC, the Rowdies fell behind 0–2 after the first leg but were able to tie the aggregate with a 3–1 win in the second leg back at Al Lang Stadium. Extra time ended scoreless, so the match was decided with apenalty shoot-out, which Tampa Bay won 3–2 to secure the league championship.[14] Hill was named theNASL Coach of the Year.
The defending champions got off to a slow start in two pre-league tournaments, as they went winless in their first six contests againstMLS andUSL Pro clubs. The Rowdies improved enough in league play to finish 4th in the NASL spring table with a record of 5 wins, 3 draws, and 4 losses. The highlight of the early season was a run to the 4th round of the2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which included a 1–0 win overSeattle Sounders FC of MLS.
The Rowdies went 5–4–4 during the fall portion of the schedule, good for 3rd place. The club earned 38 points over the entire campaign, second most in the league. However, because of the NASL's newsplit-season format, the Rowdies did not qualify for the playoffs.[15] Midfielder/strikerGeorgi Hristov led the team with 15 goals in all competitions and was named the NASL'sGolden Ball Award winner (MVP).
The Rowdies struggled in 2014, coming in 7th place in the NASL's spring season and 8th in the fall while allowing the most goals (50) in the league overall. The club rose to 3rd in the table midway through the fall campaign but tailed off, going winless over their last 10 matches. Manager Ricky Hill was dismissed after the season.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies' new manager for 2015 wasThomas Rongen, who had coached the MLS'sTampa Bay Mutiny in 1996. The team also brought in another familiar face whenFarrukh Quraishi, who had been a player and a youth development director for the original Rowdies, was named general manager.
In March 2015, the Rowdies traveled toPortugal to play several preseason friendlies against clubs in the Portuguese second and third divisions. It was the first time that the current club had undertaken an international tour.[16]
The Rowdies lost only one match during the NASL spring season, good for second place in the table. After starting the fall season 2–1–6, however, club owner Bill Edwards dismissed both Rongen and Quraishi.[17] AssistantStuart Campbell was promoted to manager and led the team to a 3–4–4 record. The Rowdies finished the fall season in 8th out of 11 teams in the league table and missed the playoffs.
For the second consecutive year, the Rowdies visited Europe during the preseason, traveling to England in March to play several friendlies. The Rowdies held their own against three lower division sides, going 1–2–0 in official matches. The results of the2016 NASL season were not as good. The club went 4–4–2 in the NASL spring season, good for 5th out of eleven teams in the league table. However, results slipped in the fall portion of the schedule, and the Rowdies finished the season 9–11–12, missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.[18] A few days before their final game of the season, the franchise announced they would be leaving the NASL to compete in theUnited Soccer League beginning with the 2017 season.[19]
Having made the jump to theUSL, the Rowdies served notice that they were not to be taken lightly. During the regular season, they lost only once at home, and en route to finishing in third position on the USL's Eastern Conference table, they lost only two of their final 15 matches. They posted a record of 14–11–7 with 53 points to propel them into the playoffs. In theUSL Cup playoffs, they lost in extra time at home in the conference semifinals. It was only their second home loss of the season.
After a strong start, the team lost three straight without scoring a goal. This prompted the firing of head coachStuart Campbell on May 17, with defenderNeill Collins retiring to accept the coaching vacancy the following day.[20] On July 4Georgi Hristov scored his 58th career goal for the Rowdies, to passDerek Smethurst and become the Rowdies’ all-time top scorer.[21]The team finished the season in 12th position on the Eastern Conference table.
An extremely strong start saw the club go unbeaten in their first 13 matches and lose only once in their first 20. The final third of the season wasn't as successful, as the team lost half of their last 14 games, including 2 crucial losses to expansion sides in October that saw the club finish 5th in the Eastern Conference. Their return to the postseason was short-lived, as they lost 2–1 on the road in Louisville in the first round of the2019 USL Championship Playoffs. Elsewhere, the club advanced to the third round of the2019 U.S. Open Cup, defeatingThe Villages SC before falling toOKC Energy FC. The club also entered into a partnership withNorwich City FC[22] that saw defenderCaleb Richards arrive on a season-long loan. Richards made 34 appearances, playing all but two minutes of the regular season, and scoring one goal.
The Rowdies' home pitch since 2011 has beenAl Lang Stadium, a 7,500 seat formerbaseballstadium located on thedowntown waterfront ofSt. Petersburg, Florida. When the club first moved to the venue, the pitch ran from the third base grandstand to right field wall, and the seating arrangement utilized the baseball grandstand along with temporary bleachers along one sideline. The arrangement has been tweaked every season since to provide a more traditional soccer experience for the fans.
The facility underwent a significant renovation in 2015 that reconfigured the pitch to run from the grandstand on one end to the left field wall on the other. A portion of the old right field wall was removed, and larger semi-permanent bleachers were installed along the south sideline, adding many more seats closer to the action and making Al Lang Stadium more soccer-friendly.
The team played its final two regular season 2024 matches atIMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida due to extensive damage to Al Lang from HurricaneHelene andMilton.[23]
Although the Rowdies have been the only regular tenant of Al Lang Stadium since 2011, it was still used for exhibition and amateur baseball events during the spring and summer, necessitating the regular restoration and removal of the pitcher's mound and clay infield and causing much wear and tear to the turf.[24][25]
After becoming majority owner of the club in 2013, St. Petersburg businessman Bill Edwards expressed displeasure with the condition of the playing field and the aging facilities at Al Lang Stadium.[24] Months of rebuffed complaints about poor turf, leaky pipes, broken seats, and other issues[26] culminated in a July 2014 lawsuit filed by the Rowdies against the St. Petersburg Baseball Commission claiming that the commission was not properly maintaining the "dilapidated" facility.[27] The dispute was resolved in October 2014 when Edwards and the city of St. Petersburg brokered a deal that gave Edwards' Big 3 Entertainment company sole management control of Al Lang Stadium. As part of the arrangement, the facility would no longer be used for spring baseball, and Edwards agreed to complete $1.5 million in renovations as he sought to make Al Lang more soccer friendly.[28]
When the club was founded in 2008, its owners announced plans to build a 5000-seatsoccer-specific stadium in northwestTampa along theVeterans Expressway. These plans were shelved in early 2009 when residents living near the chosen site voiced concerns to theHillsborough County Commission about potential noise and parking issues.[29]
After exploring other possible stadium sites around the Tampa Bay area, FC Tampa Bay decided to play its 2010 inaugural season atGeorge M. Steinbrenner Field, an 11,000-seat baseball stadium nearWest Tampa. The club shared the facility with theTampa Yankees, theClass A-Advanced affiliate of theNew York Yankees,[30] which presented some difficulties. Scheduling home games was a challenge because the club's seasons overlapped for most of the summer. Thepitcher's mound and the infield dirt could not be removed, forcing the soccer field to be set across the outfield from the right field foul line to left centerfield. This created a pitch much smaller than most professional soccer fields, and a large portion of the playing surface of one attacking third was clay.[31] And because of the difficulty of running on wet clay and potential damage to soggy turf, the Rowdies were not allowed to take the field when the ground was wet, which is often the case during Tampa's summer rainy season.[32]
Because of all these problems, the soccer club relocated to Al Lang Field for their second campaign.
In 2013, the city of St. Petersburg began the process of creating a master plan for the waterfront area that includes Al Lang Stadium. Some of the proposals suggest replacing the entire stadium and surrounding parking areas with a soccer park complex centered by a newsoccer-specific stadium.[33] Former club owner, Bill Edwards, had stated that "in a perfect world", Al Lang Stadium would be replaced by an 18,000-seat soccer-specific stadium, enabling the Rowdies to become aMajor League Soccer club.[34]
When the club first took the pitch in 2010, the badge was a green and yellow striped shield bearing the club name (FC Tampa Bay) and topped with a star representing the original Rowdies' victory inSoccer Bowl 1975. The badge was changed before the 2012 season to the original "Rowdies" text logo, and a second star was added after the club wonSoccer Bowl 2012.[35]
In 2021, the club introduced an alternate crest, which still contained the text logo and stars, but with the addition of a figure styled after Ralph Rowdie, the mascot of the original club. It also had the numbers "75" and "10" to represent the founding year of the original club in 1975 and the current club in 2010.[36]
Ralph's Mob is an independent supporter group for the Rowdies named after "Ralph Rowdie", a fictional mustached footballer featured in the logo of the original Tampa Bay Rowdies.[37][38] 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.[39][40][41] 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 rivalFort Lauderdale.[42][43] A second group, the Skyway Casuals, is composed of supporters from the area south of theSkyway Bridge, mainlyBradenton andSarasota.[44]
The Rowdies' traditional rivalry has been with theFort Lauderdale Strikers. The rivalry began in 1977 between the original Tampa Bay Rowdies and the originalFort Lauderdale Strikers of the old NASL when the termFlorida Derby was first used.[45] It came back into use again in the late 1990s, when both cities hadMLS franchises(theTampa Bay Mutiny &Miami Fusion).[46] Finally in 2010, after a nine-year absenceFlorida Derby re-entered the lexicon of American soccer, as the modern squads began facing one another.[47] The rivalry currently sits in limbo, after Rowdies' owner, Bill Edwards won a 2017 summary judgement in a lawsuit against the Strikers. Edwards now controls the copyrights, trademarks and any rights to the use of the name "Fort Lauderdale Strikers" or any variation thereof.[48][49]
TheCoastal Cup (est. 2010) originally was contested between the Rowdies and Strikers, but withJacksonville Armada FC's entry into the league in 2015 andMiami FC in 2016, the competition had grown to become quadrilateral.[50][51]
In December 2015 the Rowdies announced that they would begin fielding a developmental team in theNational Premier Soccer League for the2016 season and that the club would be called Rowdies 2.[52] The original Tampa Bay Rowdies had fielded a similarly named reserve/developmental squad from 1982 to 1983, but used Roman numerals to dub themRowdies II.[53][54][55] Rowdies 2 competed in the Sunshine Conference of the South Region of NPSL, finishing in fourth place with a record of four wins, four losses, and two draws. The team disbanded in 2016.
| Year | League | Regular season | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | NPSL | 4th,Sunshine Conference | did not qualify | Ineligible |
In February 2017, The Rowdies announced that they would field a team in the USL'sPremier Development League, with Rowdies U23 set to join the league this for2017 PDL season.[56] Rowdies U23 will compete in the Southeast Division of the Southern Conference of PDL. The team went 3–8–3 in conference play and finished sixth out of nine teams. The team did not return for the 2018 season.
On January 15, 2020,USL League Two (formerly the PDL) announced that the Rowdies would be launching the U23 for the2020 USL League Two season.[57] The team will play in the Southeast Division once again, play its games as Al Lang Stadium, and will be coached by former Rowdies playerAndres Arango.
| Year | League | Regular season | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | PDL | 6th,Southeast Division | did not qualify | Ineligible |
| 2018 | No team fielded | |||
| 2019 | ||||
| 2020 | USL2 | TBD,Southeast Division | TBD | Ineligible |
In 2017, they formed a partnership with youth clubTampa Bay United to serve as their youth affiliate.[58] In 2021, TBU replaced the Rowdies U23 inUSL League Two.[59]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Nicky Law – assistant coachStuart Dobson – assistant coach
Eric Wilde – assistant coach
Russell Stirling – assistant coach Pete Calabrese – performance coach Dave Walker – head athletic trainer Eric Streich – assistant athletic trainer Dr. Justin Thompson – team physician Dr. Katherine Wojnowich – team physician Dr. George Canizares – team physician DR. Eric Gorman – team chiropractor DR. James Felch – team dentist Brian Auld – vice chairman[61] Matt Silverman – vice chairman Ryan Helfrick – chief operating officer
Nico Castillo - head soccer operations| Head Coach | Years | *Matches | *Win-Draw-Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
 Paul Dalglish | 2009–2010 | 30 | 7–11–12 |
| Perry Van der Beck | 2010 | 2 | 1–0–1 |
| Ricky Hill | 2011–2014 | 120 | 45–35–40 |
 Thomas Rongen | 2014–2015 | 19 | 7–5–7 |
| Stuart Campbell | 2015–2018 | 92 | 33–27–32 |
| Neill Collins | 2018–2023 | 176 | 97-34-45 |
| Stuart Dobson | 2023 | 5 | 0-2-3 |
| Nicky Law | 2023 | 15 | 9-1-5 |
| Robbie Neilson | 2024–2025 | 36 | 17-11-8 |
*Includes U.S. Open Cup and playoff matches. #Totals through the 2024 season.
| No. | Player | Position | Nation | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Mike Connell | Defender |  South Africa | 1975–1984 |
| 12 | Perry Van der Beck | Midfielder | United States | 1978–1982, 1984, 1991–1993 |
*Steve Wegerle's No. 7 jersey was retired by theoriginal Tampa Bay Rowdies in1989. As of yet the current club does not acknowledge this honor.[62]
| Player | Seasons | ref |
|---|---|---|
| Julian Valentin | 2010 | [63] |
| Frank Sanfilippo | 2011–2014 | [64] |
 Marcelo Saragosa | 2015 | [65] |
| Tamika Mkandawire | 2016 | [66] |
| Joe Cole | 2017–2018 | [67] |
 Sebastián Guenzatti | 2019–2022 | [68] |
 Aarón Guillén | 2023–present | [69] |
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Rowdies. For the full season-by-season history, seeList of Tampa Bay Rowdies seasons.
| Season | League | Position | Playoffs | USOC | Continental | Average attendance | Top goalscorer(s) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Div | League | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Conf. | Overall | Name | Goals | ||||||
| 2020 | 2 | USLC | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 11 | +14 | 33 | 2.06 | 4th | 7th | F | NH | DNQ | N/A | Sebastián Guenzatti | 10 | |
| 2021 | USLC | 32 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 55 | 23 | +32 | 71 | 2.22 | 1st | 1st | F | NH | 0 | Sebastián Guenzatti | 21 | |||
| 2022 | USLC | 34 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 73 | 33 | +40 | 67 | 1.97 | 3rd | 4th | SF | R3 | 5,148 | Leo Fernandes | 19 | |||
| 2023 | USLC | 34 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 60 | 39 | +21 | 63 | 1.85 | 2nd | 3rd | R1 | R3 | 5,984 | Cal Jennings | 19 | |||
| 2024 | USLC | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 55 | 46 | +9 | 50 | 1.47 | 6th | 9th | R2 | Ro16 | 4.907 |  Manuel ArteagaCal Jennings | 20 | |||
^ 1.Avg. attendance include statistics from league matches only.
^ 2.Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league play, playoffs,U.S. Open Cup, and other competitive matches.
| July 14, 2011 | FC Tampa Bay | 1–0 | Bolton Wanderers | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 7:30 pm | Clare 65' 85' | Report | Stadium:Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 3,914 |
| February 13, 2016 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 0–1 | D.C. United | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 7:00 pm | Report | Stadium:Al Lang Stadium |
| February 20, 2016 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 0–2 | Philadelphia Union | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 7:00 pm | Sweat 1' | Report | Stadium:Al Lang Stadium |
| February 27, 2016 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 0–0 | Montreal Impact | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 7:00 pm | Report | Stadium:Al Lang Stadium |
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