Janelle Irwin Taylor
The Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly purchasing the Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer franchise and may also buy Al Lang Stadium.
“Mr. [Bill] Edwards deserves much appreciation for remaking the Tampa Bay Rowdies and investing in Al Lang Stadium and our community,” St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman said in a statement.
“Similarly, the Tampa Bay Rays’ leadership has remade their baseball organization and placed considerable emphasis on community engagement. I am confident that this is a positive development for all parties, the great fans of both teams, and the City of St. Petersburg,”
The city of St. Pete owns Al Lang Stadium and has a long-term lease agreement with the Rowdies. The involved parties will discuss additional details at a news conference at Mahaffey Theater at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
The news comes as the Major League Baseball team continues its plans to build a new baseball stadium in Ybor City to move out of its current home at Tropicana Field near downtown St. Pete.
The team has been suffering low attendance for several seasons and has finished dead last in Major League Baseball attendance five years in a row.
The Rays told the Tampa Bay Times the purchase would not affect its plans to move to Ybor City. The team had sought public funding for a waterfront stadium at the Al Lang site unsuccessfully in 2008.
The Rowdies are part of the United Soccer League. Edwards, the current owner, had unsuccessfully solicited a Major League Soccer expansion team last year but said he was continuing work on securing an expansion during future rounds.
Edwards has been quiet in recent months after recovering from open heart surgery last year. It’s also unclear whether new ownership will change the Rowdies’ quest to become an MLS team or whether it will impact the team’s future in St. Pete.
The Tampa Bay Rays declined to comment.
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
