More on Al Lang: Historic announcement regarding the club's future on December 6

Additional comments about Al Lang on reddit. Useful refresher in case the December 6 announcement has anything to do with Al Lang. 

Important reminder: we now know that Orlando City can't block the Rowdies from getting into MLS, so the delay in expanding Al Lang and the cancellation of the November vote probably has more to do with the lack of support for city/county funding due to the Rays situation, maybe, and also maybe due to waiting to see how talks between Bill Edwards and Don Garber went as to whether the Rowdies can get into MLS, and when. 

I would not expect any announcement of Al Lang expansion (or replacement) until after the Tampa Bay Rowdies are officially in MLS. Much easier to commit money into building a proper SSS if MLS is assured. So I am hoping that the December 6 announcement isn't just about the stadium; I am hoping it is about Rowdies entry into MLS, and if so maybe also some news about the stadium as well. But we shall see.

It would definitely be better to tear down the existing structure at Al Lang and build a new, properly oriented SSS on the site. Piecemeal expansion of the existing facility simply locks us in to a bad setup, with no room to expand on one side and limited overall capacity of the bare minimum for MLS (18,000) at a time when MLS SSS size is slowly growing (for instance Orlando City increased their SSS to 25,000 from an earlier lower planned capacity).  

Also, forget what the waterfront plan says or does not say: don't decrease parking in and around the stadium. Keep the parking lot, and add additional parking around the new stadium if possible. Every bit helps.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/5e7mnq/historic_announcement_regarding_the_clubs_future/

Historic announcement regarding the club's future on December 6

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unsubmatt

There's also more room for something if the rest of the old outfield wall comes down. Used to be batting cages and a practice diamond out there, so if that was finally cleared out and everything "shifted," it could make more sense space-wise.

I've also thought for awhile now that the parking deals with other nearby lots (whether Edwards-owned like the Den garage & Sundial, or with USFSP, etc) might be a prelude to the Al Lang lot disappearing someday. AFAIK, that's still city-owned/run but maybe that changes down the road?

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phat7deuce

I think the city owns, but Edwards manages and collects revenue from the Al Lang lot as part of the stadium deal.

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unsubmatt

that's the one I've never gotten a clear answer on. Was told early last season that city owned & controlled everything with an asphalt top, which was why there would never be food trucks, etc at tailgates

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phat7deuce

...yeah, you're right. City still manages it, but Edwards does seem to get some of the parking revenue - maybe only for games.

"Zeoli assured the council that while the city will give up some parking revenue to Edwards under the deal, the city will still control and manage the lot. The city currently makes about $20,000 a year from that. Given that Edwards is putting so much more into capital improvements, officials were fine with surrendering that money, Zeoli said."

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dietrich14

I would add that their is plenty more room if they push the pitch closer to the main stands. Of course tbat would mean removing half of the kids hill, or atleast relocating it.

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http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/its-official-bill-edwards-will-control-al-lang-stadium-in-a-deal-approved/2200447

St. Petersburg City Council gives developer Bill Edwards control of Al Lang Stadium

By Kameel Stanley, Times Staff Writer

Thursday, October 2, 2014 2:14pm
   
ST. PETERSBURG — It's official. Starting today, businessman Bill Edwards will take over management of Al Lang Stadium, the home turf for his soccer team, the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Edwards has pledged to spend $1.5 million to fix up the aging downtown stadium and will control the facility for the next four years in a deal the City Council approved 7-1 on Thursday.

"I came to the conclusion this is overwhelmingly a win-win-win," said council member Darden Rice, following remarks by some lamenting the end of baseball at the storied stadium. "I think this is a new day for the city. That death kind of happened a while ago.

"Soccer is alive and kicking."

Edwards has been trying for months to wrest control of Al Lang from the city's current management contractor, the St. Petersburg Baseball Commission, which he has long criticized because of conditions at the facility.

The deal calls for the baseball commission to continue to manage the city's Walter Fuller sports complex.

Edwards has accused the commission of mismanagement and said baseball's presence at Al Lang is hurting the Rowdies. He sued the commission earlier this year.

The new management deal ends the lawsuit, which was important to the city, said Joe Zeoli, who is in charge of downtown enterprise facilities.

While the deal itself was public, the settlement of the lawsuit will remain secret. That has irked some council members.

"Why is this confidential if these are two public assets?" council member Wengay Newton said.

Council member Steve Kornell said he understands the reasons for secret settlements, but doesn't like it.

"Frankly, I just find it laughable that we got this on Monday, and if we don't do it (now) it's going to cause business disruption," Kornell said of the deal, which was proposed, then scrapped, then revived over the past few weeks. "I understand it, I just don't like it. I think if people want to do business with the city it's not a private deal. I appreciate everyone involved in this, I'm just not there yet."

Kornell also wants assurance the Saturday Morning Market, which operates in the stadium's parking lot, would be protected.

Zeoli assured the council that while the city will give up some parking revenue to Edwards under the deal, the city will still control and manage the lot. The city currently makes about $20,000 a year from that. Given that Edwards is putting so much more into capital improvements, officials were fine with surrendering that money, Zeoli said.

The baseball commission also asked the city to continue giving it a $200,000 annual subsidy even though it will be managing one less facility, and the city agreed, Zeoli said.

While the majority of the council seemed comfortable with the deal, some people inside the council chambers on Thursday were not.

Developer Dan Harvey encouraged council members to view the Al Lang deal as a short-term solution, and highlighted the importance of the ongoing waterfront plan, which is expected to give guidance about the future of the site.

Community activist Theresa "Momma Tee" Lassiter chastised the council for bowing to pressure from Edwards. She said she shares Kornell's concerns that the Saturday Morning Market could eventually find itself out of favor with whatever plans Edwards has for the stadium.

"I have sat here 20 years and watched you allow big business to manipulate us," she said. "Call it what it is. It's Rick Baker and Bill Edwards … why can't we all get along? Why do you have to go and do a back room deal?"

After the vote, Edwards said he was pleased. Soccer is here to stay, he said, and it is the norm for teams to control their stadiums. He said he and the baseball commission have let "bygones be bygones."

He didn't go into details about all the improvements he plans to make but said a new scoreboard is definitely in order.

Baseball will continue to be remembered at the stadium, Edwards said, noting that what happens to the site after four years will be up to the waterfront master plan.

"I think it's going to be a great place for people to congregate," he said. "Citizens have a million and a half reasons they should be happy."

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http://www.tampabay.com/news/growth/st-petersburg-mayor-rick-kriseman-shelves-plans-to-ask-voters-for/2275984

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman shelves plans to ask voters for permission to expand Al Lang
Charlie Frago

Wednesday, May 4, 2016 9:11pm

ST. PETERSBURG — Mayor Rick Kriseman and the Tampa Bay Rowdies announced plans in March to ask voters to give the team — and its owner, Bill Edwards — a longer lease for historic waterfront venue Al Lang Stadium.

At the time, Edwards and a team executive said a longer lease would allow the Rowdies to expand Al Lang and transform it into a city showpiece.

But those plans have been shelved along with any request to ask the county for tourism dollars to add seats and other amenities.

Pinellas County Administrator Mark Woodard said this week that Kriseman told him the city wouldn't seek hotel bed tax money for Al Lang or the Rowdies. That means the referendum idea appears dead.

Kriseman spokesman Ben Kirby declined to comment further than a brief statement.

"Based on the mayor's conversations with Mr. Edwards, there is no urgency for a referendum related to a lease on Al Lang Stadium," Kirby said.

He referred all other questions to Edwards, whose office didn't elaborate.

"In my last meeting with Mayor Kriseman, I asked for a renewal of the management agreement for the maximum length allowed by the charter," Edwards said in a statement.

The current agreement is a four-year lease that expires in November 2018.

Extending that lease would require voter approval under the city charter.

While Kriseman and Edwards are remaining mum about the decision to drop the push for upgrading Al Lang into a first-class soccer stadium, they might have lost interest after discovering that the Orlando City SC, a Major League Soccer franchise, has territorial rights over St. Petersburg.

Council Chairwoman Amy Foster said in March that Edwards told her and other council member of his desire to join MLS. He had made similar comments to the Tampa Bay Times shortly after buying the team in 2014.

But after the Times reported Orlando's rights over the market, Edwards said he had no immediate plans for the Rowdies to join MLS and was happy to remain in the second-tier North American Soccer League.

The ongoing campaign to keep the Tampa Bay Rays in the city may have also played a role. If the Rays decide to build a new stadium in the city, the county tourist tax dollars would be an essential piece of the financial puzzle.

For now, the mystery remains, but the terseness of Wednesday's statements stand in stark contrast to the exuberance of Rowdies chief operating officer Lee Cohen in March on the prospect of a bigger, better Rowdies home.

"From our standpoint, we feel that the city of St. Petersburg and where we're at in Al Lang is a great location for soccer to grow. It's a great area and a thriving area, there's a lot of success there. We feel like an expansion to a proper stadium and proper facility could lend itself to be the great flagship cornerstone piece of downtown. … It's not just an important project for the Rowdies or for the sport. It's important for the city of St. Petersburg because it adds another piece to an already up and coming city," Cohen told a Rowdies blog.

Council member Steve Kornell said he hadn't heard about the plans to drop the referendum, but surmised that the campaign to keep the Rays might have interfered.

"It might make sense to work on the Rays issue at this point and work on the Rowdies down the road," Kornell said. "I like Al Lang having a tenant rather than sitting empty."

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