Looking to go to my first game against Ottowa, any tips? (self.TampaBayRowdies)

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/87ruol/looking_to_go_to_my_first_game_against_ottowa_any/

Looking to go to my first game against Ottowa, any tips? (self.TampaBayRowdies)

I'm coming from up in Pasco and I'll probably be on my own but was wondering if anyone had anything I should know beforehand. Seems like a lot of fun at the games so I figured I'd try coming out to one. Is there a specific area I should get tickets for that might be better view wise?

Also kinda dumb, but is there parking around the stadium? I'm not really familiar with the area.

For parking you'll probably find McNulty Garage the easiest, it's just a couple blocks from the stadium. There's parking at the stadium but it fills up. If you have a marina pass (or yacht club membership) that is also good, but they heavily patrol and hand out tickets there if you don't have the sticker.

If you do not like loud noises, sit away from Ralph's Mob. They are very boisterous :).

GA is open seating so you can move about the stadium until you find a vantage point you like. The further up you are the more protected you are if rain is in the forecast, and can keep the sun off of your depending on game time and sun positioning.

Kids running on the hill can and do get hit by an errant ball.

Thanks man, the fella below seems pretty nice so we’ll see where I end up seating ha

ralphsmob.com check out ralph's mob page on facebook, come hang out with us at Thirsty First downtown before the match (couple blocks north of the stadium). Feel free to come hang out in our section during the match, any GA ticket is fine to do so. Go online and buy your tickets from their ticket master, there's no extra fees. Parking there's a few garages around near the stadium that will probably be your best bet unless you get down there early and find a non-time capped spot on the street (doubtful). Enjoy!!!

Thanks boss ✌️

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https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/901967?referrer_id=2349190

USL Insights — Rowdies Drive Left

Tampa Bay's left side was key to its victory against Bethlehem, how will it match up with Louisville?

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/87xnto/rowdies_youth_club_to_compete_in_foyle_cup_in/

Rowdies Youth Club To Compete In Foyle Cup in Ireland - Osprey Observer (ospreyobserver.com)

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https://www.ospreyobserver.com/2018/03/rowdies-youth-club-to-compete-in-foyle-cup-in-ireland/

Rowdies Youth Club To Compete In Foyle Cup in Ireland

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https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/902362?referrer_id=2364194-news-archive

Riverhounds SC Adds Versatile Franke

Former Creighton player joins Hounds ahead of home opener

Franke featured in midfield for the Bluejays as he recorded four goals and 10 assists in 71 appearances over his collegiate career. Franke also competed last summer in the Premier Development League for the Tampa Bay Rowdies U23, recording one assist in nine appearances for the club.

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https://upstatebusinessjournal.com/business-of-soccer/

Soccer soars in the Upstate, and the arrival of new pro and semi-pro teams is just the beginning

Opportunity. That’s what Steven Short and Josh Keller, executives of the United Soccer League’s newly minted Division III, sensed when they arrived in Greenville this past summer.

The purpose of their trip: to meet with Upstate entrepreneur Joe Erwin and his leadership team at Erwin Creates to discuss Greenville’s potential as an expansion city for the league’s inaugural season, which kicks off in March 2019.

That meeting and others that followed culminated March 13, as USL awarded Greenville and Erwin Creates with franchise rights for the D3 league’s third team in addition to South Georgia Tormenta FC and FC Tucson.

“We can look at spreadsheets; we can look at numbers, and it all looks good,” said Short, senior vice president of USL D3. “Once you set foot in a city, that’s when you really know. There was just an energy in Greenville.”

“It’s a great soccer city,” Short added. “We’re excited to bring pro soccer to the Upstate. … We were huge fans of Joe and his team from day one. It’s not a Joe Erwin project. It’s something for the region. We were impressed with their vision and the way they were able to convey it. They want a first-class product on the field — something that would set the bar for the league. We know they’re going to do it right.”

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https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/77293/mls-expansion-the-wait-continues-in-cincinnati-b.html

MLS expansion: The wait continues in Cincinnati, but for how much longer?

Since MLS narrowed its expansion list down to four cities, and then three, after Nashville was named the league's 25th team, set to begin play in 2020, Cincinnati has been considered the favorite ahead of Sacramento (ready-to-go stadium project, under-financed ownership group) and Detroit (strong ownership, late change in stadium plan from building a downtown soccer stadium to sharing Ford Field with the NFL Lions).

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2766881-welcome-to-the-la-soccer-war-a-tale-of-celebrities-money-and-the-black-army

Welcome to the LA Soccer War: A Tale of Celebrities, Money and the Black Army

Since 1996, "tradition" in Los Angeles soccer has been defined by the LA Galaxy. The team has won five Major League Soccer Cups and served as a landing spot for world-class footballers—notably high-priced, big-name European superstars in the twilight of their careers, like David Beckham. Last week, the team made headlines for signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the massively talented, hyper-confident former Manchester United star from Sweden. This is what the Galaxy do: They buy the best to win. The team is the MLS equivalent of the "evil empire," more Yankees and Lakers than Mets and Clippers—all champagne and expensive silverware.

But there is a less heralded soccer tradition, one that, for the last four years, has drifted in the background of the cacophonous Los Angeles sports landscape: a blue-collar fan culture that aligns with the underdog. These fans—many of whom have been the orphaned sons and daughters of the dearly departed Chivas USA—have grown accustomed to losing but have found other reasons to love their team.

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http://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/la-sp-galaxy-lafc-20180328-story.html

Galaxy and LAFC fans are taking new rivalry very seriously

The first signs of a burgeoning Southern California sports rivalry came from a splat of paint.

Last month, hours after Jiovanny Lopez and Diego Mendoza finished a mural on a brick building in the Pico Union neighborhood, one welcoming Mexican national team star Carlos Vela to the fledgling Los Angeles Football Club, the artwork was defaced with splashes of blue, white and gold paint — the colors of the cross-town rival Galaxy.

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https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics-extra/2018/03/28/px-column-finally-someone-said-enough-enough-fc-cincinnati-stadium-shell-game/464906002/

PX column: Finally, someone said enough is enough on FC Cincinnati stadium shell game

Finally, someone showed some leadership around here.

Charlie Luken said ...

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https://patch.com/tennessee/nashville/nashville-councilmembers-propose-moving-mls-stadium

Nashville Councilmembers Propose MLS Stadium Changes

A pair of Metro councilmembers filed a resolution removing language requiring the MLS stadium be built at the fairgrounds.

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https://www.ibj.com/blogs/20-the-score/post/68150-indy-eleven-expecting-record-attendance-for-home-opener

Indy Eleven expecting record attendance for home opener

Indy Eleven officials are expecting a big crowd for the team’s home opener on Saturday—most likely the largest in its short history.

“We’re selling tickets like mad here,” Indy Eleven President Jeff Belskus said on Monday.

The obvious reason is that the team is moving from the Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium on the IUPUI campus, its home since the team started play in 2014, to spacious Lucas Oil Stadium.

No one expects Saturday’s crowd to come close to filling the 63,000-seat venue. But drawing 15,000, which team officials are anticipating, would handily beat the team’s previous single-game attendance record of 11,000. That’s how many showed up for the Eleven’s inaugural game.

At Lucas Oil, 15,000 would pretty much fill the stadium’s lower bowl, Belskus said.

“I think that will have a real good feel to it,” he noted.

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2018/03/28/orlando-city-sc-sells-minority-stake-at-a-nearly-500-million-valuation/#6e37dfdc2dee

Orlando City SC Sells Minority Stake At A Nearly $500 Million Valuation

Major League Soccer's Orlando City SC has struggled on the field, failing to make the playoffs in its first three seasons, but off the field the Lions have been nothing short of stellar. Orlando is one of the league's few profitable clubs, and now the fourth-year franchise has sold a minority stake at a nearly $500 million valuation to investor Albert Friedberg, who owns an investment firm based in Toronto.

The sale of 8.63% of the team's parent company Orlando Sports Holding, which owns Orlando City SC, the NWSL's Orlando Pride and Orlando City Stadium, values it at $490.53 million. Friedberg's investment of some $42 million is a mix of cash and stadium debt; the $155 million stadium, which opened last season, was privately financed by majority owner Flavio da Silva and some minority partners.

"This valuation reflects the growth of the league and also the growth of soccer in this country," says Da Silva, who will continue to own 78.96% of the team. Minority partners who have been with the club since expansion own the remaining 12.41% of the team. Da Silva says the team had been in talks with Friedberg for the last ten months.

Last summer Forbes ranked Orlando as Major League Soccer's fifth-most valuable club, with the team alone being worth $272 million. Orlando has been strong financially from the start, turning a profit since its debut season.

Da Silva says the near-$500 million valuation may sound huge but that it's hardly outrageous given the current MLS landscape. He predicts the next round of expansion will come with a $200 million fee and that other team expenses will more than double that investment. "If you consider that you'll need to spend working capital, and a training center, and a stadium," says Da Silva, "If you're awarded [an expansion team], you will spend no less than $450 million...We understand that $490 million is not a high value, because it's very close to a new franchise that hasn't sold any tickets, any sponsorships."

Few pro sports properties are as in-demand as Major League Soccer teams. The ongoing round of league expansion drew a dozen bids from prospective ownership groups, and the newest owners are expected to pay $150 million in expansion fees alone. That's a sizable increase from the $100 million NYCFC paid in 2013, and up a staggering 275% since just eight years ago when the Montreal Impact joined for $40 million.

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http://www.sportbible.com/football/news-ibrahimovic-is-taking-a-whopping-95-pay-cut-in-joining-la-galaxy-20180328

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Is Taking A Whopping 95% Pay Cut In Joining LA Galaxy

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is reportedly taking a massive pay cut in joining Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy.

He's plied for some of the biggest clubs around the world; Juventus, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, to name but a few.

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https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/03/28/best-expansion-team-ever-schmid-puts-his-sounders-vs-bradleys-fire

Best expansion team ever? Schmid puts his Sounders up vs. Bradley's Fire

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https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/03/28/cincinnati-mayor-john-cranley-pushing-soccer-stadium-west-end/466026002/

After everything, Cranley pushing soccer stadium in the West End

When the deal passed City Council in November to put a Major League Soccer stadium in Oakley, one councilman shouted, "Goal!" What nobody knew then was there were still 89 minutes left in the game.

Even as an apparent Saturday deadline for picking a stadium site nears, where FC Cincinnati will choose remains unclear after 14 months of study and negotiations.

Soccer fans know all games have stoppage time tacked on at the end. That's where the team is now in its stadium site selection, and it's clear the West End remains on the team's list – despite FC Cincinnati's statements earlier this month.

Mayor John Cranley said during Wednesday's Cincinnati City Council meeting that he plans to introduce legislation to support a West End stadium.

"I believe somebody has to speak up for common sense," Cranley said. "Somebody has to speak up for growth."

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https://www.law360.com/sports/articles/1027262/canadian-investor-snags-stake-in-orlando-mls-franchise

Canadian Investor Snags Stake In Orlando MLS Franchise

Law360 (March 28, 2018, 4:56 PM EDT) -- A Canadian investor, steered by an O'Melveny & Myers LLP team, has scored a minority stake in Major League Soccer franchise Orlando City SC, the team announced Wednesday.

O’Melveny partner Irwin Raij couldn’t say the size of the stake Albert Friedberg bought or for how much, but said the deal is an extension of Friedberg’s passion for the sport and came after he looked at several opportunities throughout the league. The team’s announcement noted that its current chairman and majority owner, Flávio Augusto da Silva, will...

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https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/77293/mls-expansion-the-wait-continues-in-cincinnati-b.html

MLS expansion: The wait continues in Cincinnati, but for how much longer?