https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/9mgi0b/final_rowdies_home_attendance_thread_game_17_vs/
Attendance Thread FINAL Rowdies Home Attendance Thread - Game 17 vs. Charlotte Independence [10/6]
Final home game in the books. Weather was perfect, great crowd. (Result could have been better.) 7,709 was the official number for Saturday night. Impressive also because it was the Lightning home opener.
We finished the season at an average of 5,869 - that is down -0.4% from our average of 5,894 of last year. Our total was 99,768 and due to playing an extra game with USL lengthening the season to 17 games, it's up +4.8% on our 94,306 from last season.
Unfortunately, this breaks a streak for us. We have shown growth in 7 of 8 opportunities to grow over the previous year (comp years) with a run of 6 years in a row. Really an impressive and unprecedented streak. The news, however, is not all gloom and doom:
Yes we were down, but only an average of 25 people per game. Hardly anything to worry about.
This was a tough year for results. Now, results don't matter much materially, but it certainly doesn't help.
Weather was a factor...anecdotally more than usual (at least from what I can remember)
The biggest factor, though, is that we attained essentially the same number as last year WITH NO CONCERTS OR FIREWORKS. For the last two seasons there have been multiple post-game concerts - most notably for the 4th of July and finale. A sellout on the 4th of July would have put our 2018 average around 5,990 which would have given us an annual increase of +1.6%.
So, while sad to see the streak go, it was a pretty nice year all-in-all from an attendance standpoint. The Rays have a lot of infrastructure in this regard that can help our numbers for next season. A real, major league, professional ticket operation (with a much wider reach) is a lot different than an organization run by Bill's son. There were numerous stories on here around constant change in the ticket office and about some reps who were not so great (even though there are some awesome ones that we love, too). That type of infrastructure was a big part of Cincy's ability to drive numbers - it was something they invested in. There is also the possibility of working with MLB and USL so that there are fewer Rowdies and Rays home games at the same time (that happened 7 times this season). With the 2019 MLB schedule already created, I'm guessing it's something that Rays brass will be cognizant of.
See the game-by-game numbers, below:
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/9mekcy/ralphs_mobs_end_of_season_tifo/
Ralph's Mob's end of season tifo!
https://i.redd.it/a6rihwrnkyq11.jpg
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/10/08/nashville-mls-stadium-higher-ticket-tax-proposed/1520650002/
Nashville councilwoman proposes higher ticket tax for Major League Soccer stadium
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.statesman.com/sports/20181008/mls-to-austin-stadium-negotiations-on-track-for-december-completion
MLS to Austin: Stadium negotiations on track for December completion
(Follow link for full article.)
https://ussoccerplayers.com/2018/10/what-kind-of-a-league-is-mls.html
WHAT KIND OF A LEAGUE IS MLS?
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.prosoccerusa.com/us-soccer/julian-green-ben-sweat-usmnt/
Julian Green, Ben Sweat savor ‘special’ opportunity to play for USMNT in hometown
NYCFC left back Ben Sweat, 27, is another Florida native who may get a chance to shine in his home state.
Unlike Green, Sweat spent a good chunk of his life in Florida. He was born roughly 30 minutes outside of Tampa in Palm Harbor. He played collegiate soccer with the University of South Florida and eventually made his way to the second-tier Tampa Bay Rowdies as a professional player before signing with Major League Soccer’s New York City FC ahead of the 2017 season.
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.kob.com/sports/usl-to-announce-new-team-name/5100370/?cat=502
USL to announce new team name
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - On Tuesday, United Soccer League’s New Mexico team will announce its team name, shield, and color.
As KOB previously reported, the new USL expansion team will play at Isotopes Park this coming year and hope to find a soccer-specific stadium down the line.
The team’s owner and CEO Peter Trevisani said he wants the team to be something the entire state can support.
Trevisani said, “I think the way to think about it is that we’re entering uncharted territory in soccer. We’re going to have the highest level of soccer that this state has seen.”
He also said he hopes to shine a positive light on the state through soccer.
He said, “And I think what people from outside New Mexico are going to learn is New Mexico is number one in many categories that maybe aren’t quantifiable but more qualitative.”
In regards to the name, Trevisani said names like the Chupacabras were “tempting” but the team is going in a different route.
“We want this team to represent what we’ve had in the past as New Mexicans but also progress the conversation forward,” he said. “So some of the great names that have been used for other teams like the Chiles and the Geckos and the Dukes, we have a lot of love and respect for those names, but it was time to create a new name.”
(Follow link for full article.)
https://fox43.com/2018/10/08/penn-fc-says-it-will-not-participate-in-the-united-soccer-league-in-2019-aims-to-return-at-new-stadium-in-2020/
Penn FC says it will not participate in the United Soccer League in 2019, aims to return at new stadium in 2020
HARRISBURG — Penn FC announced Monday that it has received approval from the United Soccer League to join USL League one for the 2020 season, but it will not participate in the league in 2019 while it pursues the development of a potential new, soccer-specific stadium in Central Pennsylvania.
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/sports/columnists/graham-couch/2018/10/08/lansing-ignite-new-usl-soccer-club-gets-go-ahead-play-downtown/1570200002/
Pro soccer in downtown Lansing gets go-ahead from City Council
LANSING – City Council unanimously approved a deal Monday night to bring professional soccer to Lansing’s downtown baseball stadium beginning this spring.
The licensing agreement with Lansing Soccer Club LLC — the same ownership and management as the Lansing Lugnuts’ minor league baseball team — is for five years, running through 2023.
The team, Lansing Ignite, will play in USL League One (temporarily known as USL Division 3), a new league tied to the more-established USL and Major League Soccer. An announcement from the club is expected later this month.
Lansing Ignite’s inception means the end of Lansing United’s men’s team, a 5-year-old amateur club owned by former local sportscaster Jeremy Sampson. Sampson has joined the Ignite front office. Lansing United’s women’s team will continue with Sampson as owner.
The Ignite will begin play in late March, with as many as 17 home dates at Cooley Law School Stadium, running into September.
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFwa7vN53mI
#RowdiesFamily
A Look Back at the Edwards Era: 5 Years of Rowdies Soccer
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Published on Oct 8, 2018
Thank you #RowdiesFamily for five amazing years of Rowdies Soccer!
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