How Bill Edwards plans to get St. Pete voters to support $80M waterfront stadium upgrade

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http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2016/12/27/how-bill-edwards-plans-to-get-st-pete-voters-to.html

How Bill Edwards plans to get St. Pete voters to support $80M waterfront stadium upgrade

Dec 27, 2016, 2:48pm EST Updated Dec 28, 2016, 11:22am EST

Tampa Bay Rowdies owner Bill Edwards wants to bring Major League Soccer to St. Petersburg, and he tells the Tampa Bay Business Journal he's got a plan to make it happen.

Still, it’s quite a feat. The owner and prominent St. Pete developer not only has to convince the league to award a franchise, he’ll have to convince voters to revamp the stadium.

Part of Edwards’ plan to win rights to purchase a Major League Soccer franchise includes $80 million worth of upgrades to Al Lang Stadium that would increase fan capacity from less than 8,000 to 18,000. But because the stadium sits on city-owned downtown waterfront property, voters have to give it approval.

Given other city controversies — like redevelopment of the pier and the Tropicana Field site — Edwards could be in for a fight.

Many residents are annoyed with ongoing changes to plans for a new municipal pier. The amenities proposed in early renderings were cut from the plan to keep within budget, and now Mayor Rick Kriseman is proposing spending an additional $14 million to put some of those axed features back in.

Other St. Pete voters could push back because of stadium fatigue. City leaders are taking baby steps toward wooing the Tampa Bay Rays to stay in the city, a plan that would include a new stadium and require some public funding.

But that’s not the case with Edwards’ plan. The entire project would be funded privately. He’s building an investment group to fund those improvements, as well as the $200 million potential price tag for an MLS franchise. Edwards wouldn’t say who those investors are, but said he would reimburse the city for the $250,000 cost of a special election to approve changes to Al Lang stadium.

“Everything I’ve done here in town I’ve done with private funds,” Edwards said, noting he believes there's no reason for voters to think that promise might be broken.

“When we started designing this, we kept our neighbors in mind,” he said. “It’s about the same height as Mahaffey Theater. It doesn’t encumber real estate. There’s nothing to cause anguish over our waterfront.”

Edwards also made plans to accommodate the popular Saturday Morning Market, which is held in the Al Lang Stadium parking lot from October through May.

“It’s not foolproof, but I think he gets it passed,” predicted former Mayor Bill Foster.

Foster has some experience with changing the downtown waterfront. He sat in the mayor’s office at City Hall when the design known as the Lens crashed and burned at the ballot box, sending plans for a new pier back to the drawing board.

Conversations surrounding both the failed Lens design and the existing one were rife with vitriol. Foster offers Edwards a piece of advice: “Be transparent, be honest, do your bidding in the sunshine. Once you stop doing that, people do lose trust.”

Despite potential challenges, Edwards has the current mayor in his corner.

“The mayor thinks St. Pete is a major league city,” said spokesperson Ben Kirby. “St. Pete is growing and changing. There’s a lot happening here and this just helps that, helps further put St. Pete on the map.”

St. Pete City Council will discuss putting a referendum on the ballot during a committee meeting on Jan. 5. If that moves forward, the city has to issue a 35-day notice to businesses near Al Lang Stadium. Council would then have two public meetings in February in order to approve a ballot measure. The Supervisor of Elections office would then schedule an exact date for a special election, likely in the spring.

For his part, Edwards is finalizing his proposal to MLS and plans to submit by the end of January. From there it’s up to the league to determine whether or not he can nab himself an expansion team. There are currently 20 teams in the league. Four will be added by 2018, but locations for those teams have already been identified. Another four are expected beyond 2018.

If all goes as planned, Edwards hopes to have an MLS team take the field in 2019.

“The fans have to prove to me and everyone else that they want this,” Edwards said. “If the fans from both sides of the bay don’t get on board, there’s no point in me spending any money.”

Current Rowdies season ticket holders will get first dibs on tickets if St. Pete does field an MLS team.

The league has a list of priorities, including strong financial resources, dedicated local ownership, access to a strong media market and proven fan commitment to soccer. The Tampa Bay region matches all of those goals. Orlando currently controls rights to the television market, but Edwards said he believes that could be worked out.

If a referendum is approved, it would include allowing Edwards to enter into a 20-year or more lease, contingent on whether or not the city lands an MLS franchise.

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http://www.whio.com/sports/cincinnati-makes-its-pitch-mls-commissioner/o6Yc8wzb2q10L1RoBG6WgM/

FC Cincinnati makes its pitch to MLS commissioner

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http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2016/12/28/with-debate-over-a-nashville-stadium-looming-a.html

With debate over a Nashville stadium looming, a look around Major League Soccer hints at potential price tag

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http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2016/12/28/stateside-scot-neill-collins-on-wolves-2009-band-of-brothers-and-his-new-life-in-florida/

PUBLISHED: December 28, 2016 10:53 am

Stateside Scot: Neill Collins on Wolves' 2009 band of brothers - and his new life in Florida

Wolverhampton to Florida – via a stop off in Sheffield – isn’t exactly a well-trodden path.

But it’s a journey that former Wolves defender Neill Collins has taken with great pleasure, writes Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers.

The pale-skinned no-nonsense Scot with a taste for Iron Bru might not be an obvious candidate to settle in seamlessly to life in tropical Florida, with its white sandy beaches, glamorous lifestyle and scorching temperatures. But he couldn’t be happier.

And who wouldn’t enjoy basking in 30C heat this week while Blighty shivers in the festive season?

The 33-year-old is also, most importantly, enjoying his football too. The season has finished now but Collins spent last year playing alongside the likes of England international Joe Cole and ex-Benfica player (and perennial future superstar) Freddy Adu for Tampa Bay Rowdies, a league below the MLS in the North American Soccer League (NASL).

It’s all a far cry from the muck and nettles of League One, where Collins was plying his trade with Sheffield United.

In the middle of a busy day looking after his four young children, Collins graciously granted the Express & Star a phone interview - and we started by talking about just how the Tampa move came about.