Another setback for David Beckham's fledgling Miami MLS team over latest stadium plans

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https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/another-setback-david-beckhams-fledgling-12920093

Another setback for David Beckham's fledgling Miami MLS team over latest stadium plans

EXCLUSIVE: Former England skipper still has little to show after four years as marathon meeting shoots down proposals

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https://www.golfmagic.com/golf-news/david-beckhams-miami-mls-stadium-plans-opposed-golfs-first-tee

David Beckham's Miami MLS stadium plans opposed by golf's First Tee

Beckham's plans to build new stadium for Miami MLS hit road block over golf course.

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https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/David-Beckham-to-Present-Soccer-Stadium-Proposal-to-Miami-Commissioners-488047121.html

Miami City Commissioners Delay Vote on Beckham's Soccer Stadium

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http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/beckham-miami-mls-group-hires-city-commissioners-aunt-10521512

Beckham's New Plan Highlights Miami's Big Problem With Lobbyists Related to Politicians

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https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/downtown-miami/article214745810.html

Beckham to stadium supporters at City Hall: ‘No matter what, we’re coming to Miami’

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http://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/music/Could-Rays-new-Ybor-City-stadium-host-concerts-Thoughts-from-Al-Lang-Stadium-_169918083

Could Rays’ new Ybor City stadium host concerts? Thoughts from Al Lang Stadium.

ST. PETERSBURG — With a thin mist spitting from the sky overhead, Dave Pirner sized up the baseball stadium-turned-soccer pitch before him and chuckled.

"Let’s get ready to rumble," said the Soul Asylum singer, kicking off a concert Wednesday night at Al Lang Stadium in
St. Petersburg. "Or not."

Hard to blame his bemusement. Al Lang, where Mickey Mantle once roamed the outfield and Joe Cole now patrols the midfield, wasn’t built for live music. Most baseball/soccer stadiums aren’t.

But when the Tampa Bay Rays unveiled designs Tuesday for an $892 million stadium in Ybor City, that was the first place my mind went. The team emphasized it wouldn’t be just a baseball park, but a "year-round community asset, with the potential for programming, events and creative partnerships."

Like boat shows? Graduations?

Craft-beer festivals?

Or maybe concerts?

Baseball parks, unlike football stadiums, are a mixed bag when it comes to live music. The seating isn’t conducive to most stage setups (imagine watching a concert in centerfield from a seat behind home plate). And, of course, they tend to be occupied during the busy summer concert season.

But there remains an American romance to seeing a concert in a park designed for baseball. The history, novelty and prestige of such spaces appeals to artists like Pearl Jam, Billy Joel and Luke Bryan, who this summer will play parks like Dodger Stadium, Wrigley Field and Fenway Park.

Tampa Bay’s long tinkered with shows in local minor-league stadiums, from Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones in Clearwater to Sting and Linkin Park in Tampa. Even Tropicana Field has a storied concert history. Before the Rays arrived in 1998 — and long before they started hosting postgame shows in 2006 — the dome was arguably Tampa Bay’s premiere concert space, hosting acts like David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses, Eric Clapton, R.E.M. and Van Halen.

Al Lang Stadium, built in 1947, hasn’t been primarily a baseball park for a decade. But its evolution into a soccer field can’t hide its architectural roots in America’s pastime. That makes its push this summer to host more concerts a quirky — and, given the size of two recent concert crowds, welcome — development.

"The setup is beautiful," said Joe Santiago, general manager of the Mahaffey Theater, which, like Al Lang, is operated by St. Petersburg entertainment and business magnate (and Tampa Bay Rowdies owner) Bill Edwards. "The way that the stage sits, you can see a bunch of boats, you can see the water. It has worked out very nicely in that spot."

Al Lang also fills a void in the local concert market. Tampa Bay has long lacked a midsize (around 5,000 seats) outdoor venue, which cuts the area out of the running to attract certain tours. Edwards and promotions giant Live Nation, which is behind Al Lang’s four summer shows, "both looked at this venue as a great opportunity," Santiago said. "Finding shows that fit that attendance niche, we worked together to make a couple of great deals happen."

On Wednesday, some 4,700 fans filed in for 3 Doors Down, Collective Soul and Soul Asylum, the bands playing a temporary stage along what would be the leftfield line, beneath a banner blaring "Al Lang Live." Most permanent seats and facilities, save the westernmost bleachers in the back, were not in use. Almost everything set up for the show, from the reserved seats to the vendor tents to the portable toilets, was temporary.

Some fans spread blankets on the soft soccer turf, breathing in a cool bay breeze from the South Yacht Basin across the street. Kids rolled on the grass; adults sipped beer and chucked beach balls. The rain held off, and the show wrapped up around 10:30 p.m., no doubt a relief to all the neighboring condo residents peeking in from on high.

Such an experience would be tricky to replicate at the proposed Rays stadium in Ybor City. The $245 million translucent roof would ensure no shows get rained out, an invaluable blessing in Florida. Perhaps some enterprising artist will try to turn that roof into a giant, laser-lit planetarium.

But Live Nation might not want to book concerts at a venue so close in size and location to its own 20,000-seat MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, although that could open a door for a rival promoter like AEG to make inroads. The proposed Rays park will seat 28,216 people, with a total capacity of 30,842 counting standing room. Tropicana Field, with the upper seats closed, seats 31,042.

"That facility’s going to be state of the art, but I don’t think we’ll be competing with that new stadium," Santiago said. "The 4,000 to 5,000 niche is what we feel is the sweet spot. Those shows aren’t going to play in front of 30,000 seats."

Until 2023 at the earliest, we are left with one field of concert dreams, and that’s Al Lang. With Lauryn Hill and Counting Crows coming soon, and both tracking toward crowds of around 5,000, it’ll be hopping at least twice more this summer. And Santiago expects more shows to come, possibly later this year.

The other thing about Al Lang was that there was no roof blocking Wednesday’s incredible 360-degree sunset, which hung colors in the sky until Collective Soul wound down their set.

"Turn around and look," Collective Soul singer Ed Roland urged the eastern-facing crowd. "Look at the sky. Look."

It was indeed quite the view, and one few other venues offer. Score one for the stadium set. Concerts might belong here after all.

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http://www.tbo.com/news/transportation/All-aboard-Bob-Buckhorn-will-back-the-CrossBay-Ferry_169962064

All aboard! Bob Buckhorn will back the CrossBay Ferry

TAMPA — Bob Buckhorn has hopped on board the political effort to bring back the CrossBay Ferry.

Tampa’s mayor will recommend to the City Council at its July 26 meeting that it kick in the city’s $150,000 share to fund the ferry’s return in November.

The ferry service launched in November 2016, spearheaded by St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman. During its initial run, the Pinellas and Hillsborough county commissions and the Tampa and St. Petersburg city councils each contributed $350,000.

Buckhorn has been the most skeptical of the region’s officials about the ferry. He has said the private operator should be able to make it work without a public subsidy.

He still believes that.

"I don’t know if I would call it a mode of transportation," Buckhorn said Thursday. "It’s not going to take a lot of cars off the road, but it does bring bodies to our urban core."

The ferry would dock near the Convention Center in Tampa. In St. Petersburg, it will dock in the North Vinoy Basin.

Kriseman has led the effort to bring it back and called Buckhorn several times in recent weeks.

"He had some deadlines on his end so he could move forward," Buckhorn said. "I want to be helpful to him and for him."

Kriseman didn’t respond to a request for comment, but the St. Petersburg City Council and Hillsborough County Commission have already signed off on the funding.

The last agency who needs to approve it is the Pinellas County Commission, which will consider the request at its July 17 meeting.

In its 2016-2017 run, the ferry sold more than 37,000 tickets and proved most popular on weekends. A survey showed two-thirds of riders took it for recreation. When Kriseman addressed Hillsborough commissioners last month, he acknowledged those facts but said research also has shown that the economic impact was $1.6 million. About 75 percent of passengers dined out and 30 percent visited a museum, he said.

"That’s money spent in our two communities that might not have otherwise been spent," he told commissioners.

After the $600,000 subsidy contributed by the four government entities, a state Department of Transportation grant will cover the rest of the estimated $747,000 cost.

Seattle’s HMS Ferries will once again provide service.

Under the terms of the proposal, the first $200,000 in revenue generated by the ferry will go to the four governments. The next $200,000 will go to HMS. After that profits are split evenly between the member governments and HMS.

As recently as Monday, Buckhorn had been noncommittal on the ferry, but he said his budget preparation had persuaded him that the city could afford another year. The money would come from the city’s Downtown Community Redevelopment Area, not the general fund.

And he hopes the operators will avoid the miscues of the ferry’s first year when no contingency plans were made for Gasparilla or the College Football playoffs and the ferry didn’t run during those high-profile events.

"Hopefully, since it’s the second time, they’ll have thought these things through," Buckhorn said.

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https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2018/07/13/council-scraps-plans-for-world-renowned-art.html

Fate of world-renowned art installation at the new St. Pete pier up in the air after vote

While the sculpture could still be built at Spa Beach or in another location, it's a hit to progress for the world-renowned artist to bring her work to St. Pete.

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https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2018/07/13/st-pete-one-vote-closer-to-raising-75m-for.html

St. Pete one vote closer to raising $75M for Tropicana Field site redevelopment

The city is trying to update an ordinance allowing it to continue setting some property taxes aside for economic development.

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http://www.tbo.com/news/The-Daystarter-St-Petersburg-council-grounds-aerial-artwork-candidate-says-his-Ph-D-is-not-bogus-the-Mount-Rushmore-of-Tampa-Bay-sports_169971096

The Daystarter: St. Petersburg council grounds aerial artwork; candidate says his Ph.D is not bogus; the Mount Rushmore of Tampa Bay sports

• The chances that the CrossBay Ferry will return to Tampa Bay after taking a year off improved significantly on Thursday when Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said he would support bringing it back, reports Charlie Frago. St. Petersburg City Council and Hillsborough County Commission have already signed off on the funding. The last partner who has to come aboard is the Pinellas County Commission. That vote is set for Tuesday.

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https://www.wtsp.com/video/sports/rays-fans-react-to-the-possibility-of-moving-the-rays-stadium/67-8186337

Rays fans react to the possibility of moving the Ray's stadium

St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman has previously said the city stands ready to play ball, meaning if the Rays want to stay, there will be no hard feelings and they'll always be welcome.

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https://www.sportstalkflorida.com/soccer/miami-beckham-united/has-david-beckham-finally-hit-paydirt-for-his-miami-soccer-team/

Has David Beckham Finally Hit Paydirt For His Miami Soccer Team?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7vjlXKa1No

HIGHLIGHTS - Tampa Bay Rowdies at FC Cincinnati - July 14, 2018

Tampa Bay Rowdies

Published on Jul 14, 2018

HIGHLIGHTS presented by Tampa International Airport

Check out the recap of our 2-0 loss to FC Cincinnati.