Mayor Jane Castor says she’s coming around to sharing the Rays with Montreal...and she says the Tampa Bay Rowdies would be part of a potential package deal

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/ecnfby/mayor_jane_castor_says_shes_coming_around_to/

Mayor Jane Castor says she’s coming around to sharing the Rays with Montreal...and she says the Tampa Bay Rowdies would be part of a potential package deal

So much to unpack here.

I live on the Tampa side of the bay. The Rowdies are the one team I prefer to have in St.Pete. the iconic waterfront location is part of the package, appeal and our identity!

2)Why is Castor mentioning County locations? None of the aforementioned sites are within Tampa city limits. For reference, everything EAST of US-41 on I-4 is beyond city limits. Anything other than Ybor EAST of downtown is really rough and or industrial as well.

3)Moving to a shared site = shitty pitch, PERIOD. Moving to aforementioned locations = shitty gameday experience. Comparatively.

4)SUMMER WEATHER! Anyone who knows anything about it around here knows that the further you go EAST of TIAirport the shittier the late afternoon summer weather is on a DAILY basis, PERIOD! It's one of the reasons the Airport and Ray-J are located where they are. Major storms start in June along the I-75 cooridor and move WEST. Sure St.Pete gets them, but not at the same rate. Even my volleyball matches along I-275 NORTH of downtown are regularly washed out in summer whereas the ones WEST of the airport are mostly fine.

5)Can't stress this enough! Any deal struck by St.Pete that's worth anything, should be leveraged to include soccer specific upgrades at Al Lang. There's a lot more potential there than people realize.

There’s so many hurdles before this could become a reality (although to some extent I feel like this or the Rays leaving is an inevitability)...but as a St. Pete guy it is really weird to imagine driving to Tampa to watch the Rowdies.

gdamnit leave us out of that shit! ugh lol

Absolutely FUCKING NOT

Why do the Rowdies have to be included.. they already have the Impact

Oh, no...they wouldn’t go to Montreal...they’d just to to Tampa, while the Rays are in Montreal...

Oh right. I just saw the title and reacted haha. Well thats a positive at least. I still think the whole Rays situation is daft and i think $tu needs to get his head out of his ass and realise if you want people to come to games you need to give them a reason why and seriously invest and support the team youve created. Ive spouted my opinion on r/tampabayrays far too many tes about it

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https://www.tampabay.com/news/tampa/2019/12/18/mayor-jane-castor-says-shes-coming-around-to-sharing-the-rays-with-montreal/

Mayor Jane Castor says she’s coming around to sharing the Rays with Montreal

The Tampa mayor is optimistic a deal can be worked out for the team to move to Tampa. And she says the Tampa Bay Rowdies would be part of a potential package deal.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor is optimistic that the Tampa Bay Rays will stay in the region. And she's increasingly warming to the team's split-city concept.

TAMPA — Mayor Jane Castor says she’s an “eternal optimist” when it comes to keeping the Tampa Bay Rays in the region, and part of that confidence is her increasing comfort with the idea of the team...

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/ecepok/how_we_feeling/

How we feeling?

So three new signings and 9 returnees...how we feeling Rowdies fans?!? Personally, If like to see us add as much speed as possible, I really felt that, outside of Malik, last year we really suffered from lack of pace. We also still need to find a really strong Right side defender, with Johnson always looking to go forward, we need someone who can defend that side of the pitch better than Morad did.

I think sniping the Nashville Captain is the biggest splash we make honestly. Rest will be squad players. Feeling good though as the returning players give a good foundation.

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https://twitter.com/Aaronguillen33/status/1207406123709431810

Tampa Bay Rowdies Retweeted
Aaron Guillen
@Aaronguillen33
Very happy and excited for this new challenge! Can’t wait to get to work 💪🏼🙏🏼
Quote Tweet

Tampa Bay Rowdies
@TampaBayRowdies
 · 9h
BREAKING: The Rowdies have signed @Aaronguillen33 for the 2020 @USLChampionship season! Guillen spent the last two seasons with @NorthCarolinaFC

Read more: http://bit.ly/2Q0rmGa
4:03 PM · Dec 18, 2019·Twitter for iPhone

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https://twitter.com/TampaBayRowdies/status/1207375225433853952

Tampa Bay Rowdies
@TampaBayRowdies
BREAKING: The Rowdies have signed
@Aaronguillen33
 for the 2020
@USLChampionship
 season! Guillen spent the last two seasons with
@NorthCarolinaFC

Read more: http://bit.ly/2Q0rmGa
2:01 PM · Dec 18, 2019·Twitter Media Studio

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https://www.rowdiessoccer.com/news_article/show/1072397

ROWDIES SIGN DEFENDER AARON GUILLEN

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (December 18, 2019) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies have signed another defender with USL Championship experience, welcoming Aaron Guillen to the roster on a two-year contract ahead of the 2020 season, pending league approval. Per club policy, further contract details were not disclosed.

Guillen, 26, joins Forrest Lasso as the first two defenders on a backline that will look drastically different in 2020. He spent the last two seasons with North Carolina FC, making 58 appearances and playing more than 5,000 minutes.

“Aaron had a fantastic season last year at NCFC and was someone we worked tirelessly to bring to club as it is hard to find defenders with his type of qualities in the USL Championship,” Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins said. “Aaron is excellent on the ball but just as importantly is a very good defender. It is important we continue to build our exciting brand of football and adding Aaron is an important part of doing that.”

Guillen played the third-most minutes for North Carolina FC last season and led the team in interceptions with 37. He was second in clearances with 91.

Born in Mexico, Guillen has Florida ties after a stellar four-year college career at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers from 2012-2015. He then signed a homegrown deal in MLS with FC Dallas.

“I’m excited to get started with the Rowdies and be part of this incredible organization,” Guillen said. “Having played at Al Lang Stadium a couple of times, I have a lot of respect for this club and its fans as a whole. I’m eager to reach new goals and milestones with my teammates. The Rowdies have a rich history of success and I’m thrilled to be part of it. Since I went to school at Florida Gulf Coast University, I am anxious to get back to the Sunshine State and get to work.”

With the additions of Kyle Murphy and Aaron Guillen this morning, Tampa Bay’s roster now stands at 13 players for 2020, with more set to be announced in the coming days. The current squad is below:

GK (1): Macklin Robinson
D (2): Aaron Guillen, Forrest Lasso
M (5): Yann Ekra, Leo Fernandes, Lewis Hilton, Dom Oduro, Zach Steinberger
F (5): Sebastian Guenzatti, Malik Johnson, Lucky Mkosana, Kyle Murphy, Juan Tejada

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https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/9963760/man-city-david-silva-david-beckham-inter-miami-transfer/

BECK 'N CALL Man City legend David Silva set to join Beckham’s Inter Miami in first big transfer next summer

MANCHESTER CITY legend David Silva is set to become the face of David Beckham's Inter Milan by becoming the first major transfer next summer, according to reports.

The Spaniard has already confirmed he will end his hugely successful stint in the Premier League at the end of this upcoming campaign.

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2019/12/18/the-worlds-most-valuable-sports-empires-worth-84-billion-kroenke-sports-lands-at-no-1/#10981d4e7bdb

The World’s Most Valuable Sports Empires: Worth $8.4 Billion, Kroenke Sports Lands At No. 1

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https://dentondaily.com/marlins-park-out-as-inter-miamis-2020-home-beckham-mas-have-another-site-in-mind/

Marlins Park out as Inter Miami’s 2020 home. Beckham, Mas have another site in mind

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https://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/columnists/james-briggs/2019/12/18/indy-eleven-stadium-looks-unrealistic-mls-expands-charlotte/2686848001/

Briggs: Indy Eleven's stadium proposal is one of 2019's weirdest stories

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https://berksweekly.com/sports/reading-united-issues-statement-on-declining-u-s-open-cup-invitation/

READING UNITED ISSUES STATEMENT ON DECLINING U.S. OPEN CUP INVITATION

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https://kmox.radio.com/articles/news/state-30-million-in-tax-breaks-is-too-much-for-mls-stadium

Missouri: $30 million in tax breaks is too much for MLS stadium in St. Louis

A spokesperson for the state's economic development board says they didn't believe it's the right decision for the state.

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https://gotechdaily.com/nycfc-to-play-four-games-in-the-mls-within-citi-field-in-2020/

NYCFC to play four games in the MLS within Citi Field in 2020

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https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/84547/reading-united-pulls-out-of-2020-open-cup-over-ab.html

Reading United pulls out of 2020 Open Cup over 'abhorrent scheduling decision'

Soccer America

Reading United AC, the 2019 USL League Two runner-up, has declined an invitation ... The move follows the decision of U.S. Soccer's Open Cup committee to ... The early start prevents teams like Reading United from using college ...

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https://www.wfmz.com/sports/reading-united-declines-u-s-open-cup-entry/article_18786caa-2128-11ea-b2a8-77843abdfb31.html

Reading United declines U.S. Open Cup entry

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https://arizonasports.com/story/2197361/phoenix-rising-sign-former-nashville-sc-right-back-darnell-king/

Phoenix Rising sign former Nashville SC right back Darnell King

n 2017 and 2018, the 29-year-old split time with fellow USL sides Tampa Bay Rowdies and San Antonio FC, respectively. In that span, King accumulated one assist in 24 matches for Tampa Bay in 2017, while scoring twice and capturing four assists in 32 matches for San Antonio the following year.

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https://www.rslsoapbox.com/2019/12/18/21028144/real-monarchs-slc-captain-jack-blake-to-return-for-2020-season

Monarchs captain Jack Blake to return for 2020 season

Blake, 25, is a Nottingham, England native who originally joined the Monarchs on loan from the Tampa Bay Rowdies in June of 2018. The midfielder, who expects to receive a green card in the next several months, has also spent time with NASL sides Jacksonville Armada and Minnesota United after deciding to come to the United States to further his career. He is also the producer of a highly successful YouTube channel on life as a professional football player.

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https://www.soccerwire.com/news/us-youth-soccer-announces-skip-gilbert-as-new-ceo/

US Youth Soccer announces Skip Gilbert as new CEO

Mr. Gilbert’s passion for sport extends beyond his professional experience, as Gilbert played soccer for the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the NASL, US Olympic Development Team, and trained with Sheffield United and other clubs in Holland, and Hong Kong. He is a licensed soccer coach and member of the University of Vermont and the Lawrenceville School Athletic Hall of Fame.

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https://www.tampabay.com/arts-entertainment/food/2019/12/18/tampa-bay-restaurant-and-bar-openings-chicken-salad-chick-crafty-crab/

Tampa Bay restaurant and bar openings: Chicken Salad Chick, Crafty Crab

St. Petersburg’s Pacific Counter has also announced an expansion across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Chicken Salad Chick, which has opened its latest location in Brandon, tops the chicken salad BLT with your choice of chicken salad, crispy bacon, lettuce and sliced tomato. [Courtesy of Chicken Salad Chick]

NOW OPEN

Chicken Salad Chick

Brandon has officially welcomed the latest Chicken Salad Chick location. Southern inspired and fast casual, the Alabama-based chicken salad chain observed its grand opening...

Tampa Bay Times

Tampa Bay's other locations are found in Seminole, Palm Harbor and .... Pacific Counter is the official caterer for the Tampa Bay Rowdies and was a ...

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https://theathletic.com/1448748/2019/12/17/usmnt-2002-photo-shoot/

The story behind the most famous photo shoot in American soccer history

Editor’s note: Language in this story may be offensive to some readers.

There’s a water fountain at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, a Most Dependable Fountains model SD440 that lost its factory luster long ago. After two decades under the Carolina sun, the silvery sheen on this unassuming bubbler has dulled a bit, its age marked by patches of rust. You can push the button on its side, but don’t expect to be refreshed — the fountain now runs dry.

The SD440 may be forlorn, but it certainly isn’t forgotten. In the spring of 2002, at the very moment that a 20-year-old Landon Donovan leaned in to let its water ripple over his lips, the fountain took its part in perhaps the most memorable photograph ever taken in the history of U.S. men’s soccer. It’s a photograph — you know the one — that remains a running joke among U.S. soccer fans, part of a larger collection of photos that graced the New York Times Magazine in the run-up to the 2002...