Tampa Training Complex will be Primary Training Ground for First Team and Home to Rowdies Youth Programs
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Rowdies announced today that the club has signed a multi-year agreement to take over as the primary tenant of the soccer complex located at Waters Avenue and Benjamin Road in Tampa, FL. The complex, which includes two natural grass fields and one FIFA-approved artificial turf field, will serve as the primary training location for the Rowdies starting January 1, 2023.
“To be able to give the players an enhanced training environment is exciting,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “It’s fantastic for players to come in and have a home base with top quality fields, and a place we can really make our own.”
The training complex, located at 8108 Benjamin Rd in Tampa, is five miles away from Tampa International Airport and conveniently accessible from the Veterans Expressway. David Laxer, member of a previous Rowdies ownership group and current owner of the soccer complex, originally envisioned the Rowdies occupying the site when the club was resurrected in 2008.
“As a past steward and owner of the Tampa Bay Rowdies it was always my vision for the club to have a first-class training facility,” said Laxer. “Although it has been a winding path for the Rowdies to arrive here, it brings great pride and pleasure for my family and myself to welcome the Tampa Bay Rowdies to their new training home.”
As part of the agreement, the Rowdies will make a six-figure investment in the complex. The club will replace the two grass fields and create a dedicated space on the property for goalkeeper training. In addition, upgrades will also be made to the on-site indoor facility offering a state of the art gym, treatment rooms, and locker rooms to help players perform and recover more quickly. The facility will also include full-time office space for the Rowdies technical staff and a multimedia room for video and scouting sessions.
“As a club, we are grateful for the overwhelming support that we have felt from our ownership,” said Collins. “People always quantify support with the financials, but the actual support, faith and autonomy they’ve given us is equally as important. I think this investment is a big statement about what kind of club we want to be. It’s about more than just winning on the field. We want to keep building the club in the community. It’s really exciting, and we hope the fans are also excited by this investment.”
The Rowdies also look to create more opportunities to engage the community on both sides of the bay through this training relocation. The complex will help create opportunities for expanding existing youth programming like the successful Little Rowdies initiative and will also be instrumental in helping the organization grow its footprint as a soccer resource in the community.
“The Rowdies have excelled as one of the top teams in the USL Championship the last few years and with the addition of this new soccer complex, we believe this organization now has a terrific platform to achieve even more,” said Rowdies Vice-Chairman Brian Auld. “As ambitious as Neill and the players are to win, our entire organization is equally as hungry to establish even stronger roots as a community asset in Tampa Bay.”
About the Tampa Bay Rowdies: The Tampa Bay Rowdies are a member of the USL Championship. The team plays its home games at Al Lang Stadium in Downtown St. Petersburg. Originally founded in 1974, the Rowdies are one of the oldest professional sports brands in Tampa Bay. The Rowdies have earned two league titles over their history, one in 1975 and another in 2012. The Rowdies have also claimed back-to-back USL Championship Eastern Conference titles over the last two seasons.
