TAMPA, Fla. — It looks like there will be a new and improved stadium built in downtown Tampa for a professional sports team.
Tampa Bay's new professional women's soccer team announced Wednesday it will try to partner up with Hillsborough County Public Schools to play its first several seasons in the USL Super League in an upgraded and expanded waterfront stadium in downtown Tampa.
The proposed stadium would be shared with Howard W. Blake High School – which is located along the Hillsborough River – and the team will provide permanent upgrades to it, including enhanced sports facilities and learning opportunities for students at the school.
“The spirit of competition is very strong in us, but so is the spirit of community," Super League Tampa Bay President Christina Unkel said in a statement. "Our team is ready to deliver a positive impact that benefits families in Tampa Bay, and this partnership would elevate everyone."
The team says the proposal has to go to the Hillsborough County School Board for a vote on Oct. 17.
If approved, Super League Tampa will cover the costs for the transformed stadium which is expected to increase its capacity from 1,800 to around 5,000, and install FIFA-approved turf.
The new Tampa Bay sports team also has plans to get students involved with the club, such as having the high school's music students create a musical chant that can be sung by fans during games and involve students in live game broadcasts.
“Our schools have been the site of so much history, and the birthplace of so many important traditions," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said in a statement. "It will be wonderful to add to that legacy with this new soccer team. There’s something special about sports that brings out the best in people and brings people together."
The USL Super League season will begin in August 2024 with teams expected to primarily play on Saturday nights. The Tampa Bay-based team says it will continue to train daily at its Ybor City training facility.
There has not yet been an announcement on the club's name, colors or logo, but after receiving input from the fans, that information will be revealed soon.
The team says they are now accepting deposits for season tickets, which cost $24 per ticket. To sign up, click here.
Back in July, USF women's soccer head coach Denise Schilte-Brown was tabbed as the inaugural leader of the new club, with Sarasota-based Christina Unkel announced as the club's first president. Unkel is a former FIFA referee and NCAA collegiate soccer athlete.
The new franchise will compete at the highest level of women's professional soccer in the U.S. and will be the Tampa Bay region's first top-tier women's pro sports team.
Once sanctioned by U.S. Soccer as a division one league, the USL Super League will be equivalent to other professional sports leagues across the world and will look to bring in international players who have competed in the FIFA Women's World Cup and Olympic Games.
Since the new league plans to play its season from fall through spring, all players will still be able to represent their national teams.
There will be 10 to 12 teams competing in the USL Super League with other confirmed host cities including Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas/Fort Worth; Lexington, Kentucky; Phoenix; Spokane, Washington; Tucson, Arizona, and Washington, D.C. The additional franchises will be announced at a later date.
The Super League also has plans for five more franchises, pending stadium agreements, that won't be part of the original group. Those would be in Oakland, California; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Indianapolis; Jacksonville, Florida, and Madison, Wisconsin.
The new league said it hopes to close the “opportunity gap” between men’s and women’s professional soccer in the United States. There are more than 100 men’s pro teams in contrast to 12 women’s teams.
Schilte-Brown and her new team will hope to establish a winning culture that has been replicated by other pro sports teams in the Tampa Bay region, such as the Rays, Lightning, Buccaneers and Rowdies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.