Despite Team's Performance, Tampa Bay Rowdies Offer Solid Experience
Dispatch from a random trip to Al Lang Stadium
This past weekend, my family and I were in St. Petersburg, Florida for a memorial service. It was an emotional whirlwind of activity with friends and family. But with Saturday night free of obligations, my partner and I decided to unwind with 4,810 strangers at a USL Championship soccer match.
I cover USL League One, but thanks to the wonderful content on Southeast Soccer Report, Beyond the 90 and USL Show appearances, I’ve picked up a bit about the Championship. One thing I knew going into Saturday’s match: the Rowdies are not having a great season.
We grabbed tickets on the team’s website, which promised fireworks after the match. I’m the dive-right-in type, so I selected the supporter section. I threw on the greenest thing I packed (an olive green t-shirt), and we made the 15-minute drive from Gulfport to Al Lang Stadium in downtown St. Pete.
Who is Al Lang Anyway?
We entered the stadium not knowing what to expect. I can tell you everything about USL League One stadiums, but when it comes to USL Championship, I usually defer to my USL Show co-hosts.
Inside, we found an historic, former spring training baseball stadium, now fully repurposed for soccer. Named after former St. Petersburg Mayor Al Lang, the main seating is curved around one corner of the pitch. The seat covering over the stands behind the former home plate area is still intact. Even the dugouts are still there, now repurposed as VIP club areas. However, newer stands now line the far side of the pitch, where fans can purchase some of the more expensive seats down the midfield sideline.
Mayor Lang brought baseball to St. Pete, then a fledging, relatively new city. While he could never convince the league to award a franchise during his time in office and during his post-Mayoral activism, he did facilitate Florida becoming one of the centers of Spring Training. The stadium opened to host Grapefruit League games in 1947.
By 2008, the aging stadium lost Spring Training to newer facilities in the region, and the Rowdies took over as primary tenant in 2011. By 2014, the club took over all control of the stadium, agreeing to the renovations that would convert it fully to soccer. Finally in 2017, the club departed NASL and joined what is now the USL Championship.
Joining the Supporter Section as a Rando
My partner and I are Richmond Kickers season ticket holders, and even though I’ve covered USL League One since 2022, this was my first time at another USL stadium. True to form, and thanks to a mix of ADHD and my dislike of spoilers, I did no research. So we were surprised to find a proper support section with safe-standing rails. In hindsight, the team’s website says this clearly, but like I said, we like to dive in without spoilers.
Only problem? We’d been on our feet all day with family and our legs were shot. But we stuck it out, because all the other sections appeared to be reserved anyway.
We arrived early, so I checked out the team store, tucked away under the stadium near our section. It was well stocked and busy, despite the Rowdies’ tough start (1-6-1 at the start of the match). Credit the strong branding and a big push to sell merchandise for the 50th anniversary of the original team’s founding.
I walked out with a cartoonish scarf featuring the mascots, Pete and Pinnie the pelicans. Look for it hanging behind me next time I’m on the USL Show.
The supporters, a coalition of two groups called Ralphs Mob and Skyway Casuals, trickled in. A group of leaders distributed flags throughout the sections, the lower levels behind the north goal. They set up smoke canisters, and after the National Anthem, started drumming, chanting and waving flags. I grabbed a flag and joined in.
The match started and a mix of green and yellow smoke set the atmosphere.
At halftime, we met several of the supporter group leaders, who were thrilled to talk about the groups, and the long history of the Rowdies. We flagged down Mark Chisholm, a board member of Ralph’s Mob, who shared how the groups are coping with a poor season. Like all supporter groups, the dedicated core shows up through thick and thin, even though morale is low, and some have chosen to protest. We’ll get to that in a bit.
A Match of Promise, Then Extreme Disappointment
The Rowdies hosted mid-table Rhode Island FC, last year’s playoff finalists. After a slow start, RIFC came in on a three-match unbeaten run, fresh off a mid-week win over Birmingham Legion.
Tampa Bay, meanwhile, sat dead last in the table. The only win came back on March 22, and they’d lost four of five since. A 2-2 draw at Birmingham was the only glimmer of hope. And after firing Head Coach Robbie Neilson on April 11, they still haven’t named a replacement.
Despite the struggles, the Rowdies started this match strong, controlling much of the first half and creating several strong chances. Each one fired up the supporters, but just before the half, any momentum stalled. Deep into stoppage time, Rhode Island’s Clay Holstad ripped a long-distance rocket past Tampa Bay keeper Nico Campisi. Halftime hit, the supporter group capo vanished, and the energy in the section dropped in the second half.
It’s hard to blame the groups for fizzling out. After all, this is a team with just one win, eight goals in nine matches, and an abysmal shot conversion rate of 8%. They’ve conceded 17, third-worst in the league. Even die-hards get tired.
Early in the second half, a pair of tactical subs from Tampa Bay drew boos. Striker Endri Mustali (who showed flashes in his first start this season) and defender Blake Bodily came off for Manuel Arteaga and Joey Skinner.
Arteaga is the team’s regular starting striker, but is goalless in eight starts, and was benched for the first time this season. This coming after a career season in 2024 in which he scored 18, third best in the league. He’d finish this match with no shots, and just one chance created.
The substitutions caused some fans to pull the classic paper-bag protest—more NFL than USL, and perhaps a bit divisive in the section.
In any case, things only got worse. Rhode Island took full control, dominating possession and shutting down Tampa’s midfield. Two nearly identical screamers—one from Zach Herivaux, one from Noah Fuson—iced the match for Rhode Island. Both from outside the box, left of center, right into the net.
As if that wasn’t enough, Hartford Athletic drew Louisville City, gaining a point, and sending Tampa Bay even deeper into last place.
Post Match Fireworks
Most of the 4,810 fans who showed up to witness another disappointing match stuck around after the final whistle for the fireworks show. Why not? It’s a Saturday night, the weather is pleasant and you’ve got a great view through palm trees, looking out over a marina and Tampa Bay.
After moving signage, and clearing the field of any remaining player debris, the club opened the pitch to the fans. Of course, this seemed like one of the greatest thrills ever for the many children at the match. A flood of them took off the second the gates opened, running around where the professionals just played. About half of the remaining crowd made their way onto the pitch, while the rest remained in the stands.
A nice 10 minute display from a pier located just outside the stadium was a welcome way to forget the beatdown the home crowd had just witnessed.
Final Review
Supporters: responded well to chances in the first half, but faded in the second. Very welcoming though.
Concessions: traditional concessions located around the concourse, food trucks behind the midfield stands. Prices about the same as anywhere else (expensive).
Tickets: rather pricy; the cheapest are in the supporter section for $30.
Overall Stadium Experience: excellent. Easy entry, great views. Fireworks are always nice, and allowing kids onto the pitch probably made a few nights.
The Team: oof, let’s hope they can get things together in the second half of the season.
For more on the Tampa Bay Rowdies, check out coverage on Southeast Soccer Report and Beyond the 90, as well as local coverage from RBLR Rowdies and Unused Substitutes.