USL Championship club Tampa Bay Rowdies are “negotiating an extension on their lease” at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, even as Mayor Ken Welch‘s administration has proposed "demolishing the venue to replace it with an amphitheater and arts center,” according to Emma Behrmann of the TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL. Although a city master plan for downtown St. Pete’s waterfront “mentioned possible demolition for Al Lang Stadium in a reimagination of St. Pete’s Center of the Arts,” the Rowdies have “requested a one-year extension on their agreement, which the city has agreed to, and a longer extension is possible.” The contract between the Rowdies and city expires in November. The one-year extension “must go before city council for approval as discussions regarding a longer extension are ongoing.” Rowdies President Ryan Helfrick “notified the city on April 30 -- ahead of the May 1 deadline to negotiate a new agreement -- that the team desires to extend the agreement for one year with the same terms and conditions as the existing agreement.” In the master plan, Al Lang Stadium’s redevelopment into an outdoor amphitheater would be “part of a second phase, slated for completion between 2028 and 2038.” Welch in a Facebook post on April 28 wrote, “The Rowdies are not affected by these long-term conceptual discussions” (TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/7).
USL’s Rowdies negotiating lease extension as St. Pete proposes stadium teardown
