Local soccer fans already knew that Ybor City developer
Darryl Shaw had plans to bring a professional women’s soccer team to Tampa, but he’s apparently got his eyes on a stadium, too.
Today, United Soccer League’s Super League confirmed that “a new chapter” of women’s soccer is coming to Tampa in August 2024, thanks to a new, still-unnamed team led by Shaw, Bern’s Steak House Co-owner David Laxer, and former Chief Information Officer of BluePearl Pet Hospital Jeff Fox.
Shaw told the
Tampa Bay Business Journal that the 2024 start means the team will have to play in a temporary venue, but that he’s hoping to build a roughly 5,000-person stadium plus office space for the team—and preferably in Ybor City where he’s assembled dozens of properties.
click to enlarge Photo c/o Super League Tampa Bay
Left to Right: David Laxer, Darryl Shaw and Jeff Fox
USL said the goal for the team is to create a venue that operates year-round, and offer opportunities for youth soccer leagues and non-soccer events to be hosted there.
“This is about inspiring, energizing, and uniting our Tampa Bay community,” Shaw said in the statement from USL Super Leagues. “We’re ready to build a team that not only wins on the field, but also makes a positive difference off the field. To us, success comes when you become part of the fabric of your community.”
USL Super League President Amanda Vandervort and Tampa Bay team owners will also host a news conference to discuss the new team on Friday, May 19 at 10 a.m. at Hotel Haya in Ybor City, according to a rep for Shaw.
Other initial markets for the new Super League include Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Lexington, Phoenix, Spokane, Tucson, and Washington, D.C., with more locations to follow in subsequent seasons.
The team’s colors and crest are yet to be decided, but an advisory board of members of the Tampa Bay community has been created in an effort to connect the community and the upcoming team.
USL is an active North American soccer league based out of Tampa, created over a decade ago. It currently oversees three men’s leagues, two women’s leagues, one elite player development platform and a national youth platform, with over 200 clubs within its membership.
Super League says its goal is to bridge a gap between men and women’s soccer in the United States, where there are currently 101 professional men’s teams, and only 12 professional women’s teams.
The Super League intends to be a first division league, following a fall-to-summer schedule that aligns with the global calendar, allowing players to participate in the up-and-coming women’s transfer market. Media and streaming partnerships have also been announced.
In USL’s release, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, who was a basketball and volleyball player at Chamberlain High School and University of Tampa pointed out that there was a lack of role models for her to look up to as a student athlete. “The announcement is the start of something special—for our city, for our region, and for so many girls and boys who’ll get to see amazing new role models right here in their hometown,” she added.
Details such as expansion fees, player salary caps and the length of the break between seasons have yet to be announced.