Group hopes to build soccer stadium

TAMPA - A group of private investors is looking to build an up-to-10,000-seat stadium in Hillsborough County that would be home to a professional soccer team and play host to other sporting events, the St. Petersburg Times has learned.

A formal announcement of the project is expected in coming days, said Lisa Brock, a spokesperson for the investor-owner group, which she said includes local and out-of-market people. The stadium would be home to a team from the United Soccer Leagues' First Division, which is its highest professional level.

Tampa is the League's headquarters. A representative of the league would not confirm whether Tampa has been selected for a soccer franchise and would not discuss the stadium plans.

"I can say that we have been and are actively working to help bring a USL professional soccer team back to the area," said Tim Holt, vice president and chief operating officer for the USL. ''The area has a great history of supporting professional soccer. One of the biggest challenges is the lack of an existing, proper stadium."

Tampa has been home to the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Tampa Bay Mutiny pro soccer teams, the latter of which folded eight years ago. But the teams played at too-vast Raymond James and Tampa stadiums, where they did not collect money from concessions and parking.

The USL First Division has 11 teams, and the league has a requirement that the stadiums where its teams play have at least 5,000 seats. The teams play from April through October.

Brock said the group has a site located for the stadium in northwestern Tampa. But Vin Marchetti, a lawyer representing the group who also sits on the Tampa Sports Authority, said several locations are being considered.

Marchetti said the group already has paid for engineering and design work on what he described as a 6,000 to 10,000 seat stadium that could be built in phases.

"Certainly my clients wouldn’t be pursuing this if they didn’t think the market didn’t warrant such a stadium," Marchetti said.

The disclosure comes a day after Hillsborough County commissioners gave a preliminary nod to building a $15-million park complex of up to 30 soccer fields that could be used for tournaments. Commissioner Jim Norman, who initially proposed building a larger complex with a stadium for $40-million, said the private proposal could complement the public park complex.

Tournaments including dozens or even hundreds of teams playing soccer, lacrosse and other sports could then play their finals' games at the new stadium. He believes the Tampa Sports Commission could serve as a booking agent for the stadium to keep it full when soccer is not played there. Soccer players could also have camps and other events with children at the public complex.

"I'm very excited about the private-sector participation," Norman said. But he said he will reserve judgment on the proposal until more the details are disclosed.

-- Bill Varian, Times Staff Writer