Raymond James Stadium to Host Gold Cup

Major International Soccer Tournament Coming to Tampa.

The Tampa Bay area continues to establish itself as a premier destination for sports fanatics. This January, the city will host the College Football National Championship. Last year. Amalie Arena hosted the NCAA Frozen Four and the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball finals.

The Gold Cup brings together 12 of the best teams from around the world.

Now we can add the Gold Cup to the list of esteemed sporting events our area has hosted. The CONCACAF Gold Cup is the official national team championship of the region which will crown the best of North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Raymond James Stadium was one of fourteen cities selected across the country, which includes the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles, the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, the Alamodome in San Antonio and the Sports Authority Field in Denver.

Seven squads have already qualified for the tournament.

The Gold Cup doesn’t begin until July 7, but there’s plenty for soccer fans to chew on before the tournament begins. Seven teams have already qualified. They include: Canada, Curacao, French Guiana, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico and the US. Of the already qualified teams, the US owns the record for most win in Gold Cup history with 51 registered victories.

Major things are happening on the local level for soccer fans.

This isn’t the only piece of exciting soccer news fans in the Tampa Bay area have been able to salivate over. This January, Al Lang Stadium in St. Pete will host the Florida Cup, which is the largest international sporting event held in the state.

Confirmed competitors include Vfl Wolfsburg, Estudiantes de La Plata, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Clube Atletico Mineiro, Sao Paulo FC, Shanghai FC, Internacional, Millonarios FC, Clube Atletico River Plate, Esporte Clube Bahia and Barcelona Sporting Club.  You can learn more about the tournament on their Facebook. You can purchase tickets to the matches by visiting their website.

Tampa Bay Rowdies push to join Major League Soccer.

Tampa Bay’s soccer team, the Rowdies, made waves in the Major League Soccer community when they announced their campaign to join the league. That announcement was proceeded by the unveiling of plans for an overhaul of the current Al Lang Stadium.

Renovations would expand seating options and better outfit the area for a variety of programming beyond soccer. The focus of the campaign is to drive season ticket sales to show the MLS that the Tampa Bay area is ready for Major League Soccer. Learn more about the #MLS2STPETE campaign on the Tampa Bay Rowdies website.