PROFESSIONAL SPORTS
St. Petersburg is proud to be home
to two professionals sports teams,
the Tampa Bay Rays and the Tampa
Bay Rowdies. Passionate soccer
fans are known to paint their faces
and dress in green and gold, the
Rowdies colors, on game day, ��lling
the stands at Al Lang Stadium
on the city’s beautiful downtown
waterfront. Rowdies chairman and
CEO Bill Edwards hopes to take
the team to Major League Soccer
status and has applied to be one
of four expansion teams added
to the MLS by 2020. Edwards has
also been given the green light to
move forward on a privately funded
$80 million expansion and upgrade
of Al Lang Stadium, part of the
campaign to bring #MLS2St.Pete.
The Tampa Bay Rays have been
playing major league baseball at St.
Pete’s Tropicana Field since the late
1980s. The team has a huge fan
base from throughout the greater
Tampa Bay region. Baseball has
long been part of the city’s history,
dating back to the days when
spring training leagues and legendary
players like Babe Ruth and Joe
DiMaggio came to town for the
season. Spring training games are
no longer held in St. Petersburg,
but the memory lingers.
St. Petersburg’s sister city of Tampa
is home to two additional professional
sports teams – the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers football team and
the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey
team. The Tampa Bay area was
awarded the National Football
League’s 27th franchise in 1974,
with the ��rst game played two
years later. The Bucs won Super
Bowl XXXVII in 2003, while the City
of Tampa has hosted ��ve Super
Bowl games over the years. In fact,
Super Bowl LV is scheduled to be
played in Tampa in 2021.
The Tampa Bay Lightning team
plays at Amalie Arena in Tampa’s
Channelside District. The team
won the Stanley Cup in 2004 and
continues to draw record-crowds
to games.
5KS & TRIATHLONS
Join joggers along the downtown
waterfront, in parks and on city
streets. Or participate with the St.
Pete Road Runners club, which
holds group runs and training
events year-round. The ‘Burg is
known for its scenic race courses
and is a favorite destination for
everyone from the local Jingle
Bell Run, now in its 35th year, to
national charitable causes like the
Susan G. Komen Suncoast Race
for the Cure. Last year, Complete
Tri named the internationally
recognized St. Anthony’s
Triathlon one of the “10 Great
Destination Triathlons” in the
world. The run, walk, bike event
is now in its 35th year and offers
three USA Triathlon-sanctioned
races during the weekend: the
traditional St. Anthony's Triathlon,
Sprint Triathlon, and the Meek
& Mighty Triathlon. This year,
for the ��rst, time the Sunshine
Skyway bridge will shut down on
a Sunday morning in March for
a 10K to honor military families.
Sponsored by the Armed Forces
Families Foundation, the “Skyway
10k Saluting Military Families”
is expected to draw up to 7,000
participants.
SAIL AWAY
With the beautiful natural harbor of
Tampa Bay right in St. Petersburg’s
backyard, it’s no surprise the city
is a mecca for sailing. As early as
1909, when the St. Petersburg
Yacht Club was founded, sailors
began converging on the city’s
beautiful waterfront for recreational
sailing and competitions racing.
Nearly year-round regattas, as well
Tampa Bay Rays
26 'BURGLIFE | Living, Working and Playing in St. Petersburg, FL