Rowdies’ return to storm-damaged Al Lang Stadium is ‘really exciting’

ST. PETERSBURG — The other Tampa Bay pro team that had its stadium heavily damaged by last fall’s hurricanes is set to return to its usual home on Saturday.

And the Rowdies couldn’t be more thrilled to take the field again at Al Lang Stadium.

“It’s really exciting to come home,” team president Ryan Helfrick said.

“To celebrate the team’s 50th anniversary with our fans, to be able to have 7,000-plus back in the stadium with us, being the first professional sports franchise to represent the Tampa Bay region, that’s really special to us.

“I know the guys are really pumped up for it. The coaching staff is excited for it. The players are excited for it. The last six-seven months, these guys have been out of their routine. They haven’t played a home match, they haven’t been here at the stadium, they haven’t trained here, they haven’t walked on the pitch.

“So it will just be a sense of comfort for them, I think, and a sense of relief to get back onto the field here,” Helfrick continued. “And then a sense of excitement for not only them, but for the fans as well.”

The waterfront stadium in downtown St. Petersburg sustained enough significant damage from Hurricane Helene, which hit in late September as the first of the two storms, that Helfrick said, “at one point we weren’t sure if we were ever going to play here again.”

Most troubling, Helfrick said, was 4 ½ feet of storm surge throughout the locker rooms, team store and offices, and about 18 inches of water covering the field and the entire stadium bowl.

As byproducts, the stadium electrical system was trashed; grounds crew and concession equipment were damaged; championship banners and retired jerseys were ripped off walls; contents of the locker rooms, storage areas and equipment rooms were ruined; and the Bermuda Latitude grass on which they played needed considerable repair.

The Rowdies first scrambled for sites to finish their schedule — briefly considering their parent Rays’ home at Tropicana Field until Hurricane Milton blew off the roof — then playing two scheduled home games at IMG Academy in Bradenton (where capacity is limited to about 800) and another on the road.

Then it was a matter of determining what it would take to make Al Lang usable again, and if the St. Petersburg City Council would approve $3 million-plus to cover the repairs.

“We didn’t know if we were going to be back or not,” Helfrick said.

As they waited, the Rowdies considered alternate sites, on an interim and full-season basis, including IMG; Tampa’s Riverfront Stadium, where the Sun women’s soccer team plays; and elsewhere as they waited, having already asked the league to schedule them on the road for the first four games.

Helfrick attended the meeting in January when the Council was to vote.

“I sat there quietly and just took a deep breath and then said thank you to some of the city officials and then came back here and got right back to work,” Helfrick said. “We had a call immediately with staff saying, ‘All hands on deck. We’re playing at Al Lang on April 12.‘”

When the Rowdies finally return Saturday, Helfrick said, the stadium will be repaired and ready to go inside and out. Players — who have been using the team practice facility in Tampa — went through a get-reacquainted workout Thursday morning.

“For us, it was all about just getting back home,” he said.

There will be some notable changes for fans, such as a larger team store (that also will sell Rays merchandise), a midfield club for premium ticket holders, and a fan zone outside the stadium with activities and concessions that will open two hours before kickoff.

Throughout the season, the Rowdies will have a series of special events for their 50th year commemoration, starting April 26 with the anniversary of their first game on that date in 1975.

Most importantly on Saturday, Helfrick said, “as fans come in, it’s going to feel like they’re coming back home to Al Lang for a Rowdies match.”