by JAKE NUTTING

After much speculation, the Tampa Bay Rowdies did what many expected and publicly declared their intentions to join the ranks of MLS in the coming years.

The interesting wrinkle to Tuesday’s event hosted by the team in downtown St. Petersburg, though, was the additional revelation that owner Bill Edwards is now offering to use private funding for the upgrades at Al Lang Stadium that would be necessary for an MLS move. Those extensive renovations — which include expanding Al Lang from 7,000 to 18,000 seats — will cost around $80 million, according to Edwards.

Whispers of existing renderings for the planned expansion of the historic venue passed around by many supporters over beers at gameday tailgates in the Al Lang parking lot were also finally proven true. Artist renderings of the collaboration between Populous and ICON Venue show the team hopes to expand while remaining inside the current footprint of Al Lang.

The current grandstand at Al Lang would remain intact, with a whole new addition being constructed in what was the outfield and bullpen area during the facility’s baseball days to bring the capacity up.

The design has a connection to the Tampa Bay Ray’s ill-fated attempted to build a new ballpark at the same site over a decade ago in that both took inspiration from the nautical environment of St. Petersburg’s waterfront.The covering of the new seating area is meant to be reminiscent of sailboats in the St. Pete Marina close by Al Lang, while symbolic “masts” are present at either end of the addition. Unlike the Rays’ failed proposal, though, the Rowdies plan to keep the stadium at the same height in hopes of avoiding the obstructive and gaudy complaints that their MLB neighbors received. The Rowdies say the new seating area would match the height of the Mahaffey Theater next door.

Offering up private funds for a stadium puts Edwards ahead of many owners vying for a spot in MLS, but he’s still in need of a few things before that check is cut by him or some other investors. First and foremost, according to his own words, is a boost in the team’s season ticket holder numbers. The Rowdies ranked third in the NASL with around 5,800 this year, but only had 3,600 season ticket holders. Without growth on this front, Edwards claims an MLS move won’t happen.

If the season ticket numbers do jump up and MLS comes calling, then Edwards and city officials will place a referendum on the ballot for St. Petersburg citizens to vote on whether to extend Edwards’ lease to manage Al Lang. His current lease to manage the venue runs through 2018, but a long term lease is a must for the owner if he is to follow through on the costly stadium renovations. Any lease over five years for any property on the city’s waterfront requires pubic approval.

Right now Edwards is calling on all Rowdies supporters to show their support by purchasing season tickets and spreading the word on the MLS push through social media with the hashtag #MLS2StPete.

UPDATE: MLS has released a statement on Tampa Bay’s bid to join the league.

“Major League Soccer has met with Bill Edwards and is aware of the Rowdies’ campaign to bring an MLS expansion team to the Tampa/St. Petersburg market,” said MLS VP of Communications Dan Courtemanche. “There is a rich tradition of professional soccer in the area dating back more than 40 years, and we are impressed with their vision and plans for a world-class soccer stadium on the downtown waterfront in St. Petersburg. We look forward to learning more about their plans in the coming months.”