Construction underway at temporary home stadium for Tampa Bay Sun FC – Blake High School
TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Sun Football Club, the area's first professional women's soccer team, will be building an extended section of the Riverwalk as part of upgrades being made to Blake High School's riverfront stadium. It will be the team's temporary home.
The Tampa Bay Sun FC kicks off its season in August and will play games at Blake High School for its first few seasons. Construction on $6 million in renovations to upgrade the riverfront stadium began in February and will elevate the high school soccer field to professional standards.
Renovations include new fan zones, upgraded locker rooms, additional seating, a new state-of-the-art scoreboard and FIFA-approved turf.
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Renderings also show upgrades beyond the soccer field, including new fan zones and a new section of the Riverwalk right outside the stadium. The Tampa Bay Sun will foot the bill for this extension of the Riverwalk – an agreement the city council officially approved during their Thursday meeting.
"Today was just another exciting piece for that," Tampa Bay Sun president Christina Unkel said. "Getting the area agreed and guaranteed for us to take on ourselves – with no other public dollars, but all privately funded – to finishing that boardwalk on that section near the school. So for us to not only just continue to build the stadium, as we have mentioned, with our own dollars, but to also continue to contribute and add to the Riverwalk, which is turning into an incredible piece not just for our community, but is getting national accolades for it as well."
The plan is for construction to wrap up in time for the team’s first game in August. While the schedule isn’t out just yet, we do know who will be on the field.
"I had such a great experience at USF, and the fans in Tampa were awesome," Tampa Bay Sun midfielder Jordyn Listro said. "So I'm so excited to be back and playing for my college coach [Denise Schilte-Brown] as well."
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Brandenton native Erika Tymrak also joined the group of Tampa Bay area talent signed just last week as a midfielder.
"The fact that I can kind of come home and play in front of family and friends in the community I grew up in, it's a dream come true," Tymrak said.
The Sun will rise for its inaugural season this year at Blake High School’s soccer field, but eventually, it will be set on a permanent stadium that’s expected to be somewhere in Ybor City.
"Still looking on some different sites," Unkel told FOX 13 Thursday. "I mean, our heart is still here in the heart of Tampa Bay to do a final site location pick on that. But trust me, we are simultaneously moving with that big-time project while we are also getting the team up and running."
Wherever the team plays, the athletes told FOX 13 they know their future is bright.
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"Tampa’s on the rise and women's sports is on the rise," Tymrak said. "So, I feel like it's the perfect combination."
According to team officials, the upgrades to Blake High School will remain in place when the team later moves to its permanent home, which is expected to happen in three to five years.
The plan is for math and engineering students to help with the current construction process. Eventually, performing arts students will have opportunities to participate in the game day experience.
TV production students will get hands-on experience with in-game broadcasting.
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