A Glimmer of Hope

In late November, the Tampa Bay Rowdies and their outspoken owner, area property magnate Bill Edwards, found out they would not be one of the contenders for Major League Soccer's next round of expansion.

Insiders close to Edwards and the team, however, believe the Rowdies' odds of clinching a future expansion slot remain better than average.

MLS wants to expand from 24 to 28 teams in the coming years, and it plans to hold two rounds of expansion to meet that goal. In early December, Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville and Sacramento were announced as the four finalists of the present round. Of those, Nashville and one other, yet to be announced, will begin play in 2020 — growing the league to 26 teams.