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Tampa’s professional women’s soccer team will announce its name, logo and colors Saturday, just a couple weeks after securing a place to play for its first several seasons.
And, of course, it will begin selling merchandise immediately after the announcement.
The team is set to disclose the name and the other details at a public event Saturday afternoon in Ybor City less than a year before it kicks off its inaugural season.
The soon-to-be-named team will compete in the just-formed USL Super League, which is set to begin play in August. In its first season the league will have 10 to 12 teams playing in cities including Dallas, Charlotte and Washington, D.C., in addition to Tampa.
Five other cities are expected to have teams starting play in 2025.
Coaches and officials in Tampa are currently working to put together a roster and developing strategy.
During its first few seasons, the team will play its home games, mostly on Saturdays, at Howard W. Blake High School just across the Hillsborough River from downtown Tampa after reaching an agreement last month with Hillsborough County Public Schools.
In the meantime, it will continue to look around the region for a permanent home.
In exchange, the team has agreed to make renovations to Blakes’s stadium and around the school totaling about $4 million. Those renovations will stay once it moves on. Among the improvements the team is expected to make is increasing seating capacity from 1,800 to about 5,000, upgrading the locker rooms, restrooms and the front of the school, as well as installing new FIFA-approved turf and building a stage for performances.
As for what the new name will be, not everyone will be surprised to hear what’s been picked.
Early in the summer a call was put out asking the public to submit its suggestions and more than 2,500 responses came in. Team officials says the decision on the name was made after months of conversation and meetings with a small group of fans.
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