Will Tampa’s Ybor City get a pro soccer stadium? Here’s what we know.
Permits revealed plans to build a training field at the corner of North Nebraska Avenue and East Seventh Avenue.

By Rebecca Liebson
Tampa Bay Times
Published: Sep 6, 2023

A vacant lot in Ybor City could be transformed into a training field for a new professional women’s soccer team set to launch next August.

Earlier this year, local real estate mogul Darryl Shaw announced that he would partner with Bern’s Steak House co-owner David Laxer and former BluePearl Pet Hospital chief information officer Jeff Fox to bring a women’s soccer franchise to Tampa as part of the forthcoming United Soccer League (USL) Super League.

This week, landscaping architecture company Dark Moss submitted plans to the city of Tampa to remove a grand tree from the 112,817-square-foot site at 1901 N Nebraska Ave. in hopes of building a soccer field there.

That property is owned by Seventh and Nebraska Investments LLC, a company with ties to Shaw.

Amber Brinkley, head of marketing and communications for Super League Tampa Bay, confirmed that the team would use the site as a practice field.

“We love this area and with the players training here, we know they will grow to love it too,” she said in a statement.

No stadium site has been announced yet. But in May, Shaw said, “It is the goal, it is the dream, to bring the team to Ybor City.”

Brinkley said that dream could still come true, though a permanent stadium will not be ready in time for the team’s first season.

“We continue to build our club and will have some important milestones to share soon, like our new club name and temporary stadium location,” she said in a statement. “We look forward to becoming part of the Tampa Bay sports community.”