The Tampa Bay Rowdies will kick off the 2021 USL Championship season at home, with the league office confirming on Tuesday the Rowdies will host the Charlotte Independence on Saturday, May 1 at Al Lang Stadium.
The matchup against Charlotte will be the first of a 32-match schedule over 27 weeks for the defending Eastern Conference champions. For this year’s competition, the USL Championship has divided the Eastern and Western Conferences into two divisions each.
The Rowdies are set to compete with seven other teams in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division, which features 2020 Championship Playoff clubs Charlotte, the Charleston Battery, Hartford Athletic, and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. New York Red Bulls II, Loudoun United FC, and in-state rival Miami FC round out the rest of the division. Each team will play its division opponents four times; twice at home and twice away. The remaining four matches will be played against regional or cross-conference opposition.
A full schedule for the season, along with national broadcast dates on ESPN and the structure of the playoffs, will be released in the next few weeks.
Right now, Rowdies supporters can guarantee their spot at Al Lang for the home opener and for all of 2021 by purchasing season tickets. Due to limited capacity, securing season tickets today is the only assurance fans have that they will be there for every moment at Al Lang as the Rowdies look to win another Eastern Conference title and capture their first USL Championship league title.
For more information on 2021 season tickets, visit rowdiessoccer.com/seasontickets or contact a season ticket representative at 727.222.2000 or tickets@rowdiessoccer.com.