USL Tampa Bay Rowdies Owner Bill Edwards yesterday said that he is "looking to bolster his ownership group," according to Rodney Page of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Edwards said, "We are looking to put together an ownership group and we have five or six groups talking to us right now. We are trying to take it to the next level, which is Major League Soccer. But it takes a lot of money to be in MLS." He added, "I don't plan on walking away from anything. I've poured five years of my life into the Rowdies and look where they've come. Why would I walk away?" Edwards said that his next step is to "bolster his MLS bid by finding investors to form a larger ownership group" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/13). SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Ian Thomas reports Edwards "confirmed that the club will be brought to market this week, noting that he’s already beginning to have conversations with potential investors." Edwards said that while he is "shopping the entire team, he is open to staying on in some capacity with a new ownership group." Edwards "declined to say if other minority stakeholders in the team would also be selling." Sources "pegged the team’s value" at more than $25M. Edwards said that the team is "profitable and holds no debt." He added that he has invested more than $40M in the team but "declined to put a price tag on his ownership stake" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/12 issue).
