LT 22’s Sports Day was quite the journey.
Starting bright and early at Amalie Arena, Amanda Uliano, LT ’22 Chair, introduced our Chairs for the day: Travis Pelleymounter (LT’17), Vice President of Ticket Sales & Service with Vinik Sports Group and Sheri Anderson, Senior Director of Partnership Activation, Vinik Sports Group. Sponsors for the day included the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Tampa Bay Lightning/Amalie Arena, and the Tampa Bay Rays.
We headed to the bus and traveled across the bridge to Al Lang Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Rowdies. There, we met with Lee Cohen, President and Ryan Helfrick, Vice President of the Rowdies. Not only did they share their individual paths to leadership in the sports industry, but they shared their unbridled enthusiasm and passion for their team’s goal of delivering a high quality, on-the-field product and an amazing game day experience for Rowdies’ fans.
While we were waiting to start our tour of the stadium, I shared some of the memories I had growing up in Tampa. I fondly recalled watching the Rowdies in the old Tampa Stadium and their legendary 4th of July fireworks display that would dazzle the whole city of Tampa. Lee, overhearing my excitement, leans over and says, “You know, we still do that!” Our tour started in the locker room where we learned that the Rowdies (known then as FC Tampa Bay due to licensing issues with the original Rowdies name & logo) were resurrected in 2008 with David Laxer and a group of investors. In 2010, they played their first home game at George M. Steinbrenner Field. In 2011, they made the move to Al Lang Stadium with capacity seating of 7,500 fans. On average, they see about 5,000 to 5,500 fans per game. In 2012, they were able gain the full rights to use the Rowdies name and logo. In 2013, Bill Edwards purchased a controlling interest in the club. In 2018, the Tampa Bay Rays purchased the team.
With so much interest in youth soccer leagues, why has professional soccer not yet caught on in the United States? Over in Europe, the soccer program is set up differently with clear pathways for youth to progress into pro. In the United States, we have a “pay to play” system. The Rowdies have developed a youth soccer network where they are coaching/training children from 2-12 years old in hopes of flipping the pay to play model, with the focus on developing the skills and confidence of future professional soccer players. In addition, the Rowdies are participating in the United Soccer League academy program which would provide a pathway for athletes to advance to the professional level.
From there, we made our way to Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays. There, we met with Brian Auld, President of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Chanda Lawdermilk, the Vice President of Baseball Operations. Mr. Auld is super proud of the team which has been built and realizes there is still work to be done. He also briefly touched on the hot button topics on the minds of most Rays fans: What’s going on with a new stadium? What is needed for long-term baseball success in the Tampa Bay market? Why no salary cap? See what you missed if you weren’t there?
Chanda Lawdermilk shared her unique journey in leadership. As a female in a male-dominated business, she sought out mentors who could help her further her development as a professional. After spending 15 years in Human Resources for the Houston Astros, she has spent the spent the past five seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2021, Ms. Lawdermilk was promoted to Vice President of Baseball Operations. In this role, she participates in the general management actions related to the baseball operations staff and leverages her decade of experience in recruiting and talent development within the baseball industry to increase diversity, elevate employee experience and harvest the most potential out of employees while supporting leaders in maintaining a strong culture. From baseball operations to the product on the field, she believes that when staff/employees bring their best selves, baseball gets better too.
The one thing that really stood out was their high level of community participation through their charitable arm, The Rays Baseball Foundation. One example provided by Mr. Auld is the “Home Run Club” in which foster children are brought up to a suite for Rays home games. They also bring in prospective parents interested in adoption. Through this program hosted by the Rays, there have been numerous successful adoptions. It is encouraging to see the Rays use their powerful baseball platform to support social and human rights issues.
The tour of the stadium and walking onto the field was super cool. The Rays even had each Leadership Tampa class member’s name flash up on the score board-- making us all feel like we’ve just hit a grand slam!
Next, we were off to George M. Steinbrenner Field. I made an inquiry and learned that George Costanza never worked for the Yankees. But I digress. We were treated to boxed lunch and a “Women in Sports” panel moderated by Dr. Michelle Harrolle, Director of Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program with USF. The panel consisted of: Claire Lessinger, VP of Events for the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, Tara Battiato, VP of Community Impact for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Christi Bedan, VP of Digital & Media for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Julie Ko Kremer, Director of Business Development and Marketing for the New York Yankees. The esteemed panel spoke about their journey through leadership into the various roles in which they serve. Ms. Lessinger stated that leaders need mentors and they need to be able to advocate for themselves. All the panelists agreed that a “diversity of thought” needs to be at the leadership table, coupled with a thirst for knowledge and a healthy dose of natural curiosity.
Afterwards, we were given a tour of the stadium and the batting practice area by Cassandra Franklin with the New York Yankees. When there is no baseball, the stadium will oftentimes host private parties and other large gatherings.
Our final destination was back to Amalie Arena where Travis Pelleymounter spoke briefly about the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Vinik Sports Group. It is absolutely astounding when you think about the positive changes that have occurred in downtown Tampa and throughout our community, since the arrival of Jeffrey and Penny Vinik. Their Lightning Community Heroes Program, part of the Lightning Foundation, is just one example. During each of the Lightning’s 41 regular season and playoff games for the past 10 seasons, the Lightning Community Hero program has honored a local Hero and donates $50,000 to a nonprofit charity of their choice. Through last year, they’ve honored 450 Heroes and distributed over $23M to over 550 unique non-profits. Our day was wrapped up when the entire class was presented a sweet replica of the Lightning’s 2021 Stanley Cup ring!
With such a full day of fun behind us, how could it possibly get any better? Glad you asked! As guests of Vinik Sports Group, the Leadership Tampa Class of 2022 was invited to stay for the Toto/Journey concert at Amalie Arena that evening!
Toto surprised most everyone with a powerful set list that included their hits from the late 70’s and early 80’s such as, “Hold the Line”, “I’ll Be Over You”, “Rosanna”, and of course, “Africa”.
With original member, Neal Schon, shredding the guitar and the excellent vocals of lead singer, Arnel Pineda, Journey did not disappoint. Starting the set with “Only the Young”, they played for over 2 ½ hours, playing just about every song a Journey fan would want to hear including, “Don’t Stop Believin’”, “Stone in Love”, “Open Arms”, “Faithfully”. They completed their set with a raucous rendition of “Any Way You Want It.”
With so many options for sports and entertainment in the Tampa Bay area, there is always something for everyone… any way you want it.