Photos via Tampa Bay Sun FC/Design by Joe Frontel
The cover of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay from August 15, 2024.
On Sunday, nearly 500 days after RBLR Sports published screenshots of a leaked website detailing the United Soccer League’s (USL) plans to launch a professional women’s team in the region, Tampa Bay Sun FC will take the field to kick off its inaugural season.
In the duel, our team will face Dallas Trinity FC, one of eight teams competing in the inaugural season of the USL Super League, which could soon compete with the 13-year-old National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
Here you will find everything you want to know about Tampa Bay Sun FC.
Event details
Tampa Bay Sun FC’s fall home game
This is how Tampa Bay Sun FC began
Tampa Bay has come close to paying female soccer players before. Two teams – the Tampa Bay Elite (founded in 2005) and Tampa Bay Hellenic (founded in 2008) – played in the amateur Women’s Premier Soccer League and the USL W-League. A professional indoor team, the Tampa Bay Strikers, also recently tried to gain a foothold, but only managed one season in the National Indoor Soccer League (NISL) before falling apart before the NISL merged with another league.
In 2023, efforts by Stu Sternberg, owner of the Tampa Bay Rays and USL championship team Tampa Bay Rowdies, to bring an NWSL team to the area failed.
The USL Super League is hoping for a different fate.
Last February, the league was awarded Division 1 (D1) status by the U.S. Soccer Federation, meaning the teams compete at the highest level of professional women’s soccer in the United States. Factors such as the size of metropolitan areas, stadiums, the league’s reach across different time zones, the wealth of owners and more all play a role in the designation. USL Super League President Amanda Vandervort called the award “a critical step toward realizing our vision of being a global leader in women’s soccer on and off the field.”
While the NWSL has a salary cap of $2.75 million – and some players like USWNT striker Sophia Smith are reportedly receiving contracts worth over $2 million – the USL Super League will have neither a salary cap nor a draft.
Photo c/o Tampa Bay Sun FC via Catalyst Communications
Christina Unkel at Blake High School in Tampa, Florida, on July 1, 2024.
Who is behind Tampa Bay Sun FC?
To earn D1 status, a team’s owners must have a total net worth of at least $25 million, with the primary owners worth at least $15 million. The Sun’s ownership group includes BluePearl veterinarian founder and developer Darryl Shaw, now-retired Blue Pearl Chief Information Officer Jeff Fox, and David Laxer, owner of Bern’s Steak House.
Shaw, who is building Ybor City’s GasWorx project on and around the former Tampa Park Apartments, is also a former investor in the Tampa Bay Times and the leader of the Florida Aquarium’s $40 million expansion campaign. He also owns the building that now houses Ybor City’s Kress artist collective.
Last November, Christina Unkel told WMNF PR program The Skinny that she had never heard of the guys when they asked her to be president of the team. Now she calls them “the three amigos” and sees them all the time. “It felt really surreal,”
Unkel – a lawyer, FIFA referee and TV rules analyst who regularly trains CBS Sports commentators – said of the call: “When she got out of college, the concept of playing professionally in the U.S. didn’t even exist. So it was a big leap to be asked to run a team from the executive level.”
Unkel, who played at Palm Beach Atlantic University, has been involved in professional women’s soccer for two decades. She has seen people ruin leagues and women work multiple jobs to pursue their dream of being a professional soccer player. The Sun owners have also seen loved ones go through the struggle. “They are big believers in justice. And they said, ‘We can use our platform to not only have power over someone, but we can use that power to do good in this community,'” she added.
“When we started this, we wanted to give opportunities to women,” Fox said at a rainy meet-and-greet with Creative Loafing Tampa Bay earlier this month, noting that the Suns’ front office leadership positions are predominantly held by women. Fox acknowledged the financial burden that comes with creating a sustainable team — tickets, sponsorships, etc. — but said the group is all about bringing the team into the community.
“Our main focus right now is to bring professional women’s sports to the Tampa community,” he added.
Where do the Tampa Bay Sun play?
Practice takes place at a team facility on the corner of Nebraska and Seventh Avenue in Ybor City. The Tampa Bay Sun’s current schedule includes 14 regular season games, including seven home games at Riverfront Stadium at Blake High School in Tampa. USL Super League teams must play in stadiums with a capacity of at least 5,000 fans. Read more about the Tampa Bay Sun FC stadium here – and see pictures of its construction and the first live test match.
Who coaches Tampa Bay Sun FC?
The Tampa Bay Sun are led by a beast on the field: Coach Denise Schilte-Brown, who not only had a 184-97-43 record at the University of South Florida, but also led USF to six conference championships in the AAC and eight NCAA tournaments, where the Bulls reached the second round four times and the third round once. Read more about the Tampa Bay Sun FC coach here – and see photos from the team’s first practice.
Who plays for Tampa Bay Sun FC?
Yesterday, Tampa Bay Sun FC announced the signing of Kristen Edmonds, a defender from reigning NWSL champions Gotham FC, Orlando Pride alumnus and former U.S. Women’s National Team training camp participant.
Edmonds joins a Tampa Bay Sun FC roster that includes 21 players, including three goalkeepers, four defenders, six forwards and eight midfielders, according to the team’s website. The average age of the roster is about 27 years old.
Read more about the Tampa Bay Sun FC roster and get access to player information here.
How much do Tampa Bay Sun FC players earn?
According to Women’s Health Magazine, the minimum salary in the NWSL is $36,400. Although the NWSL has a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), Unkel told CL that the USL Super League’s governing body made a clear decision to conform to industry standards and norms without a CBA forcing them to do so. Unkel added that in addition to salaries, all Super League teams provide housing that must meet safety and occupancy standards.
“The minimum is two players or two bedrooms – you can’t put six players in a tincture,” she said. Team partner Ashley Furniture even designed the living space with the players in mind.
Aside from those comments, the team hasn’t said anything about the overall payroll, but the guaranteed salary is a big step for professional women’s soccer in America. During a recent phone call with Gotham FC’s GM, Unkel couldn’t suppress a laugh. They were working on a transfer while Unkel watched the Sun practice in Ybor City, with the downtown Tampa skyline in the background.
“It made me laugh, in a good way,” Unkel said. “We both just stopped and thought, ‘Ten years ago she was getting $15,000 to play all year – and she was on the national team – now we’re sitting here talking about solid numbers.'”
This generation of athletes is playing in an environment that Unkel and her teammates wish they had. She believes this is just the beginning. “Now we have investors and owners who believe in it and corporate partners who aren’t just saying, ‘Yeah, we want to be there.’ They’re actually writing meaningful checks, not just pocket change,” she added.
Tampa Bay Sun FC regular season (and playoffs?) schedule
Sunday’s game is one of seven scheduled home games for Sun FC. Each team in the league has 14 games in the fall and a similarly balanced 14-game schedule in the spring (beginning in February). Now is finally the first chance to show the team’s passion for their hometown. Learn more about the schedule here.
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