ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — For the first time in seven months, Rowdies fans are finally back home at Al Lang Stadium after the waterfront venue was impacted during back-to-back hurricanes, leaving behind heavy damage from the field to the locker rooms.
“I am very excited. its been a while. so we had to wait for them to rebuild Al Lang after the hurricane. but we’re here now,” supporter John Tyler said.
Clean-up and repairs took months, forcing fans to cheer from afar as crews restored what the storm nearly washed away.
“We saw it. We like the videos of the locker rooms, flooding and, like, things floating around. It’s exciting to be back,” Tyler said.

But for many supporters — it’s not just about the stadium. It’s about what this night represents for St. Pete.

“I went to the last game before Helene. There was no way to know that was going to be the last game of what was it, six, seven months. It was a tough couple of months for the area. This is kind of a rebirth sort of moment for Tampa Bay.  This is one more step in our journey to get back to normal,” said Brian Hattab.
Fans like Eric Turner said it’s a bittersweet return, he’s grateful for tonight, but still carrying the weight of what the city has gone through.
“It’s a little sad. yeah, it’s definitely, you know, I mean,  hurricane wrecked a lot of things and it’s tough to see,” Turner said.

Despite the final score against Loudoun United, being back under the lights was a win of its own.