1976 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season
| 1976 indoor season | |||
| Owner |
 George W. Strawbridge, Jr.
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|---|---|---|---|
| General Manager |
Beau Rodgers |
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| Manager |
 Eddie Firmani
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| Stadium | Bayfront Center | ||
| North American Soccer League |
Regional: Champion League: Champion |
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| Top goalscorer |
League: Clyde Best(7 goals) All: Clyde Best(11 goals) |
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| Highest home attendance | 5,787 (March 27 vs. Lancers) |
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| Lowest home attendance | 4,762 (March 12 vs. Diplomats) |
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| Average home league attendance | 5,464 | ||
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The 1976 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the second indoor season of the club's existence. The Rowdies were able to replicate their 1975 outdoor success by winning the North American Soccer League's 1976 indoor championship.
In October 1975 the NASL announced that the Bayfront Center would host both the 1976 Indoor Eastern Regionals and Final Four. It was later announced that Tampa Bay would also play a pre-tournament international friendly at the Bayfront Center. This meant that all of the Rowdies indoor matches for 1976 would be played at home.
Billed in media reports as an International Challenge Cup Match, Tampa Bay’s first game was a pre-tournament international friendly versus Santos F.C. of Jamaica, and played on March 6 at the Bayfront Center. The Rowdies easily defeated their guests, who were playing indoor soccer for the very first time, by the score of 11–4.
The winner of the Eastern Regional would gain an automatic place in the Final Four. In their first tournament game the Rowdies battled back from a 4–1 deficit midway through the second period, to score eight straight goals and defeat Washington, 9–5. The following evening Tampa Bay had a much easier time in defeating the Boston Minutemen, 5–3, as they dictated play until the final minutes, when Boston scored two meaningless late goals. Those two victories left the Rowdies as the only undefeated team in the group, and therefore champions of their region for the second straight year.Stewart Scullion was named Regional MVP, with Rodney Marsh and Arsene Auguste joining him on the All-Regional squad.
In the semifinal Tampa Bay held a slim, one-goal lead in the third period over the Dallas Tornado. With less than three minutes remaining the Rowdies broke open the match the by scoring three straight goals in a span of 81 seconds to defeated Dallas, 6–2, and earn their second straight trip to the indoor finals.
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