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| Full name | Tampa Bay Mutiny | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Mutiny | |||
| Founded | November 16, 1994 | |||
| Dissolved | January 8, 2002 | |||
| Stadium | Tampa Stadium Raymond James Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 74,301 65,857 | |||
| League | Major League Soccer | |||
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The Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. It was a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. It played its home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium.
The Mutiny was established in 1994 and was owned and operated by MLS throughout its entire existence. It was successful in their first years of play, winning the first MLS Supporters' Shield behind MLS MVP Carlos Valderrama and high-scoring forward Roy Lassiter, whose 27 goals in 1996 remained the MLS single-season record until 2018. However, in subsequent years, dropping attendance and revenues became problems, especially as the team's on-field success declined and the lease at its second home field of Raymond James Stadium removed sources of gameday revenues. Owing to these issues, MLS attempted without success to find a local ownership group to take over operations from the league, and both the Mutiny and the league's other Florida-based team, the Miami Fusion, were folded before the 2002 season.