ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Having been present from the time the Tampa Bay Rowdies kicked off their inaugural season in 2010, there are few who have seen the resurgence of soccer in Tampa Bay from the perspective of Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Lee Cohen.

As the CONCACAF Gold Cup returns to Tampa Bay for the first time since 2011 when the United States faces Martinique, and Panama squares off with Nicaragua at Raymond James Stadium on Wednesday, the difference is almost night and day.

“It’s funny, we had the Sneaker Soiree that we went to just recently. I said to someone this is absolutely amazing to see the transformation of what in 2009 and 2010, people wrote it off as an afterthought from a soccer town, soccer community to where it is now,” Cohen said. “We have a rabid fanbase that’s just passionate about the sport and a community that’s grown behind it from the youth side – where the numbers are continuing to grow and grow and grow – to a viewership standpoint getting behind not just the Rowdies, but the sport in general. It’s really fun to go out and watch, but also be a part of on a day-to-day basis.”

Joining the USL ahead of the 2017 season, the Rowdies have quickly become one of the league’s marquee attractions with the likes of former England international Joe Cole and German international Marcel Schäfer in their ranks. The club sits third in the Eastern Conference after Thursday night’s 2-0 victory against FC Cincinnati, a game that drew more than 6,000 fans to Al Lang Stadium, and got national attention through its broadcast on ESPNU.

RELATED: Rowdies Snap Streak, Down Cincinnati

The levels of support for the club have steadily grown since that inaugural season, not only in the stands, but in local media too. The team’s home games are all broadcast locally, and the visibility the team has gained locally since the club’s purchase by local businessman Bill Edwards has pushed the club to new heights.

Add in the overall growth in visibility of the sport overall and the support the team and sport overall has received from the Tampa Bay Sports Commission – which was key to the Gold Cup’s return to the region – and the Rowdies have become a firm regional fixture. Cohen hopes that will be reflected when the Gold Cup arrives.

“I remember when we had it [in 2011], and the fanbase wasn’t where it is today, so it’s going to be exciting to see how far it’s come since that time period,” he said. “I think it’s something where we’re going to prove to a lot of people that this market is a great market for a midweek game, and having the U.S. Men’s National Team here at 9 o’clock at night, we’re going to show our support for them both from a club side, but also as a region that will get behind this.”