Bill Edwards (businessman)

Bill Edwards is an American businessman. He owns numerous properties in St. Petersburg, Florida.

William L. Edwards
Born
Edward Francis Sylvia[1]
NationalityAmerican
OccupationReal estate developer, sports team owner/executive

Biography

Edwards grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts.[1] He served in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, earning a Purple Heart.[1] After the war, he moved to Detroit and entered the mortgage business.[1] Born Edward Francis Sylvia III, he changed his name to William Larry Edwards when he moved to Detroit.[2]

Edwards served as president of Mortgage Investors Corp.,[3] which the Tampa Bay Times described as the "nation's largest VA mortgage lender" in 2005.[4] In 2013, the Edwards-owned Mortgage Investors was fined $7.5 million for violating the federal do not call list.[5] That same year, Edwards negotiated a sale of Mortgage Investors to HomeBancorp,[6] but the deal was never completed.[5] After the failure of the deal, Mortgage Investors stopped making new home loans and laid off the majority of its staff.[7] In 2015, two mortgage brokers that never did any business with MIC sued Edwards, alleging that Mortgage Investors had defrauded veteran home buyers and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.[8]

Property ownership

In 2009, Edwards bought the Treasure Island Tennis & Yacht Club.[1] In 2011, he won the right to manage the Mahaffey Theater.[1] Edwards also owns Big3 Entertainment, which has produced records for artists such as Cheap Trick.[6] [9]

In 2011, he bought the BayWalk in downtown St. Petersburg. In 2014, the BayWalk reopened as Sundial St. Pete.[10]

In 2014, Edwards bought a block of St. Petersburg known as the Tropicana Block.[9]

Sports ownership

In 2013, Edwards bought a controlling interest in the second-tier Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer club, then playing in the North American Soccer League. The team has played in the United Soccer League since 2017.[11] Edwards hoped to move the Rowdies up to Major League Soccer, the league above the USL.[12] He operated Al Lang Stadium for the city of St. Petersburg, and owns the nearby McNulty Station parking garage and a Rowdies-themed bar and restaurant.[12] In October 2018, it was announced that Edwards had sold the club to Tampa Bay Rays, the area's Major League Baseball franchise, who announced plans to purchase the Rowdies and assume control of Al Lang Stadium.[13]

In November 2016, Edwards filed a complaint against the Rowdies' arch-rival, Fort Lauderdale Strikers' holding company, Miami FC, LLC, over money loaned to the struggling club. Edwards claimed that the team had failed to pay him back $300,000 in loans. He sought damages and foreclosure on Fort Lauderdale’s assets in the lawsuit. A signed promissory note showed that the collateral put up to secure the loans included the team’s patents, copyrights, trademarks, rights to use of the name "Fort Lauderdale Strikers" along with other tangible assets.[14]

In May 2017 Edwards was awarded a summary judgment in the case, and after a June 2017 public sale, gained control of the copyrights, trademarks and any rights to the use of the name "Fort Lauderdale Strikers" or any variation for $5,100.[15] He has yet to announce what he plans to do with the Strikers brand.

Political activities

Edwards donated $1 million to the campaign of Florida Governor Rick Scott and $4.6 million to the 2012 Republican National Convention.[1] He donated $350,000 to the presidential candidacy of Jeb Bush.[16]

References
  1. Snow Smith, Katherine (April 30, 2014). "Bill Edwards builds a South Pinellas empire: 'I get things done'". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  2. Snow Smith, Katherine (April 18, 2011). "Financier and philanthropist Bill Edwards amps up entertainment empire". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on August 21, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  3. Eilperin, Juliet (July 6, 1998). "EX-CONGRESSIONAL AIDE STYMIES VA MORTGAGE REFINANCING RULES". Washington Post. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  4. Nohlgren, Stephen (August 14, 2005). "The small parcel that scuttled a $10M deal". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  5. Harrington, Jeff (June 28, 2013). "Bill Edwards' Mortgage Investors Corp. hit with record FTC fine". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  6. Harrington, Jeff (January 25, 2013). "Tampa's HomeBancorp buys Bill Edwards' Mortgage Investors Corp". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  7. Harrington, Jeff (October 14, 2013). "Mortgage Investors Corp. lays off nearly 500, stops making new loans". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  8. Snow Smith, Katherine (August 25, 2015). "Lawsuit alleges Bill Edwards drained mortgage company". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  9. Snow Smith, Katherine (April 16, 2014). "Bill Edwards buys prime downtown St. Petersburg block". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  10. Snow Smith, Katherine (April 15, 2014). "Sundial has 7 confirmed tenants; who else might land in St. Pete?". Tampa Bay Time. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  11. Cashill, Margaret (December 12, 2013). "Bill Edwards buys controlling interest in Tampa Bay Rowdies". Tampa Bay Business Journal. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  12. Girardi, Steven (February 9, 2015). "Rowdies' owner buys garage, restaurant with fans in mind". Tampa Bay Tribune. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  13. Page, Rodney (October 1, 2018). "Tampa Bay Rays to purchase Rowdies soccer club". tampabay.com. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  14. Nutting, Jake. "NASL a Defendant in Bill Edwards' Lawsuit Against Fort Lauderdale Strikers". empireofsoccer.com. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  15. Nutting, Jake (June 16, 2017). "Foreclosed Strikers Set for Public Auction". empireofsoccer.com. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  16. Manning, Margie (August 3, 2015). "Bill Edwards leads Tampa Bay donors for PAC backing Jeb Bush". Tampa Bay Business Journal. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
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