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DEL.ICIO.USWhat takes you to Tampa?
The Super Bowl is returning to Tampa Bay this weekend for the fourth time. How "super" is the city itself, and how often do you return to Tampa for a vacation?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This weekend, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals will descend upon Tampa, Fla. for Super Bowl XLIII. While the eyes of football fans will be focused on the matchup inside Raymond James Stadium, the host city deserves a serious look for anyone in need of a getaway.
With dozens of festivities and parties surrounding the Super Bowl, it’s easy to see why people might be flocking to Tampa this weekend. My friend Jen, who lives south of Tampa, doesn’t have tickets to the big game but she’s planning to make the trip just to check out the interactive games, football clinics and autograph sessions at the NFL Experience.
But what about the rest of the time? You know… when Tampa is simply that city situated on the central west coast of Florida. Tampa Bay’s beautiful beaches and warm temperatures might invite visitors to lounge on the white sands and gaze at the Gulf all day; but I like the area because it’s chockablock with many other attractions to keep you busy day and night.
Sport-mad travelers can catch professional games throughout the year by checking the home schedules for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (National Football League), Tampa Bay Rays (Major League Baseball) and Tampa Bay Lightning (National Hockey League). Spring training fans can also indulge in pre-season baseball action at the 13,000-seat New York Yankees training facility and home to the Tampa Yankees Single “A” team.
In addition, the area has more than 20 golf courses and tennis facilities, along with water sports and fishing, that can take the sporting traveler out of the crowd and put them the middle of the action.
Families like the African-themed Busch Gardens amusement park, where visitors can see African animals and ride wild coasters from “Morocco” through the “Serengeti” and the “Congo” and all the way to “Timbuktu”. Other attractions to check out are: Dinosaur World, Big Cat Rescue, Adventure Island Water Park, the Florida Aquarium and Lowry Park Zoo. (The Disney World theme parks, Sea World and Universal Studios in Orlando are close enough - about 90 minutes - that we’re thinking of staying in Tampa and exploring the area a bit more the next time we take the kids for a day or two at Disney.)
Tampa also hosts several crowd-pleasing festivals each year, including the winter Gasparilla Invasion and Pirate Fest. You can watch the pirate ship flotilla “capture” the city and party through the streets on February 7 this year.
What are your thoughts on Florida’s west coast city by the bay? Do you go for the attractions? The beaches? The sports? Have you ever been to Tampa Bay for Spring Training? The Pirate Fest? Are you going to the Super Bowl there this weekend?
Permalink | Comments (34) | Post your comment | Categories: Southeast travel
Comments
By Mike
January 28, 2009 7:27 AM | Link to this
Yampa is a great place, I have a house there and go down at least once a month for some r&r
By Sue
January 28, 2009 7:38 AM | Link to this
I’ve lived in the Tampa Bay area for most of my life. It truly is beautiful, the beaches are breathtaking, the people diverse. The summers are almost unbearable, but thats what air conditioning is for!
By JT
January 28, 2009 7:42 AM | Link to this
Mons Venus
By Grant Parker
January 28, 2009 8:11 AM | Link to this
I lived in Tampa for nearly seven years, and thought it was a grand place. You have to get accustomed to nine months of summer, which took me a while. And you never, ever, cut the grass after 10 a.m. from the months of June-September; the heat would kill you.
That aside, Tampa is a great place — lovely beaches, a (once) booming economy, fine housing stock, and more.
The hurricanes? Well, that’s a different story…
By Ex-TB
January 28, 2009 8:51 AM | Link to this
As an ex-resident of the area, I found it lame. Yes, the events and places listed in the article above exist, but those aren’t the types of things one does daily. Downtown Tampa rolls up the sidewalks at night, and for a city its size, the restaurant choices are limited and unexciting. Athens, GA, has a more vibrant nightlife scene, and it’s a fraction of the size of greater Tampa.
The beaches in Pinellas County are beautiful, I’ll give you that.
By Love Tampa
January 28, 2009 9:44 AM | Link to this
We were just there for the Outback Bowl and had a wonderful time. The Bowl and community did a wonderful job of hosting events to keep us busy. We also took a few days to do our usual beach jaunt. There are great restaurants and a different beach to visit each day. Awesome shopping too. Raymond James stadium is small based on what SEC schools are used to. 65k seats or so. It is located near major hotels and the airport. And, the airport is located in a safe and convenient area of town, unlike many major cities. Tampa is user friendly and a great place to be in the cold months. I could live there, but sway b/c of summer weather. Having the Super Bowl in a warm city is a treat for February. Am sure the Pittsburgh fans will be glad to be there and out of the snow.
By Sharmrock
January 28, 2009 10:29 AM | Link to this
I lived in Tampa and couldn’t WAIT to leave!! After living in Scottsdale, AZ and now Atlanta, there’s no comparison.
By home sweet home
January 28, 2009 10:35 AM | Link to this
the only place for the superbowl TAMPA FLORIDA
By mea
January 28, 2009 11:03 AM | Link to this
test
By May Retta
January 28, 2009 11:27 AM | Link to this
I agree with Grant. A great place, but it was always a little strange picking out a Christmas tree while wearing shorts and a t-shirt.
By I am calling you on it
January 28, 2009 11:30 AM | Link to this
You question if Tampa is worthy of the Super Bowl???? Did you question Atlanta when they were picked for the Olympics and turned the event into a second hand flea market run by thugs???? I thought not…I don’t think this city can question anyone how how deserving they are for an event…..not while it is being run by thugs, thieves and morons.
By Mr. 2009
January 28, 2009 11:39 AM | Link to this
What brings me to Tampa why the 43 STRIP CLUBS! of course!!!
By Rich
January 28, 2009 1:05 PM | Link to this
Let’s face it, Florida is an ugly state naturally. Great landscaping can make an area quite beautiful though and the beaches are breath taking. Look north and west in the USA for natural beauty. Texas is by far the ugliest state. I never could understand why Texans are so proud of where they are from.
By loanman
January 28, 2009 1:24 PM | Link to this
All I can say is that Atlanta is not worthy. How can you host a world class event when your clubs close at 2am? Also, has anyone noticed that we haven’t been awarded a Superbowl since the Gold Club left? Finally, we have racists who read this blog that don’t miss an opportunity to use the code word “Thug.”
By Paul
January 28, 2009 1:27 PM | Link to this
I went to the first Super Bowl held in Tampa. Everything from the player hotels to the media events were held in Orlando at Disney that year. I haven’t been back for the other two super bowls held in Tampa but it was a great setup for Super Bowl 25
By Tim
January 28, 2009 1:27 PM | Link to this
I was wondering how many posts it would take for someone to mention Mons Venus… 3! even less than I would have guessed.
Tampa is VERY worthy… its on the water and its in Florida… what more could you ask for?
By Keith
January 28, 2009 1:28 PM | Link to this
I’m calling you on it… To be fair, I didn’t write that headline. Nor did I question whether Tampa deserved to get the Super Bowl. I mentioned the fact that Tampa was hosting the Super Bowl again and asked how people felt about the city itself as a vacation destination.
I like Tampa. I even said we’re planning to spend time there on our next trip to Fla.
By Kim
January 28, 2009 2:17 PM | Link to this
Um. It’s 2:00 on Jan 28. Look outside. Now, check the weather for Tampa and the rest of south FL.
By native Floridian
January 28, 2009 2:50 PM | Link to this
Floridian born and bred. I’d be there now if it wasn’t for my husband being in school and my business being here. It’s NO where near as dirty as Atlanta. In fact, Atlanta is the DIRTIEST city I’ve ever lived in. (And we live right downtown.)
By al
January 28, 2009 2:54 PM | Link to this
If you like tanktops, jean shorts and mullets, you will love Tampa.
By Eddie
January 28, 2009 3:27 PM | Link to this
Actually, if you listen to national sports yakers on radio row this week they are all complaining about weather in Tampa, as it is to dip down into 30’s over the next few days.
As for me, I have always thought of FL as a trashy state, but I do enjoy a visit to the central or southern part of the state this time of year for the warm weather. Couldn’t imagine living there though, which probably explains why GA, SC and NC are seeing more and more half-backers every year.
By Charles
January 28, 2009 3:55 PM | Link to this
Tampa is a good place for the Super Bowl but San Diego is ten times better !
By DFW
January 28, 2009 4:08 PM | Link to this
February 6, 2011 is the SB to watch for in Dallas (Arlington). We will put on a show!
By Chuck
January 28, 2009 4:10 PM | Link to this
I grew up in Florida and there are times I really miss it. Then I go back there, see the miles and miles of strip malls, fight off swarms of mosquitoes, change my sweat-soaked clothes twice daily and remember why I left. I can’t imagine living there again, but frankly, living here (Atlanta) much longer is getting harder to imagine, too.
By TexasBoy
January 28, 2009 4:31 PM | Link to this
Sure why not! The NFL and the majority of the fans are going there for the Game. Las Vegas has casinos, so i’m sure if it were there. The majority of fans would be there for the game…. Right!
By Atlanta Native
January 28, 2009 4:41 PM | Link to this
Hey Loanman…do you have a note book of code words that people use. I am a native Atlantean and I saw what went on in all the shabby thrown together shacks that sold everything from Olympic water to overpriced T Shirts. Yes they were thugs. They were rude, dirty, aggressive scumbags that when not ripping off the Olympic event goes were whining about how they had their rights violated because of where they had to set up. So yes they were thugs. I think before you call anyone a racist you should be damn sure that they are without a doubt a racist. I saw nothing racist in Calling You On It’s comment. But then again I am sure you are one of the one’s that go around calling yourself the PC Police….You sir or mam are a moron.
By TampaTorture
January 28, 2009 5:17 PM | Link to this
I lived in Tampa for a number of years and I have to say that it is the arm pit of the US. The level of white trash there is off the charts. All of the riff raff from the US seems to filter down there for the lack of state taxes, year round ditch digging weather, and all the old people to rip off. The “quaint” neighborhood in St Pete had brick roads and a sex offender registry a mile long. If you really want to see what Tampa is like go to Bucs game and witness the 100s of fights that errupt in the stands. In addition, it is so hot in June, July, and August that you can’t breath.
By back in GA
January 28, 2009 6:12 PM | Link to this
My husband and I just moved back from Tampa in August and I kissed the ground when we got home to North Ga. Lord Have Mercy on Tampa. We lived in a decidedly blue-collar area of St. Pete (at 950 a month, it was all we could afford since my husband was in school) and like the poster said above, the sex offender list was a mile long. I commuted to Tampa every day. Traffic there was worse than ATL. Rude people, greasy-trash yankees, low wages. Hot all the time. No seasons. Except hot. The real-estate bubble was worse there, too. I imagine a lot of folks are losing their butts right now if they bought a 400K cement shack back in 2005. We went to a Bucs game one October and it was so hot people were passing out in the stands. And fighting. I hope I never have to go back to that place.
By hem o'roid
January 28, 2009 7:01 PM | Link to this
When the USA becomes constipated, they stick the enema in Tampa. The back-up cesspool is ST. Pete.
By db
January 28, 2009 7:32 PM | Link to this
More cheese in Tampa/Fla., than all of Wisconsin and California!
By anthony
January 28, 2009 8:10 PM | Link to this
The ATL was a pathetic host for the Olympics and superbowl, why should this city judge anyone else?
By Key Rick
January 28, 2009 8:22 PM | Link to this
I’ve resided here in St. Petersburg since leaving Atlanta in 2002. I live there 12 years, and the traffic here’s not a tenth of Atlanta’s, nor is the crime rate. Do not resist the oppotunity to visit St Pete Beach, beautiful downtown St. Petersburg or even Tampa’s tourist attractions when next in Florida. These two municipalities, plus Clearwater, are where nearly a third of all Floridians choose to live. University of South Florida’s a Carnegie Research One rated university with campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Lakeland and Sarastoa. oH! and it only reaches 90 here in summer; summer just lasts about a month longer here than Atlanta. Any town’s what you make of it, but St. Petersburg and even Tampa are worth a visit and serious consideration if you’re thinking on moving to Florida. Miami is a riot and Jacksonville’s a joke. Come on down, the beaches aren’t shoulder-to-shoulder crowded like on the Atlantic coast and ten times as beautiful.
By Paul from Milton
January 29, 2009 5:19 PM | Link to this
I lived in Tampa for several years and mostly enjoyed it. I do agree that the white trash ratio is off the charts, but that is true for most all of Florida. If you get a nice house in a gated community so you can keep the fiff-raff out, its a pretty good place to live. It’s not the place to be if you are young and serious about a career and making a good life for yourself. But if you are not particularly ambitious and enjoy lying on the beach or playing golf then you would enjoy it.
By Jason
February 1, 2009 5:52 PM | Link to this
You guys are right. As in every city, Tampa has its downsides. But I must say I always like going there. I would go so far as to call it a great city.