Tampa Sports

Tampa is a huge sports town.  This is especially true when it comes to professional sports.  

There are teams in all the major professional sports represented in the Tampa Bay area with an NBA team as the only exception.  However, the NBA’S Orlando Magic is less than 90 minutes away.

Tampa has professional football, baseball, and hockey teams in the area.
Not only does Tampa have teams from all the major sports within 90 minutes, but the teams are quality teams.

In fact the Tampa Bay area was given the nickname "Champa Bay" at one point because of championships won throughout various sports in the span of about 12 months. 

In 2003 - 2004 seasons,

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl.
• Tampa Bay Storm was crowned as the Arena Bowl Champions.
• Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup.

The Tampa Bay area is home to the Major League Baseball franchise, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  Games are played in Tropicana field in St. Petersburg.

The Devil Rays are in one of the toughest divisions in baseball with two powerhouse teams, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. As a result the franchise has struggled since its inception.

However, the team features a core of young players and has undergone recent ownership changes in the past few years.  So things seem to be heading in the right direction.

Spring Training

Spring Training in the Tampa Bay area is home to 10 Major League Baseball teams within an hour’s drive from Tampa, with the New York Yankees being the biggest draw in Tampa.

The Florida weather is ideal during this time of year for Major League baseball.  As a result many teams choose the area for their Spring Training.

Two minor league teams, the Tampa Yankees and Clearwater Thrashers also play in the Tampa Bay area, in Clearwater and Tampa.

Tampa is home of the 2003 Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This place is pretty crazy about its Bucs football.  The winning over the last decade or so has brought new excitement to the Buccaneers football team.

The Bucs play in what is considered one of the best NFL stadiums in the league, Raymond James Stadium.

Most home games are set for 1:00 p.m. on Sundays.  The stadium is located at 4201 North Dale Mabry Highway.

Who would think that hockey would be big in Florida?  Certainly not me.  It goes to show that winning gets people excited.

Winning the Stanley Cup like the Tampa Bay Lightning did in 2004 will definitely put people in the seats.

The Lightning play their games at the St. Pete Times Forum, formerly known as the Ice Palace.  They vary throughout the week.

The address is 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa, FL 33602.

The Tampa Bay Storm have won more Arena Bowl championships than any other team in the league.  This dominant franchise has taken home 5 championships.

They play in the same arena as the Tampa Bay Lightning in the St. Pete Times Forum.

Arena football is faster paced than its NFL counterpart and can be fun to watch once you get used to the shorter 50 yard field and the smaller number of players on the field.

Professional boxing matches come to the area from time to time with marquee matches such as the Roy Jones Jr. vs. Antonio Tarver matchup that took place back in 2005.

Antonio Tarver, Winky Wright, and Jeff Lacy are all top ranked boxers from the Tampa Bay area.  These boxers have all scheduled matches in Tampa within the last 5 years.

There are also boxing matches held in some smaller venues in the Tampa Bay area for up and coming fighters.

Starfight Productions holds fights for their fighters on Fridays at the A La Carte Pavilion.  One Punch Productions has fights at the Westshore Tampa Doubletree Hotel.

 You can visit their sites for more information on their boxers.

• www.Onepunch.net
• www.Starfightproductions.com 

Upcoming boxing events in the area can be found on Ticketmaster.com.

University of South Florida

The college sports market in the Tampa Bay area is anchored by the University of South Florida Bulls.  Also known as USF and South Florida the Bulls have established themselves as a football power in the Big East.

Games are played in Raymond James Stadium, which is the same stadium where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play.

USF basketball is played in the USF Sun Dome on campus.

The university has a total of 18 varsity sports.

University of Tampa

The University of Tampa is located in downtown Tampa.  UT as it is sometimes sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports.

Other Events

Other major collegiate sporting events are held in Tampa from time to time.