Venue Detail
Tampa Bay Lightning
RSV Pro Facilities Report
March, 2013
Tampa Bay Lightning
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401 Channelside Dr Tampa Bay, FL 33602 Phone: 813-307-5039 Fax: 813-276-7348 URL: www.tampabaylightning.com Owner: Jeffrey Vinik League: National Hockey League, Conference B
Venue
Tampa Bay Times Forum, 401 Channelside Dr, Tampa, FL 33602 Owner: Tampa Sports Authority Managed by: Team Built: 1996 Capacity: 19,204 Permanent concession stands: 22 Concessionaire: Sportservice Suite caterer: Sportservice Soft drink: Coca Cola Beer: Multiple
Naming rights
Sold to: Tampa Bay Times Price: $33,000,000 Term: 12 years Expires: 2014
Ticket prices
Season tickets range from $599 to $9,999 Single tickets range from $45.00 to $320.00
Attendance
2010 average attendance: 15,497 2011 average attendance: 17,348 2012 average attendance: 18,468
Suites
Quantity: 80 Term: 3 to 10 years Price: $150,000 to $300,000 Seats: 18 to 18 Includes: Tickets, parking passes, club membership. Rental of the party suite is $75 to $125 per person depending upon the food package.
Club seats
Quantity: 3,000 Term: 1 to 1 years Price: $1,799 to $12,999 Includes: Tickets, parking, wait staff.
Financing
The $153 million venue received $66.8 million from tax-exempt revenue bonds from the stadium authority and another $28.8 million in revenue bonds from the state. The balance came from private sources.
Formerly known as The Ice Palace, the arena is the home of the NHL Lightning. The Lightning moved from the Thunderdome to the $150 million venue at the start of the 1996-97 NHL season. The name was changed in 2002 in a naming rights deal.
The building got an upgrade for the 2010 season. The overhaul gives the Forum a completely different look, with new sight lines and seats, and features that the Lightning's front office hopes will become signature facets of the arena.
One signature addition are Tesla coils on either side of the scoreboard that shoot lightning 25 feet high.
Every suite was rebuilt, with 60 square feet added to each. Some of the suite renovations were cosmetic upgrades, like removing bulky television cabinets no longer needed because of the wall-mounted flat screens.
But on the third-floor suites, the common-area entry vestibules were eliminated to allocate more space. Along the way, 4 feet was added to the concourse, which received a new vinyl flake-flooring sealer. Fifth-floor suite bathrooms were removed to add square footage. Marble countertops, drink rails, induction burners, tile flooring, custom lighting and new leather seats also modernize the suites.
Eight suites were removed — two in each corner of the lower level bowl — where standing tables and drink rails will give fans a direct view of the action from the concourse.
A study for the Hillsborough County Commission says the arena and the Tampa Bay Lightning are losing money. The venue lost $3 million in 2001 and the team lost $18 million, according to the report by Turnkey Sports. The losses give the team the option of relocating, according to its lease.
Team officials said they don't have immediate plans to leave, but said they need to draw more fans to survive. That could be hurt by a county plan under consideration that would add a $3 surcharge to arena events. The county already has a 75-cent surcharge. The money would be used to pay the $1.5 million annual debt service. The team is opposed to the plan and the report says a surcharge could make the building unpopular with show and concert promoters.
A five-year agreement with local Chrysler and Plymouth dealers will provide funding for the Lightning to renovate the arena's club and suite levels. Terms of the deal were not announced, but they are estimated at $10 million and include naming rights for the arena's club and suite levels, restaurant and VIP entrances. Signage is included along with space inside the arena to display automobiles.
For the 2000-01 season the venue opened the new XO Club with 431 seats at a cost of $4,000 each. The club was expected to generate $2 million its first season. The club was expanded in 2001, adding up to 600 seats. The $1.3 million project pushed seat prices to $5,000 per season.
To make room for the expansion, the team removed five rows of club seats.
The Lightning and the venue were purchased by Palace Sports and Entertainment in 1999. When Palace Sports & Entertainment took over the building, it talked with customers, former customers and non-customers to learn what they wanted. Using that blueprint, it invested $12.5 million in the facilities and put in the amenities that fans said they wanted. Included were three new bars, large screen television monitors and stage area to the venue. There is also an exclusive cigar bar for 500 fans. (Facilities, Financial, Ice Hockey, NHL, Professional Sports)