TNF at Tampa

Hey folks, haven't posted on this site in quite some time, but I do lurk occasionally, more during the regular season.
These away game threads don't seem to get too much attention but it's worth a shot. My friends and I have been going to one away game each year. This is our fourth year with pretty much the same crew. We've done SD, Dallas and Pittsburgh. We will be going to Tampa this year. Most of us have booked our flights. Haven't got hotels or game tickets. Is anyone familiar with Tampa or the Bay Area in general?
Lodging:
Downtown seems relatively close to the stadium and airport. Does Downtown have any sort of nightlife? How far are the beaches? Are there any cool surrounding neighborhoods? Is TGIFriday's really the best cuisine Florida has to offer?
Game day:
I've contacted the Bucs ticket office about group tickets. If this works out then this is the way we are going. However the saleswoman didn't make me any promises seeing as this is a huge game for them. Is the secondary market worth it? Should I wait for scalpers to get desperate? How is the tailgating? Are there any restaurants/bars close to the stadium?

I have plenty more questions if you really want to tell me about it. Any suggestions are welcome.

FFDan said:

Hey folks, haven't posted on this site in quite some time, but I do lurk occasionally, more during the regular season.
These away game threads don't seem to get too much attention but it's worth a shot. My friends and I have been going to one away game each year. This is our fourth year with pretty much the same crew. We've done SD, Dallas and Pittsburgh. We will be going to Tampa this year. Most of us have booked our flights. Haven't got hotels or game tickets. Is anyone familiar with Tampa or the Bay Area in general?
Lodging:
Downtown seems relatively close to the stadium and airport. Does Downtown have any sort of nightlife? How far are the beaches? Are there any cool surrounding neighborhoods? Is TGIFriday's really the best cuisine Florida has to offer?
Game day:
I've contacted the Bucs ticket office about group tickets. If this works out then this is the way we are going. However the saleswoman didn't make me any promises seeing as this is a huge game for them. Is the secondary market worth it? Should I wait for scalpers to get desperate? How is the tailgating? Are there any restaurants/bars close to the stadium?

I have plenty more questions if you really want to tell me about it. Any suggestions are welcome.

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You read my mind. Was just going to come on here and ask some of the same questions. I just started checking airfare today. Did you guys have to pay crazy money? I couldn't find anything with reasonable times for less than like $600 or $700 round trip

SDelVecchio88 said:

You read my mind. Was just going to come on here and ask some of the same questions. I just started checking airfare today. Did you guys have to pay crazy money? I couldn't find anything with reasonable times for less than like $600 or $700 round trip

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I used my airline points for my flight. A couple of my friends are going Spirit Air. I think they were under $300 round trip, but I've heard horror stories on that airline. Don't know what the other national carriers have to offer

I live in the Tampa area, been here since 2003. I'm taking my 8 year old son to his first NFL game this year since the Pats are coming to town. I've been looking at tickets myself and my ass is already hurting from the prices they are asking on Ticketmaster and StubHub.

Downtown has some action around the Amalie Arena in the Channelside area other than that the sidewalks roll up at 5pm. Kinda like the financial district in Boston minus Faneuil Hall. One spot that is pretty popular is south of Amalie Arena across a bridge on one of the harbor islands, it's called Jackson's Bistro. It's a restaurant that turns into a club at night.

Around Raymond James stadium itself there isn't much but some chain restaurants and some great strip clubs on Dale Mabry.

West of downtown and south of the stadium there's a neighborhood called SoHo/Hyde Park which is a popular spot with bars and restaurants including Bern's Steakhouse.

East of Downtown is Ybor City which is kinda like Bourbon St with a lot of tourists and younger people and a ton of bars. The Columbia restaurant is there and is pretty famous. 7th Ave is ground zero for all the action.

West of the stadium next to the airport is International Plaza which is a trendy place with a sidewalk full of restaurants and bars and where the beautiful people hang out and it has a big mall attached.

Rocky Point on the Causeway near the airport has some fun places like Bahama Breeze. On the other side of the causeway (Route 60) Clearwater Beach is always hopping, Shepherds Beach Resort there is usually busy.

If you want to drive a little further down 275 across the bay downtown St Pete is really nice and has a lot of good restaurants and some great views.

Tailgating is pretty big before games, a lot of people have tents and grills and the whole 9 yards.

Have fun!

pheenix11 said:

I live in the Tampa area, been here since 2003. I'm taking my 8 year old son to his first NFL game this year since the Pats are coming to town. I've been looking at tickets myself and my ass is already hurting from the prices they are asking on Ticketmaster and StubHub.

Click to expand...

Thanks for all the info. I agree about the tickets. The downside off all this success and hatred is the out of town people think they can financially sodomize us. But, I think this time, they over played their hand and prices seem to be dropping with a glut of tickets still available on the secondary market. Anyways, this could be a fun game, if not a fun few days in the sun away from the wives.