Moving to Tampa

[Legend]

So I am moving to Tampa to be closer to some of our other family. We have always gone down there alot, so I pull my weight in rooting for the Bucs and Lightning. Never been a Rays fan, and am more of a football and hockey guy anyways. Plus the Rays are in St. Petersburg, so not too far away, but still not right in town.

Any advice for a new fan in the area for Bucs and Lightning games? Anything I should know about the stadiums?

I am looking foward to adopting my two new teams into my fanship. Although I am still a diehard Steelers and Pens fan first and foremost, with the Bucs in the NFC and Pens in another conference I should be ok rooting for both sides.

[TBGKon]

Any clue where exactly you'll be? Tampa proper is a large area, and the region has many outlying suburbs that can be considered as well.

I myself live in New Port Richey, just north of Tarpon Springs in Pasco County. I work in Dunedin, which is just north of Clearwater.

Another good thing to consider is the abundance of minor league baseball and spring training in the area. Just in the tri-county area around Tampa/St Pete, you have the Toronto/Dunedin Blue Jays, the Philadelphia Phillies/Clearwater Threshers, and the New York/Tampa Yankees. It is an affordable option to have in an area. Also, the Tigers in Lakeland are a short drive down I-4.

[ZapRowsdower8]

Just moved here about 3 months ago myself. (It's too sunny and everything is a strip mall.) I'm going to the Bucs preseason game against Houston on Friday so I will let you know about that stadium experience. I have been to a few Rays games, had a good time, downtown St. Pete is pretty nice. Parking is free if you have at least 4 people in your car, otherwise it is $20. I park a few blocks away for free in front of my favorite bar down there, The Cider House, have a drink, then walk the 5 minutes to the stadium.

Anybody know of a cheap place to park near RayJay?

[TBGKon]

Just moved here about 3 months ago myself. (It's too sunny and everything is a strip mall.) I'm going to the Bucs preseason game against Houston on Friday so I will let you know about that stadium experience. I have been to a few Rays games, had a good time, downtown St. Pete is pretty nice. Parking is free if you have at least 4 people in your car, otherwise it is $20. I park a few blocks away for free in front of my favorite bar down there, The Ale House, have a drink, then walk the 5 minutes to the stadium.

Anybody know of a cheap place to park near RayJay?

Can't help you there...the Bucs and the stadium authority pretty much monopolize the parking areas. There are some shopping centers close by, but I've heard of many people getting towed from those area before.

[twi]

Legend, the Pens and Lightning are in the same conference. Just different divisions.

As for Ray Jay parking, I find that the best bet is one of the numerous homeowners who charge a little less than the parking lots to use their lawn space. Now I'm not sure what they charge for Bucs games but for college games parking a couple streets down is only $5. As an added bonus there is much less traffic to fight to get to the interstate.

[CC97]

I've spent a lot of time in the Tampa-St Petes area the last couple of years and love the area; really I could see myself moving there someday in the future. Just the abundance of baseball alone is enough to get me hooked (compared to where I live - no affiliated minor league teams within a 2½ hours drive).

[Breakwood]

no affiliated minor league teams within a 2½ hours drive

The Blue Jays aren't that far from the 'Shwa

[Legend]

Any clue where exactly you'll be? Tampa proper is a large area, and the region has many outlying suburbs that can be considered as well.

I myself live in New Port Richey, just north of Tarpon Springs in Pasco County. I work in Dunedin, which is just north of Clearwater.

Another good thing to consider is the abundance of minor league baseball and spring training in the area. Just in the tri-county area around Tampa/St Pete, you have the Toronto/Dunedin Blue Jays, the Philadelphia Phillies/Clearwater Threshers, and the New York/Tampa Yankees. It is an affordable option to have in an area. Also, the Tigers in Lakeland are a short drive down I-4.

I am going to be moving into a neighborhood off of Kennedy. I like minor league baseball, so I do find that appealings. I didn't know that many teams were in the area, that's pretty cool.

Just moved here about 3 months ago myself. (It's too sunny and everything is a strip mall.) I'm going to the Bucs preseason game against Houston on Friday so I will let you know about that stadium experience. I have been to a few Rays games, had a good time, downtown St. Pete is pretty nice. Parking is free if you have at least 4 people in your car, otherwise it is $20. I park a few blocks away for free in front of my favorite bar down there, The Cider House, have a drink, then walk the 5 minutes to the stadium.

Anybody know of a cheap place to park near RayJay?

Thanks for the heads up, I look foward to hearing back from you. And free parking is never a bad thing.

Legend, the Pens and Lightning are in the same conference. Just different divisions.

As for Ray Jay parking, I find that the best bet is one of the numerous homeowners who charge a little less than the parking lots to use their lawn space. Now I'm not sure what they charge for Bucs games but for college games parking a couple streets down is only $5. As an added bonus there is much less traffic to fight to get to the interstate.

I just saw that, I meant to put different divisions. My bad. And $5 is pretty good for parking.

I've spent a lot of time in the Tampa-St Petes area the last couple of years and love the area; really I could see myself moving there someday in the future. Just the abundance of baseball alone is enough to get me hooked (compared to where I live - no affiliated minor league teams within a 2½ hours drive).

Sounds like a good place to be. Even though I'm more of a hockey/football guy, I've always enjoyed the competition of minor league ball.