New & Coming Soon to Tampa
Tampa
Bay is welcoming meetings back with expansions, upgrades and new safety and cleaning protocols,
and carefully thought-out spacing. The destination's
hotels have implemented new standards of cleanliness to ensure the safety of visitors by adding mobile check-in, enhanced hospital-grade cleaning protocols, and PPE for staff. Following are Visit Tampa Bay's latest updates, sources and news for planners:
- Visit Tampa Bay has added a Tampa Bay Prepared web page that details steps being taken at Tampa International Airport, the Tampa Convention Center, area hotels and other venues to ensure safe, productive meetings post-COVID. Planners can also view a video to see these protocols, procedures and precautions in action at the Tampa Convention Center.
- Visit Tampa Bay has launched "On the Horizon," a new video
series highlighting the destination's most anticipated upcoming hotels,
attractions, and restaurants. The series kicked off with an update on the
development of Casa Santo Stefano, the brainchild of Richard Gonzmart,
fourth-generation owner of Columbia Restaurant Group.
Housed in a former 1925 Ybor City macaroni factory, the restaurant pays tribute
to the food Gonzmart ate every Sunday at his best friend's Sicilian household
and homage to the wave of Sicilian immigrants who helped build the Tampa and
Ybor City community after arriving in the U.S.
- Learn about the
destination’s diversity and adventurous spirit in a new video from Visit
Tampa Bay. Another video produced by the CVB,
“We Are Tampa Bay…We Are Tourism Strong,” offers messages from Visit
Tampa Bay’s tourism partners, including hotel operators, restaurant operators,
and attractions. The CVB has several other new offerings: a
“Tampa L.I.V.E.: Learning and Interacting Virtually With Expedia” webcast, is available on demand; a diversity page with information about minority-owned planner resources, including restaurants, transportation services and more and a toolkit to help local businesses reopen safely after closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Visit Tampa Bay celebrates outstanding members of the region’s tourism industry with its Memory Maker video series.
Many of the individuals spotlighted work on the front lines and have a
direct impact on visitors’ experience in the destination, while others
work behind the scenes. The most recent video in the series, an up-close
visit with Mike Conlee of Tampa’s Urban Kai Stand Up Paddle Board Shop, can be viewed here.
• The Tampa Convention Center
is
adding 18 new meeting rooms overlooking the Hillsborough River; the center recently completed upgrades to its breakout rooms and ballrooms.
The center has also initiated a number of health and safety protocols including
thermal
screenings upon entry, physically distanced room sets, hand-sanitizing stations,
frequent touch point cleaning, and food & beverage service safety measures.
• The 178-room Hotel Haya has debuted in Ybor City. The boutique property offers 7,300 square feet
of meeting space, including 6,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and 1,300
square feet of outdoor space. The hotel has two restaurants, a bar and lounge.
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• Castlerock Asset Management has acquired the 244-room Westin Tampa Bay. The company plans upgrades to the property, which has eight meeting rooms, by late 2020.
• The Yuengling Brewing Co. will build a hotel near its headquarters in Tampa, as part of an extensive expansion of its grounds. Along with the hotel, th plans call for a restaurant, concert
pavilion, gift shop and outdoor beer garden will be built on the the grounds. The project is slated to debut in 2022.
• A dual-branded Hyatt property will open in downtown Tampa in 2020. The 17-story project includes a 230-room Hyatt Place and a 115-room Hyatt House; they will share 4,000 square feet of meeting space, 3,200 square feet of retail space and a 220-space parking garage. The hotels will be located across from Tampa City Hall with easy access to
the downtown area, the Tampa Convention Center and neighboring Riverwalk attractions, such as the Florida Aquarium and Amalie Arena.
• Set to open in late 2020, the 519-room JW Marriott Tampa Water Street will add greatly to the room product available across the street from the Tampa Convention Center. The five-star property will include 126,000 square feet of meeting space and the city’s
highest rooftop bar, with dramatic views of downtown and Tampa Bay.
• The five-star, 172-room Tampa Edition will be co-located with the JW Marriott as
part of the massive Water Street Tampa project’s 26-story tower. It will open in 2021 across the street from Amelie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning ice-hockey team.
• Marriott’s new 175-room AC Hotel Tampa Airport is in the West Shore District, near International Plaza’s upscale shopping and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Raymond James Stadium and, of course, Tampa International Airport. The hotel has four flexible meeting rooms with a total of 2,400 square feet of space.
• The Westin Harbour Island underwent an $18 million renovation and is now the 309-room Westin Tampa Waterside with a new waterfront restaurant, Blue Harbour, and 18,032 square feet of flexible meeting space, all just a few blocks from the Tampa Convention Center.
• A $50 million renovation to downtown’s largest hotel, the 727-room Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina, is complete. The property, which has been renamed Tampa Marriott Water Street has a new dining spot by acclaimed chef and restaurateur Richard Sandoval, the Garrison Tavern. The craft kitchen and social house features American fare created to complement the 20 locally crafted delights on tap, including Garrison Kolsch, a signature brew created in partnership with Tampa’s Coppertail Brewing Co. The 265-seat tavern is a sports fan’s dream: Two large media walls with nine screens each and more than 35 individual TVs are spread throughout the venue, all broadcasting sporting events around` the clock, and there’s an on-site Topgolf Swing Suite with two bays.
• The newly renovated 277-room Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel features 12,500 square feet of meeting and event space, as well as an ideal location on the Riverwalk and just a few blocks from the Tampa Convention Center.
• The Tampa Midtown’s
$500 million development, with 1.8 million square feet of new retail,
entertainment and hospitality spaces, connects the vibrant Westshore district
with the downtown Convention District.
The Hall at Midtown — from Tampa Bay’s Hall on Franklin
founder Jamal Wilson — is scheduled to debut in early 2021. The
mixed-used development will include an 8,000-square-foot food hall,
where guests can order in a mix-and-match format from seven different
eateries. Other features of the hall will include a private dining room
and kitchen for group events, a 1,200-square-foot patio space with
indoor and outdoor bar areas and a digital golf driving lane.
• Safe reopening and innovation are the watchwords when it comes to Tampa Bay’s attractions. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park, Tampa Museum of Art and many other venues are welcoming visitors. All follow requirements and guidelines set by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and the Florida Department of Public Health. Check out the most up-to-date information on state measures and guidelines here.
• The Florida Aquarium has
implemented new health and safety initiatives have been implemented at
the attraction, including attendance limits that support physical
distancing, touchless transactions, and enhanced cleaning protocols.
Staff wear masks at all times, and tickets to enter the aquarium must be
purchased in advance. Situated near Tampa Bay’s Convention District,
the aquarium can host groups of 250 to 4,000 people for off-site events.
Individual event spaces include the Coral Reef Gallery, which can
accommodate up to 200 attendees, the Mosaic Center & Rooftop, which
can host up to 650 attendees and the Vinik Channelside room, for up to
125 guests.
• Sparkman Wharf, an outdoor food hall,
beer garden and creative space, is part of the mixed-use riverfront development Water Street Tampa.
Several new restaurants are slated to open over the
next few months here. Topping the list is JoToro, a Mexican restaurant
and Free the Cork Wine Bar.
• Cigar City Brewing Taproom has opened in a
prime spot between Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL hockey
team, and the soon-to-open JW Marriott Tampa Water Street.
More Event Venues
• The Tampa Museum of Art's
eclectic permanent collection leans toward modern and contemporary
works, including sculpture, painting, photography and installation art.
The museum, which bills itself as the only such institution in the
country accessible by boat, hosts private events for groups of up to 800
people.
• For a venue with a raw, industrial vibe, consider CL Space.
The versatile 2,088-square-foot industrial loft in the heart of Ybor
City can accommodate up to 200 guests and features brick walls,
floor-to-ceiling windows, skylights and exposed beams. Dining tables,
chairs and cocktail tables are included in the rental price. The
venue has a kitchen, and outside caterers are welcome.