Let’s start an annual Tampa Bay Sports Fan Festival

The world of sports is a world of business. Although we the fans may hate to admit it, the truth is that the goal of each sports franchise is to turn a profit. As in any other sector of the economy, the sports industry often involves stiff competition among the corporations, who fight for the limited funds of their patrons. A working-class family can only contribute so much to entertainment, and many times they have to decide between paying to see one sport or another.

Many of the large cities and regions in the United States, including the Tampa Bay area, are the homes to multiple professional and collegiate sports teams. In Tampa Bay, the major professional franchises are the NFL’s Buccaneers, the NHL’s Lightning, and MLB’s Rays; other pro teams include Arena Football’s Tampa Bay Storm and the North American Soccer League’s FC Tampa Bay Rowdies, as well as a number of minor league baseball teams. The Florida Gators, South Florida Bulls, Florida State Seminoles, Central Florida Knights, and the Tampa Spartans also all have strong fan bases as far as collegiate athletics go. With so many organizations competing for the money of a region that has about half the population of New York City, it would not come as a surprise if there was a bitter rivalry between these teams, especially the Bucs, Bolts and Rays.

Interestingly, however, that has not seemed to be the case in recent years. In fact, there has been quite a bit of love, or at least mutual respect, between the three major teams in the area. There have been several instances of the owners, coaches, and players of these teams interacting with each other as friends, not foes.

Raheem Morris and Joe Maddon have become good friends, and each has shown his support of the other team:

Morris, Maddon, and Guy Boucher met several months ago for a panel discussion by the Tampa Tribune, and since then Boucher has also kept in contact with his fellow head coaches. Boucher expressed his support of the Rays in their playoff run:

The rest of the Lightning also rooted on the Rays in the playoffs during the NHL preseason:

Earlier in the year, the Rays had hosted the Lightning's Steven Stamkos, Nate Thompson, Teddy Purcell, and then-Bolt Mike Smith during batting practice:

The Rays' Evan Longoria and BJ Upton have been known to attend several Lightning games a year:

Recently, following the announcement of postseason baseball awards, the Lightning congratulated Jeremy Hellickson and Joe Maddon:

Back in June, the owners and executives of the Bucs, Lightning, Rays, Storm, FC Tampa Bay, and other local teams met at the inaugural Tampa Bay Sneaker Soiree, hosted by the Tampa Bay Sports Commission to honor the great successes in sports business.

The examples of the unity of the teams in the Tampa Bay area continue on. The Rays have hosted Bucs draft picks to throw the opening pitch; some of the teams have ticket deals for local students; The Buccaneers have held practice inside the Trop; and so on. The point is that these teams rather like each other. As someone who was born and raised on Tampa Bay sports, this status of these teams’ relationship brings that old “warm and fuzzy” feeling.

That said, many people living in the region are transplants from other areas of the nation, and may only be a fan of one or two of the local teams while still adhering to their native teams. A Bolts fan may like the Yankees, a Rays fan could root for the Packers, and a Buccaneers fan may cheer of the Red Wings. While the teams in the area may be unified, the fan bases for the most part are not. If the whole community rooted for only the local teams, then not only would fanatic fervor increase, but more money would stay within the area in merchandise, ticket sales, and television viewership. I think the Tampa Bay area’s sports organizations can use their own unity to try and unite the fan bases.

And so, that brings me to the whole point of this post: let’s start an annual Tampa Bay Sports Fan Festival.

Each team usually has their own individual fan fests, with games, prizes, ticket and merchandise sales, and autograph opportunities, and these fan fests tend to draw massive crowds and are fun for all involved. The teams can certainly continue their own fan fests at their own locations, but the idea of a Tampa Bay Sports Fan Festival is essentially like a huge convention, and each team in the Tampa Bay area has a ‘booth’ with their own mini fan fest.

The location would likely be at a fair grounds type of area, perhaps during the summer when children are out of school and some adults may be on vacation. The event would probably span a few days, as an individual fan fest can be known to draw several thousand people. There could be a centrally located stage for musical acts and entertainment, surrounded by large areas designated for each team to do with what they please. They can set up team stores, have guest speakers, have player and coach autograph sessions, have games, giveaways and prizes; the kinds of things you would see at a normal fan fest. And when a fan is done checking out one area, he can move on to the next team’s area. Imagine, a fan can attempt a field goal at the Bucs’ zone, take batting practice in the Rays’ zone, get an autograph from his favorite players in the Lightning’s zone, try to score a penalty kick in FCTB’s zone, and try to field a ball off of the net in the Storm’s zone, all in one day. The idea is to not only provide a lot of fun and excitement for the fans of each team, but to possibly get those fans to venture into the zones of a team they don’t particularly cheer for and perhaps spark some interest. Maybe an autograph or a free hat can make that fan take the initiative to go to a game.

In addition, the festival could be a great way to help local businesses and charities. Invite locally-based restaurants to cater the event; getting their product out to a new audience can have fantastic benefits. The festival would also be an ideal location to house a fundraiser for local non-profit organizations, perhaps with a silent auction on various sports memorabilia.

An annual Tampa Bay Sports Fan Festival could have outstanding benefits for all involved: the teams, the fans, and the local businesses and charities. With the mutual respect between the teams in the Bay area, I think this idea is certainly doable and can have great success.