Dec. 16, 2008
On Tuesday, December 9, Bryan Risner and Patrick McFarland of the Athletic Department visited Tampa, Fla. and the Outback Bowl acting as an advance team to coordinate Gamecock fan activities for the bowl. Below is what they found…
We first visited the Outback Bowl offices with their staff and President Jim McVay.
They are a very seasoned group and will put on a great event for our fans. They are excited to have us, as they had great experiences with the Gamecocks in 2001 and 2002. After our intro meeting, we visited the stadium to view their club seating, suites and other facilities. Raymond James Stadium is a tremendous venue that has a great tailgating atmosphere with vast grass lots all around.
We then toured Ybor City to scout locations for our fans to watch the New Year’s parade. The parade is a fan favorite for people of all ages. This area has changed quite a bit recently with a new entertainment district near the city now attracting the higher-end entertainment options.
Speaking of the new entertainment district, Channelside (http://channelsidebayplaza.com/entertainment.html) is a new upscale area just a short walk from our headquarter hotel. This area boasts a variety of dining and entertainment options our fans will surely love. We have worked with a neat restaurant concept called Splitsville to serve as our Gamecock fan headquarter for the stay. This combination restaurant, bar, bowling alley (that’s right a bowling alley – trust us, its a really neat place) http://www.splitsvillelanes.com/ will host our Gamecock Welcome party as well as our New Year’s Eve celebration. The Channelside district will have an enormous party and fireworks show on New Year’s Eve. This waterfront district is approximately two blocks from our hotel and a short trolley ride (http://www.heritagetrolley.org/planTampa.htm from several places.
Next we visited with the folks from the Marriott Waterside – a gorgeous property in the heart of Tampa. It has a spectacular lobby, great rooms and the best sports bar in Tampa http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/tpamc-tampa-marriott-waterside-hotel-and-marina/ The Marriott is next to the trolley station which can take you all over the area for a small fee. Also within walking distance from the hotel is the renowned Florida Aquarium and boat sightseeing companies. This truly is a trip worth taking the whole family.
We have an opportunity with this bowl, an opportunity to capitalize on the positive momentum we have experienced (finishing in the top half of the SEC, great recruiting, etc.). We need to take over Tampa and show the nation the Gamecocks are alive and fighting. We hope to see you all in Tampa! Thank you for your tremendous support of our student-athletes!
