Cruise ships and the Sunshine Skyway debate (Tampa: buy, movies)

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by kmarc

LOL, LMAO, Cruise Ships? They're concerned about space for cruise ships? The way things are going, people will be lucky if they can rent a jon boat for a day on the bay.

Sure, a lot of the retirees in the Tampa Bay area go cruising. But I can assure you that those who become retirees in five years time won't have the affluence that the current crop of retirees have. Not even close.

Originally Posted by jambo101

I guess whatever is done it will be at tax payers expense.
Does the mega cruise ship business really bring in that much money to the Tampa Bay area?
The few people i know who have taken cruises out of Tampa flew into the airport jumped on the shuttle to the port then left on their cruise.
The ships using Tampa as a port already are fairly large why not just relegate boats that dont fit under the bridge to the port in Miami.

On the news the other night, they said that 65% of the Tampa Bay cruise ship patrons are from the local area.

The ports are also for more than just cruise ships and are a HUGE part of our economy:

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

"The Tampa Bay area is home to three seaports which have a profound impact on the area's economy. Combined, the seaports support more than 130,000 jobs and contribute more than $15 billion dollars a year to the Tampa Bay area economy. The Port of Tampa is the twelfth largest cargo port in the United States, as well as a major cruise port."

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

On the news the other night, they said that 65% of the Tampa Bay cruise ship patrons are from the local area.

The ports are also for more than just cruise ships and are a HUGE part of our economy:

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

"The Tampa Bay area is home to three seaports which have a profound impact on the area's economy. Combined, the seaports support more than 130,000 jobs and contribute more than $15 billion dollars a year to the Tampa Bay area economy. The Port of Tampa is the twelfth largest cargo port in the United States, as well as a major cruise port."

Well In that case by all means tear down the Skyway bridge and build a new higher version,maybe the 4-5 billion $ price tag can be shared by those Tampa Bay residents that will benefit from this venture rather than residents from the entire state.

[Restrain]

Rebuilding the bridge is a non-starter. Reason is, you can bet whatever you want that there is even bigger ships on someone's drawing board. So you raise it to allow bigger ships in, and 10 years from now, same issue arises.

Build the terminal outside the bridge, even if it requires an artificial island.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by jambo101

Well In that case by all means tear down the Skyway bridge and build a new higher version,maybe the 4-5 billion $ price tag can be shared by those Tampa Bay residents that will benefit from this venture rather than residents from the entire state.

With limited knowledge, I would favor a new port on the other side of the current bridge at $450 million instead. That way the big ships can use the new one and all other ships can use the old one. Seems like a good compromise.

[jambo101]

Is there some idea as to where they will build a new port?

The east side of Pass-a-grille, extend Johns pass out past the bridge?

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by jambo101

Is there some idea as to where they will build a new port?

The east side of Pass-a-grille, extend Johns pass out past the bridge?

I have not heard yet, but I have a hunch that will be a sticking point.

[jambo101]

I'm sure there will be a lot of not in my back yard attitude, so buiid it where there are no backyards =Ft Desoto. or Egmont Key.

[housingcrashsurvivor]

Originally Posted by DUNNDFRNT

If you go by this info then, the Tampa area would stand to lose 1 Billion a year as it is now, with the potential of Cuba bound cruises adding to that total, if you do nothing you will lose 90% of that annual 1 B+
so a 2B one time investment would be a drop in the bucket, if someone asked you for 2k for an annual 1k return for the foreseeable future seems like a no brainer, certainly more profitable than giving 10 Million in annual tax credits so that a company can bring 100 jobs which is what most cities are reduced to do nowadays. If they do build something else they should connect the south shore area with S tampa and Pinellas, that area has the most growth potential you can only go north so much.

Yeah, the income can not be ignored. If the cruise ships are all sizing up, they've got to be accommodated (and I'm just looking at that from a financial point of view, I personally find them wasteful so I dislike them, but I understand their value to an economy). And the Cuba point is very valid for when that destination opens and especially given the Cuban influence already in this area.

Also, the point made of adding to the terminal a megayacht complex which generally are those above 80 and usually 100 plus feet up to the 400 footer gigayachts. They drop huge amounts of money into the ports where they land and they are running out of winter places to go.

You can't do a terminal that isn't convenient to the airport. I'd imagine that's how most passengers get there. They aren't drawing all the customers from Tampa, certainly. So that's why I think it's a great idea (mine, of course, haha) to take the savings from building a new bridge and connect a new terminal to air by rail which is investment in infrastructure that this area could use anyway. Two birds, one cruise ship terminal. And I would tie the investment to that. Private companies are going to profit plenty. Let the public benefit some as well.

Then you have a terminal that will never threaten the bridge again, tie that in with the airport and the beaches, providing easy cruise ship access and commuter access, tie that to downtown and high speed rail to Orlando and you've got yourself a major metro right in your own backyard.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by housingcrashsurvivor

Yeah, the income can not be ignored. If the cruise ships are all sizing up, they've got to be accommodated (and I'm just looking at that from a financial point of view, I personally find them wasteful so I dislike them, but I understand their value to an economy). And the Cuba point is very valid for when that destination opens and especially given the Cuban influence already in this area.

Also, the point made of adding to the terminal a megayacht complex which generally are those above 80 and usually 100 plus feet up to the 400 footer gigayachts. They drop huge amounts of money into the ports where they land and they are running out of winter places to go.

You can't do a terminal that isn't convenient to the airport. I'd imagine that's how most passengers get there. They aren't drawing all the customers from Tampa, certainly. So that's why I think it's a great idea (mine, of course, haha) to take the savings from building a new bridge and connect a new terminal to air by rail which is investment in infrastructure that this area could use anyway. Two birds, one cruise ship terminal. And I would tie the investment to that. Private companies are going to profit plenty. Let the public benefit some as well.

Then you have a terminal that will never threaten the bridge again, tie that in with the airport and the beaches, providing easy cruise ship access and commuter access, tie that to downtown and high speed rail to Orlando and you've got yourself a major metro right in your own backyard.

I will vote for you if you run for office.

[housingcrashsurvivor]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

I will vote for you if you run for office.

Thank you. I appreciate that. And just in time as I've been looking for a new job. I'd take mayor. That'd be fun.

And as my first official declaration, I'd like to invite Disney to move it's cruise ships from Port Canaveral to it's brand new Tampa Bay home port where it's visitors can high speed rail from Disney Orlando to Disney Tampa Bay.

We love Mickey too.






He can pick up some bling in Ybor