Tampa (Houlihan's) Stadium Remnants/Tampa Bay Mutiny/Lightning at Expo Hall (Miami: house, middle school)

[theurbanfiles]

Just wondering if anyone ever got to go to a game at either of these venues (or to see the Lightning at the Trop), and any specific impressions or memories to share?

I'm kinda a fan of digging up previous experiences/vintage events, I guess. As a tourist when I was in Houston last year, I went into the gift shop at the current NRG Stadium, home of the Texans, but, my primary goal in being there at the time was to get an exterior shot of the former Astrodome. I also managed to drive near/within viewing distance of Lakewood Church, famed (or infamous, depending on perspective) presently for being the home church for Joel Osteen. Formerly though, it was the arena site where the Rockets played prior to moving into their current Downtown digs at the Toyota Center. That same evening, I went and grabbed a couple drinks at 8th Wonder Brewery (named as the AstroDome was previously holding the 8th Wonder of the World moniker-kinda funny I have to say, now, when you look at NRG right next to it, or esp at like SoFi in LA or Mercedes Benz in ATL. But, it was one of the coolest themed breweries I had seen. A patio large enough to occasionally host lawn games with outdoor music, and a relatively spacious interior with TVs for watching sports, tons of vintage Houston sports merch adorning the walls, and seats and other materials taken from inside the AstroDome venue.

Anyways, I know Tampa Stadium didn't necessarily have nearly the lore that the one I mentioned in Houston does, but, as someone having this interest, I decided to start a vintage sports venues (and teams, in the case of the Mutiny) thread. What have some of the past experiences at these venues been like, and how would you describe them? I'd be esp curious about what watching the Lightning at the Fairgrounds Expo Hall or Tropicana Field would have been like to. Or, if there are places around town that are particularly noteworthy (including right next to the former Tampa Stadium) to see some homage of those sites, former seating inside sports bars, etc.

Any former Mutiny fans? Crazy to think that Tampa had an MLS squad for 6 seasons, and a charter member of the league that only had 12 teams then, considering Tampa was decently further back market size-wise 25 years ago to now.

[mrviking]

Tampa Stadium aka "The Big Sombrero" was a fun place to go bake in the sun on those hot benches while watching a game. Had a great time one year with season tickets to watch the Tampa Bay Bandits play football. Lots of concerts were held there as well. The Who, The Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, and Pink Floyd. Still got tickets for the Led Zeppelin concert that turned into a riot after two songs when the rain came down in "77". It was a great time to tail gate before and after events when it had wide open spaces surrounding it.

[theurbanfiles]

Wow, those are some very significant performers and events! Sounds like you really enjoyed it.

It looks like the stadium itself was actually to the north of the current RayJay, not right inside the present site, though that circle parking lot kinda shows the original outline. Was it actually east-west facing field instead of north-south like RayJay? Not sure but curious, it kinda looks that way. It's not necessarily obvious as you're on-site coming in but it is obvious to some degree looking at the site from the air. It would be cool if they put a plaque or a small football field commemorating it on the site for the 355 days a year when no games or parking is needed.

I find it interesting when looking at Google Maps that the Wing House location a little down from there is called The WingHouse of Tampa Stadium. I wonder if it was open still during the previous iteration. I think it might be cool to go there during a game, as I almost wonder if you could hear stadium crowd noise if sitting on the outdoor patio there, it's only a half-mile or so. Embarrassingly as a sports fan, I haven't been there before, and I also haven't yet been to any of Ducky's, Hattricks, Press Box or Bilmar Station.

[mrviking]

Don't forget prior to the Amalie arena, USF arena, Tampa Stadium, If a concert was coming to tampa Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory was the venue. We went to quite a few concerts there until Lakeland civic center took concerts away from tampa. Everyone from Elvis to Pink Floyd played there. After LCC opened it became the home for Championship Wresling with a long run. It's still standing today after a 2016 renovation.

[theurbanfiles]

Interesting. Isn't that originally where Roosevelt's troops trained to be ready for the Spanish-American War? Very storied venue for sure.

[theurbanfiles]

Just to make this sort of a general area discussion about sports, post your questions and thoughts about sports in the area here. Does anyone have any insight on what the biggest HSFB stadiums around here by capacity are? You can certainly find national leaders for that, but national leaders on stadium size are disproportionately in TX and OH. I can't claim to be an expert on this subject. I've been to games so far at Bloomingdale, Armwood, Manatee, Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, so really a relatively limited number of games and teams in the area. But, HSFB is a subject of fascination for me all the same, as are all sports.

[HeartofFlorida]

Originally Posted by cavsfan137

Just to make this sort of a general area discussion about sports, post your questions and thoughts about sports in the area here. Does anyone have any insight on what the biggest HSFB stadiums around here by capacity are? You can certainly find national leaders for that, but national leaders on stadium size are disproportionately in TX and OH. I can't claim to be an expert on this subject. I've been to games so far at Bloomingdale, Armwood, Manatee, Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, so really a relatively limited number of games and teams in the area. But, HSFB is a subject of fascination for me all the same, as are all sports.

I follow high school football myself and know firsthand how elusive data can be for the state of Florida.
I would like to say Dad's stadium (Plant HS) may be among the largest in the bay area but can't confirm. Try here for stadium names and locations: https://www.floridagridironpreps.com/stadiums

I hope this helps in your search.

[theurbanfiles]

Repped ya. Thanks for that link as it was pretty interesting. Yeah, Plant looks pretty wide to me so I'm sure it has to be among the larger ones. My recollection may not be exact, but I think Sarasota HS was pretty decent sized, perhaps even slightly larger than the stands at Armwood, so I'm guessing that is one of the leaders, also.

It would be helpful if there were some Semi-Pro leagues (football, rugby, lacrosse, etc.), as those would probably publish data, and I would assume, pick one of the better HS venues in the area.

Statewide, I think (and I say this without any real authority), I think Traz Powell Stadium might be the biggest. I think it seats 10,000, which is especially impressive when looking at it since the stands themselves are not super wide, however, they do appear to be steep, like almost a two-decker layout within the sections of seats. It had or has the nickname Mecca (of Miami HS football I guess, which is a pretty big deal).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2faDYq9iD3U
It hosts games for several of the most competitive Miami teams and has for a while, and this video shows the Nike update of the stadium in advance of Super Bowl LIV down there.

If the stands are indeed at 10,000 capacity, then it probably is the largest in FL as a whole, but then I'm not 100% on that, as honestly, I think you'd have to call individual high schools to actually get specific measurements and even then, they might not be willing to yield that information or have exact numbers.

[HeartofFlorida]

Originally Posted by cavsfan137

Repped ya. Thanks for that link as it was pretty interesting. Yeah, Plant looks pretty wide to me so I'm sure it has to be among the larger ones. My recollection may not be exact, but I think Sarasota HS was pretty decent sized, perhaps even slightly larger than the stands at Armwood, so I'm guessing that is one of the leaders, also.

It would be helpful if there were some Semi-Pro leagues (football, rugby, lacrosse, etc.), as those would probably publish data, and I would assume, pick one of the better HS venues in the area.

Statewide, I think (and I say this without any real authority), I think Traz Powell Stadium might be the biggest. I think it seats 10,000, which is especially impressive when looking at it since the stands themselves are not super wide, however, they do appear to be steep, like almost a two-decker layout within the sections of seats. It had or has the nickname Mecca (of Miami HS football I guess, which is a pretty big deal).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2faDYq9iD3U
It hosts games for several of the most competitive Miami teams and has for a while, and this video shows the Nike update of the stadium in advance of Super Bowl LIV down there.

If the stands are indeed at 10,000 capacity, then it probably is the largest in FL as a whole, but then I'm not 100% on that, as honestly, I think you'd have to call individual high schools to actually get specific measurements and even then, they might not be willing to yield that information or have exact numbers.

Again, on a statewide level information is hard to come by. Denison stadium in Winter Haven is listed at 14,000. It's used by Winter Haven high school and at one point Webber International University. Oddly, the stadium is actually on the campus of Denison Middle school.

[theurbanfiles]

Originally Posted by HeartofFlorida

Again, on a statewide level information is hard to come by. Denison stadium in Winter Haven is listed at 14,000. It's used by Winter Haven high school and at one point Webber International University. Oddly, the stadium is actually on the campus of Denison Middle school.

Wow. Yeah, 14,000 would almost certainly be a winner then. The stands look tall-ish on both sides and run along the entire length of the field. Even if it isn't quite 14 stands themselves, it has to be up there or at the top. I have a couple of friends that have actually worked for Webber International's Athletics Department actually (one currently). Interesting that they built a new on-campus stadium (Denison looks like it was 30 minutes away), but one that has almost zero capacity. They are NAIA though, of course.

Looks like Denison Field was previously a minor league park quite a while back (hosted the Phillies for 10 seasons, so Winter Haven at least has somewhat of a legacy status as being a former Spring Training city.