A company tied to Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik has bought another large swath of land north of the Forum where many believe a baseball stadium could one day sit.
The transaction happened two weeks ago and includes a half-dozen contiguous parcels north of Channelside Drive purchased for $9.5 million, according to county records.
The seller was a legal entity tied to the Italiano family of Tampa. The buyer is Crestline Acquisitions Group LLC of Greenwood Village Colo., a company related to Michael and Ray Baker. Last year, they directed the purchase of 7 acres across from the Forum immediately to the west for $6.8 million.
Ray Baker is the longtime chairman of the Denver Metropolitan Major League Baseball Stadium District, which owns Coors Field. He helped pull together public financing for the ballpark that is home to the Colorado Rockies.
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Officials with the Lighting confirmed the deal and noted that Vinik is involved in the property as a part owner, but they said there are no plans for the land. For years, the Lightning and Forum operators have used land north of the Forum for employee parking and to store the scores of trucks that often come in for concerts and shows.
"As one of the economic hubs of the Channelside District, we remain interested in what is happening in the neighborhood," the Lightning said in a statement. "There are no short- or long-term plans for the property at this point, other than creating increased parking options for Lightning hockey games, Storm football games and other Times Forum events."
The interim director of the Tampa Port Authority said Tuesday that negotiations for Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik's group to take over Channelside Bay Plaza are going stronger than ever — and they may be about to clear a potential hurdle.
Charles Klug said port staff have been holding more meetings recently with Vinik's group, Metis Channelside LLC, to finalize their plans to remake the struggling entertainment complex, which is nearly bereft of the restaurants and retail shops it was built to host.
"I just know the people we're dealing with are more energized, and we're meeting more often with them," Klug said. "So it seems the bank is close to working out a deal."
Would it need to be raised for arena football? There are no punts and due to the short field kicks are low and hard.
Yeah, its done as a just-in-case type of thing. Better to play it safe.
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Originally Posted by sonny side up
They can't hoist it up that much more is what I mean.
It can go up a lot more. Its deceptive because of its size and angle, too. It looks beautiful though. I do feel bad for people sitting on the ends, though, because you end up using a 16:9 video feed and the end isn't technically built for 16:9, so its like half of the end is video, and the other half is going to be stats, scores, etc. In the grand scheme of comparison the width is going to be the same as the old one, though.
The board looks great (judging from the photos). I like the minimalist design of just 4 screens. Looks very "clean".
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Originally Posted by Still All In
Yeah, its done as a just-in-case type of thing. Better to play it safe.
It can go up a lot more. Its deceptive because of its size and angle, too. It looks beautiful though. I do feel bad for people sitting on the ends, though, because you end up using a 16:9 video feed and the end isn't technically built for 16:9, so its like half of the end is video, and the other half is going to be stats, scores, etc. In the grand scheme of comparison the width is going to be the same as the old one, though.
That bolded part should clear up any concern people might have had with the width of the side screens. The old one was more than adequate when viewed from the ends.
The board looks great (judging from the photos). I like the minimalist design of just 4 screens. Looks very "clean".
That bolded part should clear up any concern people might have had with the width of the side screens. The old one was more than adequate when viewed from the ends.
"After working diligently and patiently for months on the Channelside project, we have come to the conclusion that a significant legal hurdle, beyond our control, could not be overcome," Tod Leiweke, chief executive officer of Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment, which controls the Lightning and Forum, said in a statement. "We see great potential for the waterfront and other properties in the Channelside District and at this time, we are focusing our energies on some of those spaces.
