Metrocon is an annual three-day
anime convention
An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activ ...
held during July/August at the
Tampa Convention Center
The Tampa Convention Center is a mid-sized convention center located in downtown Tampa, Florida at the mouth of the Hillsborough River. It has both waterfront views of Tampa Bay and views of the city's skyline. Harbour Island is across the epony ...
in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough ...
. It is Florida's largest anime convention and organized by Team Dynamite Productions.
The convention evolved from meetups of AnimeMetro.com members.
Programming
The convention typically offers an artist alley, autograph sessions, contests, dances/raves, LAN gaming, main events (such as the Anime
Human chess
Human chess, living chess or live chess is a form of chess in which people take the place of pieces. Human chess is typically played outdoors, either on a large chessboard or on the ground, and is often played at Renaissance fairs.
Forms
Ma ...
Match, Costume and Cosplay Contests, Fantasy Masquerade, Fire Show, and Professional Wrestling), panels, tabletop game rooms, vendors room, video game rooms, and video rooms screening anime.
Metrocon also hosts a
blood drive
Blood Drive may refer to:
Donation
*Blood drive, campaigns and special events to solicit blood donations Games
*Blood Drive (video game), ''Blood Drive'' (video game), a 2010 vehicular combat video game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
*''Corpse Pa ...
.
[ The convention brings $3.5 million to the area's economy.]
History
Metrocon was first held in 2003 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and after growth moved to the Tampa Convention Center in 2005. The convention had issues in 2008 with rowdy attendees from the Red Bull Flugtag
Red Bull Flugtag (, 'airshow' ) is an event organized by Red Bull in which competitors attempt to fly home-made, human-powered flying machines, size-limited to around and weight-limited to approximately . The flying machines are usually laun ...
event also occurring at the Tampa Convention Center. In 2009, the founder and CEO of Metrocon was arrested in Florida for violating Florida Statute 794.05 (unlawful sexual activity with certain minors) eight days before the convention. The conventions Director of Operations characterized the arrest as "an attack on the convention". The CEO stepped down from his position, with the Director of Operations and Head of Security taking over operations.
The convention added a fourth day when unique attendance hit over 10,000, with the first occurring in 2015. Game five of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoff finals was held during Metrocon 2015 at the Amalie Arena
Amalie Arena (officially stylized as AMALIE Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Tampa, Florida, that has been used for ice hockey, basketball, arena football, concerts, and other events. It is mainly used as the home for the Tampa Bay Lightni ...
. Metrocon 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
Event history
Amano's World
In 2006, Metrocon held a second convention known as Metrocon: Amano's World, which featured the works Yoshitaka Amano, who is best known for his ''Final Fantasy
is a Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science fantasy role-playing video games. The ...
'' character designs and ''Vampire Hunter D
is a series of novels written by Japanese author Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano since 1983.
As of April 2022, 40 novels have been published in the main series, with some novels comprising as many as four volumes. They ha ...
'' illustrations.
Event history
References
External links
Metrocon Website
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Anime conventions in the United States
Recurring events established in 2003
2003 establishments in Florida
Annual events in Florida
Culture of Tampa, Florida
Festivals in Tampa, Florida
Conventions in Florida