The Tampa Convention Center is a mid-sized

convention center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

located in

downtown Tampa Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area. It is second only to Westshore regarding employment in the area. Companies with a major presence downtown ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

at the mouth of the Hillsborough River. It has both waterfront views of

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

and views of the city's skyline. Harbour Island is across the eponymous bridge on the other side of the

Garrison Channel The Garrison Channel is one of several channels for boat traffic in and around the Port of Tampa in the City of Tampa, Florida. The Garrison Channel is anchored by the Channelside District on the East, leads to the Ybor and Sparkman Channel and ...

. The center is connected to the neighboring Channelside District and

Ybor City Ybor City ( ) is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly ...

via the

TECO Line Streetcar The TECO Line Streetcar is a heritage streetcar transit line in Tampa, Florida, run by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transportation Authority (HART), owned by the city of Tampa, and managed by Tampa Historic Streetcar, Inc. It connects Downtown ...

, which has a station across the street. The center opened in 1990 and encompasses in total. It has a

exhibit hall A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

, a

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

capable of accommodating over 2,000 guests, and 36 meeting rooms that can be adjusted to various sizes. The facility hosts over 300 events per year.

History

The Tampa Convention Center is built on the historical site of

Fort Brooke Fort Brooke was a historical military post established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida in 1824. Its original purpose was to serve as a check on and trading post for the native Seminoles who had been confined ...

, the original American outpost on

established in 1824. The community of Tampa slowly grew around Fort Brooke through two wars with the Seminole Indians and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The post was decommissioned by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in 1883 and the land was sold for private use. The former location of the fort was used for various industrial and commercial purposes until the late 1980s, when it was cleared to make way for a new convention center to replace Tampa's aging

Curtis Hixon Hall Curtis Hixon Hall was an indoor sports arena, convention center, concert venue, and special events center which was located at 600 Ashley Drive along the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa, Florida. It opened in 1965, and was the primary co ...

. Construction began in early 1989, with the city of Tampa paying the $140 million cost by issuing

municipal bond A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a Bond (finance), bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income received by holders of municipal ...

s. It opened in October 1990.

Hotels

The city's original development plan called for the Tampa Convention Center to be built concurrently with a large hotel. However, financial difficulties and problems with developers caused this portion of the plan to be delayed until 2000, when the 27-story Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel, the city's largest, opened less than a block away on Garrison Channel. In 2006, more adjacent lodging was added when a 20-story

Embassy Suites Embassy Suites by Hilton is a chain of upper upscale all-suite hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. As of December 31, 2019, there are 257 locations in five countries and territories with 59,712 rooms. Similar to other Hilton brands, 212 Em ...

hotel opened directly across Franklin Street from the convention center. The newer hotel is connected to the convention center via a skybridge.

Major events

The Tampa Convention Center was the media center for the

2012 Republican National Convention The 2012 Republican National Convention was a gathering held by the Republican Party (United States), U.S. Republican Party during which Delegate (American politics), delegates officially nominated former List of governors of Massachusetts, Ma ...

, which was held approximately two blocks away at the

Tampa Bay Times Forum 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 Coun ...

. It hosts the yearly Tampa Bay Comic Con, anime convention

MetroCon Metrocon is an annual three-day anime convention held during July/August at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. It is Florida's largest anime convention and organized by Team Dynamite Productions. The convention evolved from meetups of ...

, as well as the Florida Bar Exam.

External links

Convention centers in Florida Buildings and structures in Tampa, Florida Tourist attractions in Tampa, Florida 1990 establishments in Florida Event venues established in 1900 {{florida-struct-stub

History

Hotels

Major events

See also

External links