The Tampa Bay area is a major metropolitan area surrounding

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 i ...

on the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the United States. It includes the main cities of

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa'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 t ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, and Clearwater. It is the 17th-largest

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

in the United States, with a population of 3,175,275 as of the 2020 U.S. census. The exact boundaries of the metro area can differ in different contexts. Hillsborough County and

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 959,107, making it the seventh-most populous county in the state. It is also the most d ...

(including the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and various smaller communities) make up the most limited definition. This area includes most of the Tampa Bay bayfront, aside from the far southern portion which lies in

Manatee County Manatee County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat and largest ci ...

. The U.S.

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

(OMB) defines the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area ( MSA) as including Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties as well as Hernando and Pasco Counties to the north; and it is the 18th-most populous MSA in the country. The MSA was first defined in 1950 as the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida Standard Metropolitan Area, and included Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Pasco County was added to the MSA in 1973. In 1983, Hernando County was added to the MSA and Clearwater was added to the MSA name. The OMB has designated Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, and

Pinellas Park Pinellas Park is a city located in central Pinellas County, United States. The population was 53,093 at the 2020 census. The city is the fourth largest city in Pinellas County. The City of Pinellas Park was incorporated in 1914. It is part of the ...

as the

principal cities In the United States, a principal city is the largest incorporated place with a population of at least 10,000 in a core-based statistical area (CBSA) or New England city and town area (NECTA), or if no incorporated place of least 10,000 populatio ...

of the MSA. Unlike most large metropolitan areas, Tampa does not belong to any combined statistical area and is the largest MSA in the United States not to belong to one. Other definitions of the Tampa Bay area include: *The four counties in the MSA plus

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

and

Manatee Manatees (, family (biology), family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivory, herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing t ...

Counties, used by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. *The four counties in the MSA plus Citrus, Manatee and

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Ba ...

Counties, used by the

Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority, or TBARTA, was a regional transportation agency of the U.S. state of Florida which was created on July 1, 2007. The transportation agency ceased all operations on December 31, 2023, after the govern ...

*The four counties in the MSA plus Citrus, Manatee, Sarasota and

Polk DNA polymerase kappa is a DNA polymerase that in humans is encoded by the ''POLK'' gene. It is involved in translesion synthesis DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects damage to the ...

Counties, used by the Tampa Bay Partnership and the Tampa Bay media market. This wider area may also be known as West Central Florida as part of

Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...

History

When the Spanish first arrived in the area of Tampa Bay, they encountered people of the Safety Harbor culture. About 20 sites with temple mounds have been found around Tampa Bay, with several in Pinellas County. Best known of the Safety Harbor people was the chiefdom of

Tocobaga Tocobaga (occasionally Tocopaca) was the name of a chiefdom of Native Americans, its chief, and its principal town during the 16th century. The chiefdom was centered around the northern end of Old Tampa Bay, the arm of Tampa Bay that extends betw ...

, which was likely located at the

Safety Harbor site The Safety Harbor site is an archaeological site in Philippe Park at 2525 Philippe Parkway in Safety Harbor, Florida, United States. It is the type site for the Safety Harbor culture, and includes the largest remaining mound in the Tampa Ba ...

Philippe Park Philippe Park is a Pinellas County park located in Safety Harbor, Florida. The park is named after Odet Philippe, who is credited with introducing grapefruit to Florida. It is situated on that was once part of Philippe's plantation. Philippe ...

in northern Pinellas County.

Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area

The population of the Tampa Bay MSA is 3,175,275 people as of the 2020 United States census. The Office of Management and Budget now divides the MSA into the Tampa Metropolitan Division, consisting of Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties, and the Saint Petersburg-Clearwater-Largo Metropolitan Division, consisting of Pinellas County. The following is a list of important cities and

unincorporated communities An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

, including

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

s (CDPs), located in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater MSA based on the 2010 U.S. Census:

Municipalities and CDPs

Incorporated municipalities and

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

s in the Tampa Bay area with more than 10,000 population.

More than 250,000 inhabitants

More than 100,000 inhabitants

* Clearwater * Riverview (CDP) * Brandon (CDP) * Spring Hill (CDP)

More than 10,000 inhabitants

Demographics

In 2023, the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater MSA consists of the following ethnic demographics:

Age

Race and ethnicity

=Hispanic or Latino by origin

=Asian by origin

List of counties

Politics

The Tampa Bay metropolitan area has traditionally been considered a bellwether region in Florida. However, since Donald Trump became the Republican nominee and carried the area by three points in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, it has exhibited a slight Republican lean. In the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

election, while suburban areas across the country shifted significantly away from Trump, Tampa Bay moved only 0.4 percentage points to the left. This trend was likely influenced by gains among Hispanic voters, which offset the defection of white suburbanites. By the

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

election, Trump won the metro area by a double-digit margin.

Geography

The Tampa Bay area is located along

which it is named for.

and

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

lies on a peninsula between Tampa Bay and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, and much of the city of

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa'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 t ...

lies on a smaller peninsula jutting out into Tampa Bay.

Climate

The Tampa Bay area has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Koppen ''Cfa'') with hot, humid summers, with daily

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...

s, drier, predominantly sunny winters, and warm-to-hot springs with a pronounced dry season maximum. On average, two days experience frost per year in the cooler parts of the Tampa Bay area, less than annually in the coastal parts. However, hard freezes (low temperatures below ) are very rare, occurring only a few times in the last 75 years. The

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

designates the area as being in hardiness zones 9b and 10a. Coastal parts of the Tampa Bay area closely border a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

( As) with many tropical microclimates due to maritime influences of the Gulf of Mexico and the 400-square-mile Tampa Bay. Plant climate-indicator species such as

coconut palm The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

s and

royal palm ''Roystonea regia'', commonly known as the royal palm, Cuban royal palm, or Florida royal palm, is a species of Arecaceae, palm native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Florida, and parts of Central America. A large and attractive palm, it has been plan ...

s, as well as other elements of south Florida's native tropical flora, reach their northern limits of reliable culture and native range in the area. Highs usually range between year-round. Tampa's official high has never reached —the all-time record high temperature is . St. Petersburg's all-time record high is exactly . St_Petersburg_City_Hall

lies on a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

between Tampa Bay and the

, and much of the city of Tampa lies on a smaller peninsula jutting out into Tampa Bay. This proximity to large bodies of water both moderates local temperatures and introduces large amounts of

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

into the atmosphere. In general, the communities farthest from the coast have more extreme temperature differences, both during a single day and throughout the

seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

of the year.

Economy

As of July 1, 2019, the largest employers within the Tampa Bay area are:

Finance and insurance

Nearly one in four of the state's business and information services firms resides in Tampa Bay. These firms range from

financial service Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

s firms to

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

providers to professional services organizations such as

law firms A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

, accounting firms, engineering firms,

consulting A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

and more. As a gateway to the Florida High Tech Corridor, Tampa Bay is home to many information technology firms along with many business services providers. Financial services firms: *

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

Capital One Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company founded on July 21, 1994, and specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts, headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, with operations primarily in the ...

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...

Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) is an American financial market infrastructure company that provides clearing, settlement and trade reporting services to financial market participants. It performs the exchange of securities ...

Raymond James Financial Raymond James Financial, Inc. is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company providing financial services to individuals, corporations, and municipalities through its subsidiary companies that engage pri ...

Franklin Templeton Franklin Resources, Inc. is an American multinational investment management holding company that, together with its subsidiaries, is referred to as Franklin Templeton; it is a global investment firm founded in New York City in 1947 as Franklin ...

Metlife MetLife, Inc. is the Holding company, holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, Annuity (US financial produ ...

USAA The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is an American financial services company providing insurance and banking products exclusively to members of the military, veterans and their families. It was founded in 1922 in San Antonio, Texas ...

Progressive Insurance The Progressive Corporation is an American insurance company. Progressive is currently the #2 auto insurer in the United States behind State Farm. The company was co-founded in 1937 by Jack Green and Joseph M. Lewis, and is headquartered in Ma ...

* Transamerica *

State Farm State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property and casualty insurance, property, casualty and auto i ...

New York Life New York Life Insurance Company (NYLIC) is the third-largest life insurance company and the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States, and is ranked #69 on the 2025 Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations by total rev ...

Health care

With more than 50 hospitals, dozens of

clinics A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care need ...

and ambulatory care centers, the Tampa Bay has an abundance of top-rated health care facilities for children and adults. The region also has a wealth of well-trained medical professionals—nearly 53,000 nurses and more than 9,200 physicians (including physician assistants)—provide care to Tampa Bay residents and visitors every year.

Information technology

Tampa Bay serves as the gateway to the Florida High Tech Corridor which spans 23 counties. Created as a partnership between the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

and now including the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, the Florida High Tech Corridor promotes the growth of the high-tech industry across

Higher education and research

Academic research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

is a key component of high-tech growth and a powerful economic engine. The presence of cutting-edge research in the region is vital to technology transfer, which enables innovative ideas discovered in academia to achieve

commercialization Commercialisation or commercialization is the process of introducing a new product or production method into commerce—making it available on the market. The term often connotes especially entry into the mass market (as opposed to entry into e ...

in the marketplace. Tampa Bay has several powerhouse research centers that are engaged in both pure scientific research and aggressively pursuing technology transfer to enrich people's lives. Researchers at the

's Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing Research Center (NNRC), H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and the Center for Ocean Technology at USF's College of

Marine Science Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...

are researching how to use nanotechnology for a myriad of targeted uses including drug delivery, mechanized microsurgery, customized laser

microchips An integrated circuit (IC), also known as a microchip or simply chip, is a set of electronic circuits, consisting of various electronic components (such as transistors, resistors, and capacitors) and their interconnections. These components a ...

, ways to turn sunlight into

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

, purifying water, storing

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

in small nanotubes, designing and developing marine sensors using microelectromechanical systems (

MEMS MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) is the technology of microscopic devices incorporating both electronic and moving parts. MEMS are made up of components between 1 and 100 micrometres in size (i.e., 0.001 to 0.1 mm), and MEMS devices ...

) and curing

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UTampa, UT or Tampa U) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UTampa offers more than 200 programs of study, including 19 master's degrees and a br ...

is located in Downtown Tampa, Florida on the Hillsborough River and is a historic university linked back to Teddy Roosevelt.

Housing

The area's construction based boom was brought to a sudden halt by the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, and by 2009 it was ranked as the fourth worst performing housing market in the United States. Changes in house prices for the area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the

Case–Shiller index The Standard & Poor's CoreLogic Case–Shiller Home Price Indices are repeat-sales house price index, house price indices for the United States. There are multiple Case–Shiller home price indices: A national home price index, a 20-city com ...

; the statistic is published by

Standard & Poor's S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is co ...

and is also a component of S&P's 20-city composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market.

Avionics, defense, and marine electronics

The

's Center for Ocean Technology, which has been a leader in

microelectromechanical systems MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) is the technology of microscopic devices incorporating both electronic and moving parts. MEMS are made up of components between 1 and 100 micrometres in size (i.e., 0.001 to 0.1 mm), and MEMS devices ...

research and development and has been using the technology to collect biological and chemical data to monitor

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

, provided underwater technology for

port security Port security is part of a broader definition concerning maritime security. It refers to the defense, law and treaty enforcement, and Counterterrorism activities that fall within the port and maritime domain. It includes the protection of the se ...

at the 2004

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

. USF's Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue used its miniature robots to assist rescue teams at

Ground Zero A hypocenter or hypocentre (), also called ground zero or surface zero, is the point on the Earth's surface directly below a nuclear explosion, meteor air burst, or other mid-air explosion. In seismology, the hypocenter of an earthquake is its p ...

following the

September 11 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. Tampa Bay is also the location of three major military installations,

MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater United States Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater (CGAS Clearwater) is the United States Coast Guard's largest United States Coast Guard Air Stations, air station. It is located at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport in Clearwater, ...

and Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg.

MacDill AFB MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

is home to the

6th Air Mobility Wing The United States Air Force's 6th Air Refueling Wing is the host wing for MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It is part of Air Mobility Command's (AMC) Eighteenth Air Force. The wing's 6th Operations Group is a successor organization of the 3d Obs ...

(6 AMW) of the

Air Mobility Command The Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri, ...

(AMC) and the 927th Air Refueling Wing (927 ARW) of the

Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...

(AFRC). Both wings share flight operations of a fleet of

KC-135R Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...

aircraft and the 6 AMW also operates a fleet of C-37A Gulfstream V aircraft. MacDill AFB also hosts multiple tenant organizations, to include two major combatant commands:

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilit ...

(USCENTCOM), which directs

military operation A military operation (op) is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operati ...

s in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, and the Middle East; and

United States Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States A ...

(USSOCOM), which has responsibility for all

special operations forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

in the U.S. Armed Forces. CGAS Clearwater is located at the St. Petersburg–Clearwater International Airport. It is the largest air station in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

, operating HC-130H Hercules aircraft and MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters with principal missions focused on search and rescue, counternarcotics interdiction, and homeland security. The HC-130 aircraft are slated to be replaced by new HC-27J Spartan aircraft beginning in 2017. Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg is located on the site of the former Coast Guard Air Station St. Petersburg at

Albert Whitted Airport Albert Whitted Airport is a public airport in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida, Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is on the west edge of Tampa Bay, just southeast of downtown St. Petersburg and east of ...

. It is home to Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg and is homeport for the USCGC ''Resolute'' (WMEC 620), USCGC ''Venturous'' (WMEC 625), and numerous smaller cutters and patrol boats.

Education

Primary and secondary education is provided by the school districts of the individual counties making up the region. The area is home to several institutions of higher learning, including the main campus of the

in Tampa and its satellite campuses in

and

Eckerd College Eckerd College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. Founded in 1958, part of the campus is waterfront (area), waterfront and beach on Boca Ciega ...

in St. Petersburg, the

Florida College Florida College is a private Christian college in Temple Terrace, Florida, United States. It was founded in 1946. Although it draws its staff, faculty, and most of its students from non-institutional churches of Christ, it is not legally or ...

Temple Terrace Temple Terrace is a city in northeastern Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, adjacent to Tampa. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 26,690. It is the third and smallest incorporated municipality in Hillsborough County, ...

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in New Port Richey, and

New College of Florida New College of Florida is a public university, public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida, United States. The college is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. New College has the smallest student enrollment in the State U ...

in Sarasota are all four-year institutions located in the area.

Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is a private university focused on aviation and aerospace programs based in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, United States. It is the largest accredited university system specializing in ...

and

Troy University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. It was one ...

also maintain satellite education centers at MacDill AFB.

Nova Southeastern University Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a Private university, private research university in Florida with its main campus in Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Florida, Davie, Florida, United States. The university consists of 14 colleges, offering over ...

also has a regional campus in Clearwater. Ultimate Medical Academy provides on-campus instruction in Clearwater to students pursuing careers in the allied healthcare professions, as well as online instruction across the country. There are two law schools in the area,

Stetson University College of Law The Stetson University College of Law (branded as Stetson Law) is the law school of Stetson University. The law school occupies a historic 1920s resort hotel, the Rolyat Hotel, designed by Richard Kiehnel. The College of Law is accredited by the ...

and Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Stetson University has campuses in Gulfport and

, while Thomas M. Cooley Law school is located in Riverview.

Hillsborough Community College Hillsborough Community College (HCC) is a public community college in Hillsborough County, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History HCC was one of the last community colleges to be created in Florida, founded in 1968. Only ...

St. Petersburg College St. Petersburg College (SPC) is a public college in St. Petersburg, Florida. Part of the Florida College System, SPC offers several associate and baccalaureate degree programs. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools ...

Polk State College Polk State College (PSC) is a public college based in Winter Haven, Florida, United States, and is part of the Florida College System. Established in 1964, PSC operates its main campuses in Winter Haven and Lakeland, with additional education c ...

, Pasco-Hernando State College, and

State College of Florida State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

are community colleges serving the area.

Culture

The Tampa Bay area is home to several art museums. Long established communities, particularly those near the bay such as

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n influenced

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, mai ...

, Old Northeast in St. Petersburg, and

Palma Ceia Palma Ceia is a neighborhood located southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida in South Tampa. It is bounded by Miguel Street West of MacDill Avenue and Neptune Street East of MacDill Avenue to the north; Bay to Bay Boulevard from Dale Mabry to Hime ...

and Hyde Park in Tampa contain historic architecture. Fresh seafood and locally grown produce are available in the region's restaurants and

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...

Yuengling D. G. Yuengling & Son (), established in 1829, is the oldest operating brewing company in the United States. In 2018, by volume of sales, it was the largest craft brewery, sixth largest overall brewery and largest wholly American-owned brewery i ...

, the largest American-owned brewer, operates a brewery in Tampa, as does craft brewer Cigar City Brewing. The area is also known for its influence on

heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a Music genre, genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal band ...

, specifically

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

. Within both the

Florida death metal Florida death metal is a regional scene and stylistic subdivision of death metal. Some of the most significantly pioneering and best-selling death metal acts emerged in Florida, especially in the Tampa Bay area. As a result, Tampa is unofficially ...

scene and broader genre Tampa Bay became known as the "capital of death metal." In a single year, the economic impact of the cultural institutions in the Tampa Bay area was $521.3 million, according to a

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, alon ...

study. In 2004, 5.6 million people attended plays, musical performances, museum exhibits, and other cultural institutions in Tampa Bay, supporting 7,800 jobs.

Museums

* Museum of Fine Arts near

the Pier ''The Pier'' is a 2011 Irish romantic drama film written and directed by Gerard Hurley and starring Karl Johnson, Hurley and Lili Taylor. Cast * Karl Johnson as Larry McCarthy *Gerard Hurley as Jack McCarthy * Lili Taylor as Grace Ross *Mar ...

in downtown St. Petersburg *

Salvador Dalí Museum The Salvador Dalí Museum is an American art museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, dedicated to the works of Salvador Dalí. Designed by Yann Weymouth, the museum is located on the Downtown St. Petersburg Historic District, downtown St. Petersburg ...

in downtown St. Petersburg * Florida International Museum at St. Petersburg College in downtown St. Petersburg *

Florida Holocaust Museum The Florida Holocaust Museum is a Holocaust museum located at 55 Fifth Street South in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1992, it moved to its current location in 1998. Formerly known as the Holocaust Center, the museum officially changed to i ...

in downtown St. Petersburg *

Tampa Museum of Art The Tampa Museum of Art is located in Downtown Tampa, downtown Tampa, Florida. It exhibits modern and contemporary art, as well as Art in Ancient Greece, Greek, Ancient Rome, Roman, and Etruscan civilization, Etruscan antiquities. The museum open ...

in downtown Tampa *USF Contemporary Art Museum on the USF Tampa campus *Florida Museum of Photographic Arts in downtown Tampa * Museum of Science and Industry adjacent to USF's Tampa campus *

Tampa Bay Automobile Museum The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum, located in Pinellas Park, Florida in the Tampa Bay Area, displays historic automobiles from the 20th century. Established by French entrepreneuAlain Cerf the museum emphasizes vehicles that demonstrate exceptional ...

in Pinellas Park * Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art on the Tarpon Springs Campus of

* The

Royal Theater Royal Theatre or Royal Theater may refer to: Venues Australia * Royal Theatre, Canberra Belgium * Royal Theatre of La Monnaie, Brussels * Royal Park Theatre, Brussels * Royal Flemish Theatre, Brussels Canada * Royal Theatre, Victoria, Britis ...

& Manhattan Casino Historic Landmarks in St. Petersburg * The Carter J. Woodson African-American Museum St. Petersburg * Tampa Bay History Center *

Ybor City Museum State Park Ybor City Museum State Park is a Florida State Parks, Florida State Park in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida's Ybor City. The museum occupies the former Ferlita Bakery (originally La Joven Francesca) building at 1818 9th Avenue in the Ybor City Hi ...

* Ringling Art Museum in Sarasota Tampa architectural photos 257

Performing arts halls

*Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa *Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater *Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg *Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center *

Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall is a performing arts venue located at 777 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida neighboring the Sarasota Bay. The main theater of the facility contains 1,741 seats. History The initial construction of the 1, ...

in Sarasota

Cultural events

Gasparilla Pirate Festival The Gasparilla Pirate Festival (often simply referred to as Gasparilla ) is a large parade and a host of related community events held in Tampa, Florida, United States, most years since 1904. The centerpiece of the festivities is the Parade o ...

held every January in Tampa *

Florida State Fair The Florida State Fair is held annually at the Florida State Fairgrounds in East Lake-Orient Park, Florida. The official state fair of Florida, it includes indoor and outdoor exhibits, rides and shows. It is a chance for the state to showcase it ...

held every February in Tampa * Florida Strawberry Festival held every March in Plant City *Clearwater Jazz Holiday held every October in Coachman Park in downtown Clearwater; in its 32nd year *

Guavaween Guavaween was an annual Latin-flavored Halloween celebration which took place on the last Saturday of October in the historic neighborhood of Ybor City on Tampa, Florida. It was named after Tampa's nickname, "The Big Guava". Since its inception ...

, a Latin-flavored Halloween celebration held every October in the Ybor City section of Tampa *Festa Italiana, annual festival of Italian heritage held every April in Ybor City, Tampa's Latin Quarter

Recreation

Beautiful Crystal clear Surf at Pier 60 in April 2013

The Tampa Bay area is noted for its beaches, with the warm, blue gulf waters and nearly 70 miles of

barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...

s from North Pinellas south to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. Three of the beaches in this area, Fort De Soto's North Beach (2005), Caladesi Island (2008), and Sarasota's

Siesta Key A siesta (from Spanish, pronounced and meaning "nap") is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal. Such a period of sleep is a common tradition in some countries, particularly those in warm-weather zones. The "si ...

(2011) have been named by Dr. Beach as America's Top Beach. The 15th

IIFA Awards The International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) is an annual awards ceremony for Hindi cinema. Produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, the winners of the awards are decided by fans, who vote online for their favourite ac ...

would be held at Tampa Bay Area in April 2014. Sports attractions, in addition to the teams listed below, include professional quality golf courses, tennis courts, and pools. Ybor and the Channel District in Tampa, downtown St. Petersburg, and the beaches all along the coast all attract a vibrant nightlife.

Theme parks

* Adventure Island in Tampa *

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a animal theme park located in Tampa, Florida, United States, with the entire park landscaped and designed around themes of Africa. Owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts, the park opened on June 1, 1959. The pa ...

in Tampa * Dinosaur World in Plant City *

Weeki Wachee Springs Weeki Wachee Springs is a natural tourist attraction located in Weeki Wachee, Florida, where underwater performances by "mermaids", women wearing fish tails as well as other fanciful outfits, can be viewed in an aquarium-like setting in the spri ...

in Hernando County *

Legoland Florida Legoland Florida Resort (stylized as LEGOLAND Florida Resort) is a vacation destination in Winter Haven, Florida. The resort features the Legoland Florida theme park itself, the Legoland Water Park, three on-site accommodations and a separately ...

in Winter Haven, Polk County Florida Aquarium Channelside

Zoos and aquariums

Lowry Park Zoo ZooTampa at Lowry Park (originally known as Tampa Fairyland and later Tampa Fairyland Zoo, Lowry Park Zoo, and Lowry Park Zoological Garden) is a nonprofit zoo located in Tampa, Florida. In 2009, Lowry Park Zoo was voted the #1 Family Friendly ...

in Tampa *

Florida Aquarium The Florida Aquarium is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, publicly operated institution located in downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It is a large scale, aquarium and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This means t ...

in Tampa *

Clearwater Marine Aquarium Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and aquarium in Clearwater, Florida. It is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of sick and injured marine animals, public education, conservation, and research. ...

in Clearwater * Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary in Indian Shores

Botanical gardens

* Florida Botanical Gardens, part of the Pinewood Cultural Park in Largo * Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg, a former tourist attraction now run by the City of St. Petersburg * USF Botanical Gardens in Tampa *

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden located at 900 South Palm Avenue in Sarasota, Florida. The Gardens are located on the grounds of the former home of Marie and William Selby. The Gardens acquired the Historic Spanish Point ...

in Sarasota

Notable public parks and recreation areas

Hillsborough River State Park Hillsborough River State Park is located in the northeast corner of Hillsborough County, Florida near Zephyrhills (which is itself in Pasco County). It is a popular park due to its proximity to the city of Tampa. It closed in October 2024 due ...

in Thonotosassa is one of Florida's eight original state parks, and

Honeymoon Island State Park Honeymoon Island State Park is a Florida State Park located on Honeymoon Island, a barrier island across St. Joseph Sound from Dunedin, Palm Harbor, Ozona, and Crystal Beach. The park is in land area with submerged and of beach. It lies ...

, near Dunedin, is Florida's most visited state park. Pinellas County is home to the

Pinellas Trail The Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail is a rail trail in Pinellas County, Florida. It stretches from Tarpon Springs in the north to St. Petersburg in the south, passing through the towns of Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Belleair, Clearwater, Largo, Semino ...

, a 37-mile

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

connecting

Tarpon Springs Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal point and underwent beautification in 2010. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 25,117 at the 2020 census. As of ...

to St. Petersburg.

Skyway Fishing Pier State Park __NOTOC__ Skyway Fishing Pier State Park is a Florida State Parks, Florida State Park located on the north and south sides of the mouth of Tampa Bay. When the original cantilevered Sunshine Skyway Bridge, carrying Interstate 275 (Florida), I-275 ...

, the remnants of the approaches to the original

Sunshine Skyway Bridge The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, officially referred to as the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, is a pair of long beam bridges with a central tall cable-stayed bridge. It spans Lower Tampa Bay to connect Pinellas County (St. Petersburg, Florid ...

, forms the world's largest fishing pier in Pinellas and Manatee counties. The shallow waters and

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

islands of the bay and gulf make the area popular with

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

ers. The gulf is also home to coral reef, natural and

artificial Artificiality (the state of being artificial, anthropogenic, or man-made) is the state of being the product of intentional human manufacture, rather than occurring naturally through processes not involving or requiring human activity. Connotati ...

coral reefs that are popular for fishing and

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

. Away from the coast,

Circle B Bar Reserve The Circle B Bar Reserve is an area of protected lands in Polk County, Florida, United States. Consisting of near Lakeland, the restored wetlands site is managed by the Polk County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), which co-owns it with th ...

in Lakeland (

county) has been designated as a

Great Florida Birding Trail Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail (''GFBWT'') is a 2,000 mile (3200 km) long collection of more than 500 locations in the U.S. state of Florida where the state's bird habitats are protected. The trail promotes birdwatching, environmen ...

site, a program of the

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is a Florida government agency founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tallahassee. It manages and regulates the state's fish and wildlife resources, and enforces related laws. Officer ...

Sports

Sports teams

The Tampa Bay Area is home to three major professional sports teams: the Buccaneers (NFL), Rays (MLB), and Lightning (NHL). The Tampa Bay area also hosts a number of minor-league and college teams.

MLB spring training teams

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

teams have come to the Tampa Bay area for

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

since the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

trained at Tampa's

Plant Field Plant Field was the first major athletic multi-purpose stadium in Tampa, Florida. It was built in 1899 by Henry B. Plant on the grounds of his Tampa Bay Hotel to host various events and activities for guests, and it consisted of a large field ri ...

in 1913 and the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

trained at St. Petersburg's

Coffee Pot Park Coffee Pot Park was a ballpark in St. Petersburg, Florida home to the St. Petersburg Saints minor-league baseball team until 1928, and spring training home of the St. Louis Browns and Philadelphia Phillies. Its capacity was approximately 850 fo ...

in 1914.

Grapefruit League Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring ...

games are still a favorite pastime for both residents and tourists alike every March. The following five Major League Baseball teams play spring training games in the Tampa Bay area: *The

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in Tampa *The

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in Clearwater *The

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

in Dunedin *The

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in Bradenton *The

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

in Lakeland *The

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

in Sarasota *The

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

in North Port

Minor League baseball

Minor League baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

has also been a constant in the Tampa Bay area for over a century. The

Tampa Smokers The Tampa Smokers was a name used between 1919 and 1954 by a series of minor league baseball, minor league baseball teams based in Tampa, Florida. The nickname was a nod to the History of Ybor City, local cigar industry, which was the most impor ...

, St. Petersburg Saints, Lakeland Highlanders, and Bradenton Growers were charter members of the original

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, which began play in 1919 and is now a Class A league. Current local teams of the FSL include: *The

Tampa Tarpons The Tampa Tarpons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Tampa, Florida. The Tarpons play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which is a ...

George M. Steinbrenner Field George M. Steinbrenner Field, formerly known as Legends Field, is a baseball stadium located in Tampa, Florida, United States, across the Dale Mabry Highway from Raymond James Stadium. The ballpark was built in 1996 and seats 11,026 people, wi ...

in Tampa *The

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 20 ...

: Spectrum Field in Clearwater *The

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark, ...

TD Ballpark TD Ballpark, originally Dunedin Stadium at Grant Field, is a baseball Playing field, field located in Dunedin, Florida. The stadium was built in 1990 and holds 8,500 people. It is the spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays, as well as hom ...

in Dunedin *The

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

LECOM Park LECOM Park is a baseball field located in Bradenton, Florida. It is the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and is named after a 15-year naming rights deal was signed with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, which has its ...

in Bradenton *The

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. ...

Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium Publix Super Markets, Inc., doing business as Publix, is an employee-owned American supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a private corporation that is wholly owned by present and ...

in Lakeland The area is also home to several affiliates of the

Florida Complex League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

, a

rookie league Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

in which young players gain their first experience in professional baseball.

Basketball

The Tampa Bay area does not have a professional basketball team. The

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

are the closest

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

team to the area, 85 miles east. The

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

made Tampa their temporary home prior to the

2020–21 NBA season The 2020–21 NBA season was the 75th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), though the 75th anniversary was not celebrated until the following season. Due to the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, COVID-19 pandemic, the re ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, necessitated by restrictions on travel between Canada and the United States that were in effect. Their "home" games were played at

Amalie Arena Amalie Arena (officially stylized as AMALIE Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Tampa, Florida, United States, that has been used for ice hockey, basketball, arena football, concerts, and other events. It is mainly used as the home for the Tamp ...

. The Tampa Bay area had several teams in minor basketball leagues. The Tampa Bay Titans played in

The Basketball League The Basketball League (TBL), formerly North America Premier Basketball (NAPB), is a professional basketball league. The league began operating in North America in 2018 with eight teams, and has since expanded. TBL's regular season runs from Feb ...

(TBL) from 2019-2022. Their home games were played at

Pasco–Hernando State College Pasco–Hernando State College (PHSC) is a public college in Florida with campuses in Pasco and Hernando counties. The college was established in 1967 by the Florida Legislature, and then opened to students in the fall of 1972. It is part of t ...

. The St. Pete Tide and the Tampa Gunners played in the

Florida Basketball Association The Florida Basketball Association (FBA) is a semi-professional men's basketball sports league, league that began play in the fall of 2012 with teams in Orlando, Lake Wales, and Palm Beach Gardens. The commissioner of the FBA is former NBA playe ...

(FBA). The Tide's home games were played at St. Petersburg Catholic High School, and the Gunners were a travel team.

Sporting events

Major League sports

* Five

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

s have been held in Tampa:

Super Bowl XVIII Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XVII champion 1983 Washington Redskins season, Washington Redskins and t ...

in 1984,

Super Bowl XXV Super Bowl XXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...

in 1991,

Super Bowl XXXV Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2000 Baltimore Ravens season, Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2000 New York Giants season, New York Giant ...

in 2001,

Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

in 2009, and

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...

in 2021. Super Bowls XVIII and XXV were played at

Tampa Stadium Tampa Stadium (nicknamed The Big Sombrero and briefly known as Houlihan's Stadium) was a large open-air stadium (maximum capacity about 74,000) located in Tampa, Florida, which opened in 1967 and was significantly expanded in 1974–75. The fac ...

, while Super Bowls XXXV, XLIII and LV were played at

Raymond James Stadium Raymond James Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tampa, Florida, United States. It opened in 1998 and is home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) and the University of South Florida (USF) Bulls college football ...

. The 1978 AFC–NFC Pro Bowl was held in Tampa at

. * The 2008 MLB

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

; Games 1 and 2 were played in St. Petersburg at Tropicana Field. * The

1999 NHL All-Star Game The 1999 National Hockey League All-Star Game took place on January 24, 1999, at Ice Palace (Tampa arena), Ice Palace in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, home to the Tampa Bay Lightning. "North America" and the World The major criticism of the North Ameri ...

was held in Tampa at the

Ice Palace An ice palace or ice castle is a castle-like structure made of blocks of ice. These blocks are usually harvested from nearby rivers or lakes when they become frozen in winter. The first known ice palace (or, rather, '' ice house'', ледяной ...

. It was held again in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, having been renamed Amalie Arena by then. * The

2004 Stanley Cup Finals The 2004 Stanley Cup Finals was the Stanley Cup Finals, championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2003–04 NHL season, 2003–04 season, and the culmination of the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference (NHL), Easter ...

; Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 were played in Tampa at the St. Pete Times Forum, Games 1, 2, and 5 of the

2015 Stanley Cup Finals The 2015 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) season, and the culmination of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Western Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Eastern Conference c ...

were played at Amalie Arena and Games 1, 2, and 5 of the

2021 Stanley Cup Finals The 2021 Stanley Cup Finals was the Stanley Cup Finals, championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2020–21 NHL season, 2020–21 season and the culmination of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. The series was between the 2020–21 ...

were played at Amalie Arena .

NCAA sports

* The NCAA football

ReliaQuest Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Tampa, Florida. The event was known as the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to 2022. It was held at Tampa Stadium from 1986 until 1999, when it ...

is held annually at

, usually on January 1. The

Gasparilla Bowl The Gasparilla Bowl is an annual NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game played in the Tampa Bay area. It was first played in 2008 as the St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, one of several new bowl gam ...

is also held annually at Raymond James Stadium, usually in December. It began in 2008 at

Tropicana Field Tropicana Field (nicknamed "The Trop") is a domed multipurpose stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. "The Trop" was the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season, 1998 to ...

in St. Petersburg until moving to Tampa in 2018. The NCAA football

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

is held annually at Tropicana Field since 2012, usually in January. * The

2017 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game that was played on January 9, 2017, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The third College Football Playoff National Championship, the game determine ...

was held at

on January 9, 2017. * Two NCAA football

ACC Championship Game The ACC Championship Game is an annual American college football game held in early December by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) each year to determine its football champion. From its inception in 2005 to 2019, and from 2021 to 2022, the gam ...

s (2008 and 2009) have been played in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium. *

has been the site for various rounds of NCAA Men's and Women's basketball championship tournament over the years, as well as conference tournaments. The 1999 NCAA Men's Final Four was held in St. Petersburg at

. The

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, 2015 NCAA Women's Final Four and 2019 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament Final Four were held in Tampa at the

Tampa Bay Times Forum Amalie Arena (officially stylized as AMALIE Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Tampa, Florida, United States, that has been used for ice hockey, basketball, arena football, concerts, and other events. It is mainly used as the home for the Tampa ...

/Amalie Arena. * Five NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championships have been held in Tampa:

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

and

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

* The 2012 and 2016 NCAA Men's Frozen Four were held in Tampa at the Tampa Bay Times Forum/Amalie Arena. * Tampa will host the 2023 Division I NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship, the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Frozen Four, the 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Final Four and the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball First and Second Rounds, all at Amalie Arena.

Transportation

Air

Tampa International Airport Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective May 15, 2025. The airp ...

is the largest airport in the region. In addition, St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport and

Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport is a public use international airport located within three jurisdictions: Sarasota County, the city limits of Sarasota, and Manatee County, all in the U.S. state of Florida. Owned by the Sarasota Man ...

provide access to

commercial airliner An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest o ...

s, and smaller charter craft. Throughout the area are

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

airports.

Rail

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

provides passenger rail service from

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

in Tampa.

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

provides freight rail service for the region.

Water

The Cross-Bay Ferry has connected Tampa's Channelside District to Downtown St. Petersburg since 2016. The Pirate Water Taxi, also operating since 2016, has several stops along the waterways in the vicinity of Tampa's downtown area and Channelside District.

Transit systems

Bus service is provided in Hillsborough County by

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (also known as the Hillsborough Transit Authority (HART)) provides public transportation for Hillsborough County, Florida, Hillsborough County, Florida. The agency operates fixed-route local and express bus ser ...

(HART), in Pinellas County by

Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) is a government agency that provides public transportation for Pinellas County, Florida. The authority manages a fixed-route bus system that encompasses over 40 bus routes - including two express ro ...

(PSTA), in Pasco County by

Pasco County Public Transportation Pasco County Public Transportation (or GOPASCO) provides public transportation in Pasco County, Florida. The agency operates both fixed bus and paratransit services. History On March 5, 2012, a new weekday, cross-county route was added running al ...

and in Hernando County by

THE Bus The Bus may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''The Bus'' (TV series), a reality television show format started in Netherlands * ''The Bus'' (video game), a bus simulation game by TML-Studios * "The Bus" (''The Amazing World of Gumball''), an e ...

. HART and PSTA provide express services between Tampa and Pinellas County, and PSTA provides connections to Pasco County. HART also operates the TECO streetcar between Downtown Tampa and

. In 2013, HART also began operating a Bus rapid transit system called MetroRapid that runs from Downtown Tampa to the

. On July 1, 2007, an intermodal transportation authority was created to serve the seven-county Tampa Bay area. The

(TBARTA) was formed to develop bus,

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

, and other transportation options for the region.

Roads and freeways

The Tampa Bay area is served by these interstate highways. * I-4

Interstate 4 Interstate 4 (I-4) is an Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Florida, maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Spanning along a generally southwest–northeast axis ...

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

Interstate 175 Interstate 175 (I-175) in St. Petersburg, Florida, also known as South Bay Drive, is a spur route from I-275 into downtown St. Petersburg. It is also designated as the unsigned highway State Road 594 (SR 594). There is a sibli ...

Interstate 275 * I-375

Interstate 375 Hillsborough County is also served by other roadways such as the

Lee Roy Selmon Expressway State Road 618 (SR 618), also known as the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, and formerly known as the Crosstown Expressway, is a controlled-access toll road in Hillsborough County, Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Sout ...

(SR 618) which commutes workers from Brandon into downtown Tampa and the

Veterans Expressway State Road 589 (SR 589), also known as the Veterans Expressway and Suncoast Parkway, is a controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road near the Florida Gulf Coast. Maintained and operated by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, this ...

/ Suncoast Parkway (SR 589) which serves traffic from the

/Hernando County border southward into Tampa. Both of these highways, which are built to limited access freeway standards, are toll roads as is the connecting junction between the Selmon Expressway and Interstate 4. In Pinellas County, U.S. 19 is the main north–south route through the county, and is being upgraded to

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

standards complete with

frontage road A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. Where parallel high-speed roads are provided as part of a maj ...

s to ease congestion through the north part of the county. Also, the Bayside Bridge allows traffic to go from Clearwater into without having to use U.S. 19. The

Courtney Campbell Causeway The Courtney Campbell Causeway is the northernmost bridge across Old Tampa Bay, carrying State Road 60 between Clearwater, Florida in Pinellas County and Tampa, Florida in Hillsborough County. History The Causeway was commissioned by th ...

(SR 60) is one of the three roads that connect Pinellas County to Hillsborough County across the bay. The other two are the

Howard Frankland Bridge The W. Howard Frankland Bridge is the central fixed-link bridge spanning Old Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg, Florida to Tampa, Florida. It is one of three bridges connecting Hillsborough County and Pinellas County; the others being Gandy Bridg ...

(I-275) and

Gandy Bridge Gandy Bridge is a bridge spanning Tampa Bay, Old Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg, Florida to Tampa, Florida. The original 1924 span was dismantled in 1975. The second span, constructed in 1956, was used for vehicular traffic until 1997. The thi ...

(U.S. 92). The

is part of I-275 and connects

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a principal city in the Sarasota metropolitan area. Dow ...

and other

and

Sarasota County Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, F ...

commuters into Pinellas County.

References

{{Authority control Hillsborough County, Florida Manatee County, Florida Pasco County, Florida Pinellas County, Florida Regions of Florida Central Florida