TAMPA, Fla. — All eyes are on Atlanta as the city gets ready to host Super Bowl LIII, but many people in Tampa are already hard at work getting ready for 2021, when Tampa will host football's biggest game.
Santiago Corrada, president of Visit Tampa Bay, talked about the three biggest enhancements the city of Tampa has undergone since it last hosted the Super Bowl in 2009.
1) Hotels
Tampa has added roughly 700 new hotel rooms in the last seven years, but over the course of the next three years, the city will add 2,000 rooms. Most notably, the JW Marriott and Hyatt located in downtown Tampa are already under construction. They're expected to be up and running by late 2020.
2) Riverwalk
The Riverwalk is a two-mile stretch from Sparkman Wharf in the Water Street District all the way to Armature Works close to the Tampa Heights area. Outside of the stadium itself, this will serve as the backdrop of Super Bowl LV.
"That’s the image of Tampa that millions of viewers around the world will see and so we are super proud and excited to share this exciting destination. we’ve become with the world," Corrada said.
3) Food Scene
Tampa's restaurant scene has exploded over the last several years. Corrada believes it started with the craft beer scene and grew into a demand for new dining concepts.
"We’ve come a long way in the last six to eight years and it’s great," he said. "It’s great that a destination gets to evolve like that."
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