TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Super Bowl champions boat parade capped off two weeks of Super Bowl activities for Tampa. Those who played a role in the planning and execution are feeling very excited right now.
"You know, I think we took it to another level with the Super Bowl," said Santiago Corrada, CEO and president of Visit Tampa Bay.
The job of hosting Super Bowl LV has prepared the city for future events, like WrestleMania, which is set to be held in Tampa in just a few months. Some of the lessons that will be carried forward to those events include safety, signs around COVID-19 protocols, hand sanitizer stations, masks and physical distancing.
One unresolved element was crowd control outside of official events.
"You know, obviously you can't control, you know, what people do in bars, what people do out on the street, you know, you might have all the rules and regulations in place. But I've always said, you know, personal responsibility is important," Corrada said.
That is why it will be important to watch the COVID-19 numbers in the coming weeks.
Jill Roberts of USF Health says we will have to look at specific events and COVID-19 cases related to them to see if there were particular activities or times that created superspreaders.
But she also agrees that future events will likely use Tampa's Super Bowl LV plan as a blueprint.
"The city that it's located in has to learn lessons from us. And so, if it's necessary, they may have to put a restriction on venues, number of people who are present, may have to restrict and say you have to wear a mask, and things like that," Roberts said.
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