Tampa Bay Sports Commission executive director Lanness Robinson (l) and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey are guests on a radio show during SEC media days.
Courtesy Tampa Bay Sports Commission
In his opening remarks July 20 that kicked off four days of SEC media activities, Greg Sankey complimented the city of Tampa and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. It was the first time the conference held its media days in the Sunshine State. Not that the conference and the city were strangers.
“Tampa has become home to the Southeastern Conference for a number of events,” said Sankey, who just a couple of weeks earlier had his 11th anniversary as the conference’s commissioner. “All of that is a tribute to the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. It’s their work that brings us here today.”
Lanness Robinson was hired to be the executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission (TBSC) last December. He took over for Rob Higgins, whose tireless effort during his more than two decades at the helm did so much for the Tampa Bay sporting landscape. It was under Higgins that the SEC signed on for its week of seemingly endless media-related activities that stretched from the host hotel, the Tampa Marriott Water Street, to Raymond James Stadium for a closing party.
It was Robinson and his team of TBSC veterans that put together the heavy list of finite details and made sure all cylinders ran as smooth as possible when the curtain rose on an event that had roughly 1,200 credentialed media.
“The most important thing is providing a product that the SEC enjoyed and would consider bringing back to us,” said Robinson, who spent 20 years as the athletics director of Hillsborough County Public Schools before joining the TBSC. “Marriott really took care of the SEC, and we need partners like that to pull off events and make them successful. The media comes to cover the coaches and athletes, obviously, but it is media days. We wanted to make sure that we made it positive for the media and provide them with the ability to have a good time after completing their work.”
To that extent, the TBSC had something planned each evening. From a fanfest the Sunday evening before media sessions commenced the following morning, to a welcome party, to a social hour at adjacent Benchmark International Arena, to the closing party at the stadium, Robinson and his team rolled out the red carpet at every turn.
“The biggest thing is that we planned something for every night of the event,” said Robinson. “The media felt like we were really trying to take care of them. The other thing was the location, being on the water. We wanted to take advantage of all the resources that we have. We tried to have the experience be complete and make it a pleasurable working trip.”
Indeed, with the host hotel and several other hotels utilized by the media a short stroll from the Hillsborough River and its 2.6-mile riverwalk, there was ample opportunity to stretch out with little effort. That, in no small part, is what made the entire package appealing. Not to mention the exposure that came with it.
“We’re proud of the amount of attention we got on a national stage, which will lead to future tourism that will be indirectly tied to that event,” said Robinson. “(ESPN platforms) broadcast 50-plus hours of content. That’s an insane amount of content.”
Tampa and future SEC events
For 30 consecutive years the SEC has had a presence in Tampa through the ReliaQuest Bowl, a New Year’s clash between the SEC and Big Ten that was previously (1997-2022) known as the Outback Bowl. The initial iteration of the game, the Hall of Fame Bowl, often had an SEC team competing during its 11-year run. The Gasparilla Bowl has had an SEC tie-in since 2020. Both games are played at Raymond James Stadium.
Several other SEC events have been held in Tampa, including the 2022 men’s basketball tournament.
“We are very fortunate to have a great partnership with the SEC,” said Robinson. “Commissioner Sankey said something that has stuck with me, and that is they trust us. When we have an event, they know they are going to get a high-quality product. That means a lot to us and all we can hope for is that we build relationships where our partners trust us with in hosting their event.”
Tampa’s relationship with the SEC continues with women’s gymnastics championships in 2027 and 2028. Though not under the TBSC umbrella, the women’s golf championships have been held across Tampa Bay at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleaire, about 20 miles north of St. Petersburg.
The SEC media days in Tampa were held July 19-23.
Courtesy Tampa Bay Sports Commission
One of the nation’s top-shelf college football rivalries will take place in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium on Halloween weekend 2027 when Florida and Georgia meet. With the playing of the “World’s largest outdoor cocktail party” moving from Jacksonville while EverBank Stadium is undergoing a substantial renovation, the rivalry will be on the move, playing in Atlanta this season before arriving in Tampa next year. (The NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars will play to a limited capacity in 2026 and move to Orlando for the 2027 season.)
The rivalry was first played in 1904 and has been in Jacksonville since 1933. The only previous meeting in Tampa was in 1919. Though the matchup between the Gators and Bulldogs is about 15 months away, anticipation has been building. After all, it will 108 years.
“We are super excited to host that event,” said Robinson. “We have had (five) Super Bowls and the College Football Playoff championship in 2017. Beyond those two games, I don’t know if we can get a larger game here in our community. Both fan bases will show up in large numbers.”
As such, it will be important to make everyone feel as though little has changed.
“We want to keep all of the traditions of that game,” he said, noting pregame activations and the like that go hand-in-hand with the rivalry will be present. “We know it is a temporary stop, but we want to make sure the tradition of the game is not lost even though it will be in a different location.”
Putting on a good show could prove beneficial down the road.
“It is important for us to have a high-quality event because if for any reason the game is not able to be returned to Jacksonville, we would love to be considered for it again,” said Robinson. “Though we understand the likelihood of that is not very high, we want to make sure that we put on the best event possible. Make sure the fan experience and that the school, team and player experience is high level as well.”
With USF moving into its on-campus stadium in 2027, college football will largely be lacking at Raymond James Stadium. That could provide an opportunity for the TBSC.
“With USF moving to its campus facility, that opens up the ability to have neutral site games,” said Robinson. “Georgia and Florida will the biggest such test.”