Bay Area hospitality industry adapts to unusual Super Bowl
TAMPA, Fla. - The last time Tampa Bay hosted a Super Bowl, things were a little different.
"Hotel occupancy then, I could tell you, was about 86 percent," recalled Santiago Corrada, the president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay.
Throw in a pandemic and home team participation, and Corrada says, that changes things.
"Right now, we’re hovering around 53 percent for hotel occupancy," he said.
This year’s numbers, of course, aren’t final yet, but if there’s any word to sum up this Super Bowl, Corrada says, it’s "adapting."
"We’re flexible, and the planning has gone very well," he said. "And now we’re in execution mode, which means we have to execute well."
That execution requires an effort that includes the city, the county, the airport, the port, the hotel industry, the sports commission, and the host committee, co-chaired by former Buc and Super Bowl champion Derrick Brooks.
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"Why not have history with our Bucs not only making the Super Bowl, but also hopefully winning it," Brooks said.
The first and only time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won was 2003. Brooks remembers the game – but his fondest memories are from the homecoming.
"Coming through this downtown, and seeing people hanging out of buildings, 30 to 40 stories high, and cheering us on, it really felt like a Bay Area championship, not just Tampa," he said.
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And while the tourism target would be fans of two teams outside of Tampa, the team making history as the first team to play in their home stadium, means Corrada is hoping locals take it all in, as tourists themselves.
"Stay in a hotel, go out to eat, bring in friends and relatives, have them stay in hotels, and join us, because again, it’s history making," he added.