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Vinik’s ambitious plans find traction in Tampa

Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik’s big vision for downtown Tampa is worth following. The former hedge fund manager has quietly become one of the most effective owners in sports, slowly putting his stamp on the team and Amalie Arena. Now comes his power play: investing $1 billion to develop the city’s downtown waterfront, uniting more than 40 acres of continuous land around the arena. The plan includes an entertainment complex, retail, residences, the University of South Florida medical school, a major corporate headquarters and much more. It will be one of the most closely watched developments in sports.

After buying the team five years ago, Vinik noticed the barren surface parking lots that surrounded the arena. Gradually, he and his development arm, Strategic Property Partners, which includes Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment, began acquiring the land, the adjacent Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and the Channelside Bay Plaza. Now he’s ready to remake Tampa.

“This is vacant, downtown land that is surrounded by water on three sides. It’s a blank canvas,” said Vinik at the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Business of Sports Huddle earlier this month. “There’s not another opportunity like this in the United States. There are plenty of great developments and bigger developments, but none like this: in a major city, downtown, water on three sides, blank canvas. It’s an
The mixed-use waterfront development unites 40 acres of land.
Photos by: COURTESY OF STRATEGIC PROPERTY PARTNERS
incredible opportunity.”

Vinik and his development team, which includes some of the top executives in sports — from Lightning CEO Tod Leiweke to adviser Jac Sperling — have reviewed other mixed-use developments planned in Edmonton; Buffalo; Austin, Texas; and Columbus in modeling what’s being called an “18/7” community.

“It will be a live, work, play and stay community,” Vinik said. “It’s going to be a gathering spot day and night. But we need to let people sleep, because there is going to be one or two thousand residential units. So we are calling it ‘18/7’ because we want people to at least be able to sleep six hours.”

Vinik, who is from the Northeast, has lived in Tampa for the past 2 1/2 years, and he’s sold on its lifestyle and business opportunities. “Great weather, little traffic, friendly people,” he said. “It’s a welcoming community with culture, arts and sports. This is a wonderful place, and I’m spreading that message. I have a pretty good Rolodex.”

He stresses that his main goal remains to have his Lightning serve as the Green Bay Packers of the NHL. “Turning around a franchise takes longer than I would have expected,” he said. “I thought it would take two years. There are no short cuts. It takes time to build a brand, to become part of the community, to improve the team and the game presentation. Five years in, we are probably 60 to 70 percent there, but we’ve made some great progress.”

For the 55-year-old Vinik, the project allows him an opportunity to reinvent himself after a life in hedge funds. “My life was head down: reading research, making phone calls, making trades,” he said. “Now, with sports and real estate, it’s new and fun to reinvent yourself and learn new things.”

His humble, modest nature serves him well in his new community, and his ambitious plans have been met with resounding support by local business and media. “We just try our best to be genuine and authentic and explain what we’re trying to do,” he said when asked about that support. It was evident in my quick, 30-hour visit to the area that Vinik, who recently was called the “toast of Tampa,” is the most popular person in the city and has widespread support and admiration. But he cautions that it’s not going to be an easy road. Downtown lacks basic services, and Vinik recognizes that. “If you have residential, you need a grocery store,” he said. “If I have to suddenly read a book about how to build a grocery store, we’ll do that and build our own.” He also warns of the ebbs and flows of such a project. “There are going to be setbacks,” he promised. “When we have setbacks, I’ll go home, have three glasses of wine, wake up in the morning, and go back at it.”

Abraham D. Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com.

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