Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik and his partners have filed to "build a
proposed 400-room hotel on a parking lot” just west of the Tampa Bay
Times Forum, according to Jamal Thalji of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Vinik has "spent four years assembling his downtown Tampa empire." He bought the Lightning and the Times Forum lease in '10, then "slowly acquired 23 acres of nearby empty land." But his plans for all that property "have long been shrouded in speculation." Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said, "I think (Vinik) moving forward with this decision really sends a great signal to the market." Vinik's first step will be to "develop that 2.9-acre parking lot, which he acquired with the hockey team" in '10. Lightning CEO & Minority Owner Tod Leiweke said, "When the core business gets stable enough, we knew there would be an opportunity to start thinking about doing other things. Today is the first step in that journey." Leiweke said that the Lightning financially "haven't reached the 'break even point' yet, but that the team is no longer losing money at 'unsustainable levels.'" He said that Vinik "wanted to make sure his NHL team was on sound footing before developing his land holdings." Along with the 400 hotel rooms, preliminary plans call for the new building to "have 50 residential units on the top floors and 175,000 square feet of meeting space below." There also will "be 273 parking spots (a parking garage is still an option) and 45,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor." Vinik's proposed hotel "doesn't have a hotel chain, or 'flag,' signed up yet." Meanwhile, Leiweke "would not comment on the other 20 acres, which is north and east of the Times Forum." Leiweke said that they are "not ready to discuss those plans just yet" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 5/23).
