Member Of Predators Ownership Gives Back To Florida Amateur Athletics

A multi-purpose facility proposed for Tampa's Westshore Business District is slated to be a center for indoor amateur athletics.
Bob Gries, a former owner of the Tampa Bay Storm and a current member of the Orlando Predators ownership group, has agreed to raise $20 million and to donate a portion of the amount.
The facility has an expected development budget of $20 million to $25 million and annual operating deficit of $200,000 to $250,000.
It will be a community asset that will attract tournament activity and generate hotel room nights, Susan Sieger, president of Crossroads Consulting Services LLC, said at a Hillsborough County Hotel and Motel Association meeting on Thursday.
Crossroads, based in Tampa, led an assessment of the proposed facility.
It is expected to feature 16 volleyball courts or 12 basketball courts and a parking lot with an estimated 1,000 spaces.
This will take 15 to 20 acres to accomplish.
The search for a site is under way.
In a down economy, sports tourism continued to provide a source of hotel room nights, Tampa Bay Business Journal reported in 2010.
While families might have hesitated to spend money on a vacation, they continued to travel for children’s tournaments and other sports activity, TBBJ reported.
Parents still want to do things with their kids, Sieger said, and the facility will help attract this audience.
The Westshore business district has a large number of hotel rooms and easy access to shopping, restaurants and amenities.
“If you look at this district and everything that’s nearby it’s a great package,” Sieger said.