Outback Bowl Package?

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Here's my $0.02 and I've lived here for the past 5 years (in my early 30s):

 

First and foremost, I would not buy a package for this game/weekend. I would jump on flights and hotels ASAP, because so many other have already made plans to travel to the area over the winter holidays, but these tickets are not going to move in such a way that you need to pay over face value. In other words, I don't expect this game to sell out, and I personally will be waiting for at least 2-3 weeks to see how the secondary market develops because I expect people to be selling them below face - for good seats.

 

As for accomodations, see below (and I'd be happy to answer any questions if anyone has them):

 

If the focus of your weekend is the game, I'd highly recommend staying at the many hotels in the near vicinity of the stadium. Within 2 miles of Raymond James stadium, there are easily 15-20 hotels of all price points. Easy enough to walk to Ray-Jay and avoid the hassle and cost of buying a parking pass. Obviously, if you want to bring a vehicle with grill etc., this isn't as important, but will still spare you any unecessary driving. Within this same area, there is International Mall (which actually has a collection of bars and restaurants called Bay Street), a bunch of good chain restaurants (it's all relative of course), the famous Cigar City Brewery (personal favorite), and you can totally make a quick in-and-out overnight trip like this.

 

If you don't want to stay in that area (which doesn't really have a good distinctive name, but I guess you could call it the Westshore District), I'd recommend staying in Downtown Tampa (the Marriott Waterside, Aloft and Hilton are the swankiest and have sweet views), but there are some other options too. Downtown Tampa has changed a lot in recent years and there is enough to make for a good weekend. 

 

Nothing against Downtown St. Pete (DTSP), but it's pretty far away from the stadium (~30 minutes). DTSP is actually a lot more developed than Downtown Tampa, but the distance from Ray Jay makes it prohibitive IMO. Double that distance and inconvenience for the beaches (Clearwater or St. Pete).

 

As for Ybor and Seminole Heights, don't let people discourage you from going. But know they are the artsy indie hipster neighborhoods and include the riff raff that goes along with it. Again, these are areas that I frequent and enjoy very much, but you need to exercise some common sense like staying on main roads and not getting completely blasted. 

 

Lastly, the Sout Howard Ave. are (SOHO) is a long strip of trendy bars and restaurants. Some of these places are upscale (e.g. Berns, Haven), and then you also have a section of shitshow [mostly] college bars (Macdintons, Yard of Ale, although they can actually be fun when students are gone), and plenty in between. The swankiest area of Tampa is called Hyde Park, which has a bunch of shops and restaurants, but not what I would call nightlife - more like lively restaurants.  

Tickets on ticketmaster last night were $80 for the upperdeck, $170 for club level. I have been to a couple games at Raymond james and sat in the upper deck at mid-field and found them to be good. I also watched a USF game from the endzone seats for 1 games and the view was not good, unless the action was on your half of the field.

I got 2 tickets in section 310 right at mid-field, with fees it was $182. I am not sure how that compares to the packages that are being offered, but I thought I'd share.