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Mayor Pam's Super Bowl Points

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By JOE O'NEILL Tribune Correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 4, 2009

The media - local, regional, national and a smattering of international - gathered for the initial press conference of Super Bowl week. It was convened by the Tampa Bay Super Bowl Host Committee, the liaison between the NFL and local efforts. It included Executive Director Reid Sigmon and Chairman Dick Beard, plus Tampa Bay Bucs co-chairman Bryan Glazer, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Ken Hagan and Pinellas County Commission Chairman Calvin Harris.

The committee's agenda: Be welcoming and remind the media what an honor it is to host another Super Bowl, only the fourth city to do so four or more times. And how grateful and fortunate Tampa was for the worldwide exposure and impact that will surely ensue.

Mayor Iorio, in front of sportswriters who can always use some local sidebar material, was accommodating and on her game. Sound bites, humor, and the underscoring of the changing face of Tampa, where "more cultural assets (enumerated) are going up" than any other city of comparable size. And crime was down, and the new history center was up and visitor ready. And do try the streetcar - it's free to the media.

And "If you go to Ybor City, be sure to come back."

Cue the hearty laughter.

And did we tell you what an honor this is?

The media's agenda:

1. Can we believe your economic-impact numbers?

2. Will Tampa be putting out a dragnet for the homeless to spruce up the area for out-of-town visitors?

3. Will this be a Recession Super Bowl?

Sigmon:

1. Yes. It's not an exact science, of course, but "$300 million" is the figure the committee is comfortable with. It's synthesized and extrapolated from other recent Super Bowls. A projected influx of about 100,000 visitors to the Bay Area helps solidify that number.

Iorio:

2. "No. We would never move the homeless out of Tampa for any reason. It's (homelessness) part of our failing as a society and as a country. But we would never target the homeless for any reason."

Iorio:

3. "Government doesn't party. (Cue more laughter.) We're going to put on a first-class Super Bowl with a frugal approach. We're as strapped as any local government. We've moved staff around to avoid overtime."

Iorio also elaborated on Super Bowl XLIII's recession context. Is it even in good taste to party on as jobs are lost and savings vanish?

"In good times and bad, we still need the pomp and circumstance of an Inaugural, the fireworks of the Fourth of July and the national holiday that the Super Bowl has become," she said. "It means a lot to everyone, including our troops.

"When you think about it," she added, "isn't a Super Bowl a celebration of success through hard work? What could be more American than that? In bad times, you need this even more. And don't forget the parties," Iorio beamed. "The celebration of carbs!"

Pinellas and Super Bowl

Harris came away from the first day of Super Bowl week in Tampa Bay satisfied. He knows the game will showcase his county. All those TV cut-a-way shots of beaches and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge are global in their reach and incalculable in their worth.

"Opportunities like this help us make the case that not only are we one Tampa Bay region, but part of this region is St. Petersburg, Tarpon Springs, great beaches and more," said Harris.

"The last two mayors of Tampa have been very strong personalities," he noted. "Easy to work with. They've made efforts to reinforce that this is a region. And this region carries weight.

"Today's a good day. But it's not just about this game. But how do we get them to our region again?"

Timing Counts

Sure enough, the Tampa Bay History Center opened on time - and in time for the Super Bowl. Better to be able to showcase this area's history to visitors and media - too many of whom think we're all about sun, strip clubs and football - than to show renderings of what a construction project will become after they leave.

And the new Westin Tampa Bay Airport hotel on Tampa's Rocky Point capitalized on its opening a fortnight ago with Super Bowl bookings that helped offset the drop in corporate and tourist business.

And recall the Channelside entertainment district. It opened the week after all those Super Bowl XXXV visitors left.

HCC Arrogance

Has Hillsborough Community College no shame?

It's a given that it has no sense of history when it comes to architecture. Contemporary and functional, thank you, whether it's for the Dale Mabry campus, where such a design works, or the Ybor City campus, where it affronts.

HCC is currently pressing on with construction of its 63,000-square-foot Ybor City student center in the same inappropriately modern design. Moreover, it has been dismissive of local input, including that of the neighboring Cuban Club.

How ironic that when it comes to respecting the historic charm and architectural integrity of Ybor, an institution of higher learning doesn't get it - but the local McDonald's and Burger King, as well as the Hampton and Hilton hotels, do?

And using an ostensible exemption from architectural guidelines is loopholier-than-thou arrogance. What's wrong with simply doing the right thing? If Golden Arches can be compromised for the sake of aesthetics in a historical setting, why not a glass façade?

HCC is a community college that has learned nothing over the years and failed local history. By virtue of its incumbent it is already responsible for one Ybor eyesore. Now the festering continues apace. That's its cavalier contribution to historic Ybor City, the Latin soul of Tampa.

Joe O'Neill is a South Tampa writer who can be contacted at moesez@aol.com or www.opinionstogoonline.com.

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