St. Pete Times Forum
Overview
The St. Pete Times Forum (formerly known as Ice Palace) is an arena in Tampa
, Florida
, that has been used for ice hockey
, basketball
, and arena football
games, as well as concerts.
It is home to the Tampa Bay Lightning
of the National Hockey League
and the Tampa Bay Storm
of the Arena Football League.
On January 1, 2012, the facility will be renamed Tampa Bay Times Forum, in keeping with the renaming of the St. Petersburg Times
. The newspaper's naming rights
agreement is through August 31, 2018.
The venue, located in Downtown Tampa's Channelside District was a secondary location chosen after the failure of Tampa Coliseum Inc.
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, that has been used for ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and arena football
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....
games, as well as concerts.
It is home to the Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
and the Tampa Bay Storm
Tampa Bay Storm
The Tampa Bay Storm are an Arena Football League team based in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. They play their home games in the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa....
of the Arena Football League.
On January 1, 2012, the facility will be renamed Tampa Bay Times Forum, in keeping with the renaming of the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
. The newspaper's naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
agreement is through August 31, 2018.
The venue, located in Downtown Tampa's Channelside District was a secondary location chosen after the failure of Tampa Coliseum Inc.