Skatepark of Tampa

Skatepark of Tampa

Skatepark of Tampa Logo
Location Tampa, Florida, United States
Opened 28 December 1992
Website spottampa.com

The Skatepark of Tampa is a skatepark in Tampa, Florida, United States. It is considered one of the top skateboarding venues on the East Coast of the United States. The name is often abbreviated as SPoT, and it is well known for its annual Tampa Am and Tampa Pro competitions.[1][2]

History

On December 28, 1992, SPoT was opened only to employees, and on January 2, 1993 the park officially opened to the public.[3]

On April 1, 2012, SPoT announced on its website that the park had been purchased (for US$9.3 million) by rapper Lil Wayne. It was revealed shortly afterwards that the fake press release was an April Fool's joke.[4]

Obstacles

The skatepark includes a terrain park-style "pro course", offering a funboxpyramid and many difficult rails for grinds and slides. Outside, there is a concrete transition course with a pizza oven. The "beginner's course" features many smaller rails and ramps to expand skateboarding skills and also includes the famous bowl.

The street skateboarding course is redesigned every year for the Tampa Pro and Tampa Am contest.

Team

As of 2007, the Skatepark of Tampa maintains a skateboarding team, a party team, a family team, a BMX team, and a business team.[5]

Skateboarding

Pro:

Am:

Party

Family

BMX

Business

Music venue

The skatepark also doubles as a popular music venue. In 2012, SPoT hosted its 20 year anniversary event with performances from Souls of Mischief and Killer Mike.[6]

The venue also hosts the Transitions Art Gallery music venue on its premises. TAG has served as a springboard for acoustic artists and other musicians. In December 2012, the owner of the Gallery announced he was stepping down and that the venue would be under new management from January 2013. The venue's new owners subsequently announced that the name of the venue would change to Epic Problem.[7] Epic Problem hosts many shows from many post-hardcore bands and one annual show from the nonprofit high school (mainly from Hillsborough High School) sketch comedy troupe On The Brink.[8]

The skatepark is a major feature in the Tony Hawk's Underground video game, and SPoT employees appear as competitors in the street and vertical contests. The skatepark also served as an exclusive competition level in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2x. The Skatepark of Tampa also appeared on the MTV series Rob & Big that featured professional skateboarder and entrepreneur Rob Dyrdek.

References

  1. ↑ Bob Putnam (11 March 2006). "Skateboarding glory rolls through Tampa event". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  2. ↑ TWS (10 December 2012). "TAMPA AM 2012 FINALS". Transworld Skateboarding. Bonnier Corporation. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  3. ↑ Chris Nieratko (9 December 2012). "THE 18TH ANNUAL TAMPA AM". X Games. ESPN. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  4. ↑ Rob Meronek (1 April 2012). "LIL WAYNE BUYS MAJORITY OWNERSHIP IN SKATEPARK OF TAMPA FOR $9.3 MILLION". Skatepark of Tampa. Skatepark of Tampa. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Rob Meronek (13 April 2007). "SKATEPARK OF TAMPA TEAMS". Skatepark of Tampa. Skatepark of Tampa. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  6. ↑ Jay Cridlin (5 December 2012). "SoundCheck: Aerosmith, Geoff Tate, Sum 41, Ty Segall, METZ Skatepark of Tampa 20-Year Anniversary Party, Iris DeMent". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  7. ↑ Jay Cridlin (7 December 2012). "Skatepark of Tampa's Transitions Art Gallery gets new owners, changing name to Epic Problem". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  8. ↑ http://www.hhstoday.com/life/2015/02/12/on-the-brink-march-12-14/

Coordinates: 27°57′58.44″N 82°24′37.42″W / 27.9662333°N 82.4103944°W / 27.9662333; -82.4103944

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