Gasparilla Bowl 2017: What To Know Before You Go

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – For the 10th straight year, college football fans will invade the west side of Tampa Bay for college football post-season action with the 2017 Gasparilla Bowl.

The game will be one of two bowl games in the Tampa Bay area this season, along with the 2018 Outback Bowl.

For area residents and guests coming into town, here’s what you need to know before you go to the 2017 Gasparilla Bowl:

Date and Time

The 2017 Gasparilla Bowl is set to take place Thursday, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m.

Location and Directions

Tropicana Field, located at 1 Tropicana Drive in St. Petersburg, has been the home of the newly renamed Gasparilla Bowl since the beginning. Home to Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, it’s easily recognizable from the surrounding elevated highways by its sloped dome roof.

Fans traveling southbound on I-275 from the north (Clearwater/Tampa) are encouraged to take Exit 23B (Fifth Avenue North) and continue south on 20th Street to First Avenue South or Third Avenue South. Fans traveling northbound on I-275 (Bradenton/Sarasota) are encouraged to take Exit 21 31st Street and follow 31st Street to Fifth Avenue South.

What does Gasparilla mean?

Gasparilla is a century-old event in Tampa that celebrates the legendary (and fictional) pirate Jose Gaspar. The Gasparilla Festival, which takes place annually in January, features a massive flotilla led by the world’s only fully-rigged pirate ship, the Jose Gasparilla, which “invades” the City of Tampa via Tampa Bay. Several parades and other pirate-themed events take place around the festival. Several pirate krewes (read: charitable organizations), including the host Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, take part in the festivities.

2017 Gasparilla Bowl Teams

The Temple Owls will take on the Florida International University Panthers in the 2017 Gasparilla Bowl.

Miami-based FIU will make its second appearance in the Gasparilla Bowl after tying a school record for most wins in a season. The Panthers finished with the year with an 8-4 overall record and a 5-3 record in Conference USA, finishing behind Florida Atlantic in the C-USA standings.

While Temple is making their first trip to St. Petersburg for a bowl game, first-year head coach Geoff Collins will appear for his third time. Ironically, Collins was FIU’s defensive coordinator in their other trip to the bowl in 2010 and was a defensive coach for UCF in 2009 when the Knights played Rutgers. The Owls won three of their last four games to become bowl eligible, finishing with a 5-5 record and a 4-4 record in the American Athletic Conference.

Tickets

Tickets are currently on sale and are available starting at $40 for individual seats. There are two types of all-inclusive tickets available: The Shipwreck Party Deck Ticket ($200/person) is located directly behind the team bench with a lounge located on field-level. The Crow’s Net ($150/person) is located in the Ray’s Club. Both sections offer unlimited food and drink.

Group tickets, VIP packages, travel packages, luxury suites and hospitality packages are available by visiting www.gasparillabowl.com/tickets.

2017 Gasparilla Bowl Events

Starting Thursday, Dec. 7, the Gasparilla Bowl will host several public events, including the Battle at the Beach, Ambush Gardens at Busch Gardens and the Fill the Bowl charity event.

Click here for more information on the 2017 Gasparilla Bowl events.

Official Charity

The Mike Alstott Family Foundation is the official charity of the 2016 St. Petersburg Bowl. Led by former Perdue University and Tampa Bay Buccaneers fullback Mike Alstott, the foundation works to help various agencies that support families and children in the Tampa Bay area, including All-Children’s Hospital, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Ronald McDonald House, Special Olympics and Angelus House.

For more information, visit http://www.gasparillabowl.com/.

Image and video via Olivia Stacey YouTube channel