The Tampa Bay area is home to many sports teams and has a substantial history of sporting activity. Most of the region's professional sports franchises use the name "Tampa Bay", which is the name of a body of water, not of any city. This is to emphasize that they represent the wider metropolitan area and not a particular municipality and was a tradition started by Tampa's first major sports team, the original Tampa Bay Rowdies, when they were founded in 1975.
Tampa currently has three franchises competing in the four major Northern American leagues. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers play in the National Football League (NFL), the Tampa Bay Lightning play in the National Hockey League (NHL), and the Tampa Bay Rays play in Major League Baseball (MLB). Additionally, six MLB teams hold their spring training camps in the area.
A number of minor league franchises play in the region as well, including the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the USL Championship, Tampa Bay Sun FC of the USL Super League, and five minor league baseball teams competing in the Single-A Florida State League.
In intercollegiate sports, the University of South Florida Bulls compete in NCAA Division I, while Eckerd College, Saint Leo University and the University of Tampa compete in NCAA Division II.
Between September 2020 and July 2021 all three of Tampa Bay's major teams, as well as the Tampa Bay Rowdies, qualified for their sport's championship series at least once. The Lightning beat the Dallas Stars in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, the Rays won the American League pennant to qualify for the 2020 World Series, the Rowdies and Phoenix Rising FC were named co-league champions after the USL Championship game was canceled due to COVID-19, the Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, and the Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. The success continued with the Rowdies winning the 2021 USL regular season title and reaching the 2021 USL Championship game and the Lightning reaching the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. This dynasty earned the area the nickname "Champa Bay" and the city was named the best sports city in the country by Sports Business Journal.
Major league
Summary TeamFoundedStadiumLeagueChampionshipsTampa Bay Buccaneers1976Raymond James StadiumNFL2: 2002 (XXXVII), 2020 (LV)Tampa Bay Lightning1992Benchmark International ArenaNHL3: 2004, 2020, 2021Tampa Bay Rays1998Tropicana FieldMLB0 The Tampa Bay area has seen five championships among their three teams in the four major sports. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII in 2002 against the Oakland Raiders by a score of 48–21 and Super Bowl LV in 2020 against the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 31–9. The Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2004 Stanley Cup Final by beating the Calgary Flames in seven games, the 2020 Stanley Cup Final by beating the Dallas Stars in six games, and the 2021 Stanley Cup Final by beating the Montreal Canadiens in five games. The Bucs also reached the NFC Championship Game in the 1979 and 1999 seasons, both times being beaten by the St. Louis Rams. The Lightning lost in the 2015 Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks and in the 2022 Finals against the Colorado Avalanche, along with playing in the 2011, 2016 and 2018 Conference Finals, each of which went to seven games. The Tampa Bay Rays played the 2008 World Series before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games, and in the 2020 World Series, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.
Football
Professional football first arrived in the Tampa Bay area in 1964, when the American Football League staged an exhibition game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. Five years later, the Miami Dolphins and the Minnesota Vikings faced off in a joint AFL-NFL preseason game prior to the 1969 season, the final one before the two leagues would merge.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL began play in old Tampa Stadium in 1976 as an expansion team. After losing an NFL-record 26 straight games to begin their existence, the Bucs reached the 1979 NFC Championship game only to sink back into futility with an NFL-record 14 straight losing seasons through the 1980s and early 1990s.
The franchise's fortunes began a turnaround in the mid-90s under coach Tony Dungy, and the success continued after the team moved into newly built Raymond James Stadium in 1998. The upward trend culminated in the Bucs' first championship at the end of the 2002 season under coach Jon Gruden, when they defeated the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. The Bucs made several playoff appearances since then but didn't win another playoff game until the 2020 season, in which they reached Super Bowl LV and defeated the Kansas City Chiefs for their second title. Bruce Arians became the Bucs' head coach beginning with the 2019 season.
Baseball
Tampa Bay Rays
Minor league, amateur, and spring training baseball have long been very popular in the Tampa Bay area. As such, a fierce cross-bay competition for a potential Major League Baseball franchise developed in the 1980s and 1990s, with Tampa and St. Petersburg each vying to bring professional baseball to town. Despite warnings from MLB that expansion was not imminent,Thunderdome Was Built But They Haven't Come - Orlando Sentinel St. Pete began construction of the Florida Suncoast Dome in 1987 in the hopes of eventually landing an MLB team through expansion or relocation.
Many teams, including the Oakland A's, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, and San Francisco Giants, considered moving to the vacant venue. Local investors actually bought part ownership of the Twins and, in another attempt, had an agreement to buy the Giants and bring them to St. Pete. However, for various reasons, all these attempts to bring major league baseball to the area fell short.Jpg=4976%2C4776597 "At Last, Tampa Bay has its baseball team" - Ocala Star-Banner (March 10, 1995)
Tampa Bay was rumored to be a front-runner when MLB expanded by two teams in 1991, but Miami and Denver were chosen instead. Finally, in March 1995, St. Petersburg was awarded a major league expansion franchise along with Phoenix.History of Tampa Bay Baseball at raysbaseball.com
The Tampa Bay Rays began play as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in newly renamed Tropicana Field in 1998. The franchise struggled through its first 10 years of existence, finishing last in the American League East Division in nine of those ten seasons. After (again) posting the worst record in baseball in 2007, however, the newly renamed "Rays" won 97 games in 2008, winning the AL East and the AL pennant to earn a berth in the 2008 World Series under manager Joe Maddon. Since 2008 inclusive, the Rays have won three AL East titles and have made six playoff appearances, as well as a second World Series appearance in 2020. Kevin Cash has been the Rays' manager since 2015. Due to damage from Hurricane Milton on Tropicana Field, the Rays spent the 2025 season at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring training stadium of the New York Yankees.
Spring training and minor leagues The area has had a long association with spring training baseball. The local tradition began in 1913, when the Chicago Cubs, lured by Tampa mayor D.B. McKay's pledge to pay the team's expenses, trained at Plant Field.Florida Grapefruit League history St. Petersburg mayor Al Lang made a similar push, and in 1914, the St. Louis Browns became the first of many teams to train in St. Pete, being succeeded by the Philadelphia Phillies for 1915. The Phillies used a new facility called "Coffee Pot Bayou Park" along the city's bayfront area. In the 1940s, a small modern ballpark was built on the site. It would be christened Al Lang Field in honor of the mayor who had brought baseball to St. Petersburg.
Many major league teams have trained in the Tampa Bay area over the ensuing decades. Current members of the spring training Grapefruit League in the Tampa Bay area include: The Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota The New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa The Philadelphia Phillies at Spectrum Field in Clearwater The Pittsburgh Pirates at McKechnie Field in Bradenton The Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark in Dunedin The Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland
The area also hosts five minor league baseball teams, all in the Low-A Florida State League. These teams all use stadiums also used by MLB teams for spring training. These teams are: The Clearwater Threshers (Phillies): Spectrum Field in Clearwater The Dunedin Blue Jays: TD Ballpark in Dunedin The Bradenton Marauders (Pirates): McKechnie Field in Bradenton The Tampa Tarpons (Yankees): George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa The Lakeland Flying Tigers: Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland
Historical teams Several other local minor league teams have come and gone over the years. Notable historical teams include: The Tampa Smokers – The area's first modern professional baseball team (1919), charter member of the original Florida State League (FSL) The St. Petersburg Saints – Founded in 1920, also played in the FSL The Tampa Tarpons – Long-time FSL affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, alumni include several members of the "Big Red Machine" The Tampa Rockets – Local affiliate in the Florida State Negro League during the 1940s
Hockey
The NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning were established as an expansion franchise in 1992. They began play in the Florida State Fairgrounds' Expo Hall in Tampa, then moved across the Bay to what is now Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg (which was rechristened the "Thunderdome" at the time), and finally found a permanent home ice in the new Benchmark International Arena (originally known as the "Ice Palace"), located in the Channelside District of downtown Tampa. The Lightning have won three Stanley Cup championships: in 2004, 2020, and 2021. They have been coached by Jon Cooper since 2013.
Minor league Summary The Tampa Bay area is home to numerous minor league sports teams. The most notable ones are: Team Founded Sport Venue League League championshipsTampa Bay Rowdies2010SoccerAl Lang StadiumUSL Championship2: 2012, 2020**(co-champions)Florida Tropics SC 2016 Indoor soccer RP Funding Center Major Arena Soccer League1: 2020**(co-champions)Tampa Bay Sun FC2024SoccerRiverfront StadiumUSL Super League1: 2025Tampa Bay Titans 2019 Basketball Pasco-Hernando State College The Basketball League
Other minor league teams include: Team Founded Sport Venue League League championships Tampa Bay Tiger Sharks 2017 Australian rules football Various USAFL Bay Area Pelicans Rugby Football Club 1977 Rugby union Sawgrass Park USA Rugby–Florida Rugby Union "Several" (?) Bradenton Marauders 1957 (as original Tampa Tarpons) 2010 (as Bradenton Marauders) Baseball LECOM Park Florida State League 4: 1957, 1959, 1961, 2016 Clearwater Threshers 1985 Baseball Spectrum Field Florida State League 2: 1993, 2007Tropics SC 2016 Soccer Lake Myrtle Sports Complex United Premier Soccer League Dunedin Blue Jays 1987 Baseball TD Ballpark Florida State League 1: 2017**(co-champions)Gulf Coast Lions 2020 Basketball Salvation Army The Basketball League IMG Academy Bradenton 1998 Soccer IMG Academy USL League Two Lakeland Flying Tigers 1963 Baseball Joker Marchant Stadium Florida State League 4: 1976, 1977, 1992, 2012 St. Petersburg Swans 2014 Australian rules football United States Australian Football League, Major League Footy Tampa Bay Area Krewe Rugby Football Club 1989 Rugby union Skyview Park USA Rugby–Florida Rugby Union 7: Division I: Florida Cup (2010) Division II: National Champion (2010), Rugby South (2009)