Tampa Sports: Teams, Stadiums, Spring Training and College Sports

Inside Tampa city limits, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play at Raymond James Stadium, the Tampa Bay Lightning at Benchmark International Arena, and the New York Yankees train each spring at Steinbrenner Field (City of Tampa).

The downtown Tampa arena's Benchmark International Arena name was announced on August 13, 2025, when Vinik Sports Group and Benchmark International announced a multiyear naming rights deal that replaced AMALIE Motor Oil (Tampa Bay Lightning). Steinbrenner Field is also the summer home of the Tampa Tarpons, the Yankees Class A-Advanced affiliate (New York Yankees).

Two teams with Tampa Bay in their names play outside the City of Tampa. The Tampa Bay Rays list Tropicana Field, 1 Tropicana Dr, St. Petersburg, FL 33705, as their ballpark (Tampa Bay Rays). The Tampa Bay Rowdies, established in 1975, played their first season at Tampa Stadium and now play at Al Lang Stadium in downtown St. Petersburg (Tampa Bay Rowdies). Last verified: October 14, 2026, on the City of Tampa, Tampa Sports Authority, team and university websites.

Raymond James Stadium in Tampa broke ground in 1996 and hosted its first game on September 20, 1998, when the Buccaneers played the Chicago Bears (Tampa Sports Authority).

Beyond the Buccaneers, the Tampa Sports Authority lists USF football, Monster Jam and the Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium, and the stadium has hosted Super Bowl XXXV, Super Bowl XLIII and the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship (Tampa Sports Authority). The Tampa Sports Authority gives the capacity as 65,000 seats, expandable to 75,000, while the City of Tampa lists 65,657 (City of Tampa).

The Tampa Sports Authority stadium page has not kept up. Its text still says Raymond James Stadium is preparing to host Wrestlemania in 2020 and Super Bowl LV in 2021, and it still names the Outback Bowl, while the same site's partner menu lists the ReliaQuest Bowl (Tampa Sports Authority). The ReliaQuest Bowl guide follows the bowl through its names, and the Super Bowls in Tampa guide covers each Super Bowl the city has hosted.

USF Bulls Stadium, the University of South Florida on-campus football stadium, opens in fall 2027 (USF). The Tampa Stadium (The Big Sombrero) guide covers the older Tampa stadium that Raymond James replaced.

The Tampa Sports Authority does more than run stadium events. Its site lists stadium tours and three golf courses, Babe Zaharias, Rocky Point and Rogers Park, with a Book a Tee Time link, and it counts George M. Steinbrenner Field and Benchmark International Arena among its partners alongside the Buccaneers, the USF Bulls, the ReliaQuest Bowl and the Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa Sports Authority).

The Yankees train at Steinbrenner Field, 1 Steinbrenner Drive, Tampa, FL 33614, a 31 acre complex built in 1996 on North Dale Mabry Highway (New York Yankees).

The Yankees count 2027 as their 32nd season in Tampa. The Steinbrenner Field complex took its current name on March 27, 2008, after unanimous resolutions by the Hillsborough County Commission and the Tampa City Council (New York Yankees). Outside spring training, Steinbrenner Field works as a year-round Tampa events venue, with over 60,000 square feet and 12 event spaces, hosting concerts, baseball tournaments and corporate events.

Getting to Steinbrenner Field from I-275 means taking exit 41A to North Dale Mabry (US Highway 92) and driving north about 3 miles; from Tampa International Airport the route runs about 2 miles on Spruce Street, then about 1 mile on North Dale Mabry. Game day parking is the General Lot at 3676 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, and fans cross Dale Mabry on foot at the crosswalk (New York Yankees directions).

The Spring Training in Tampa guide traces the major league clubs that trained in Tampa before the Yankees arrived.

No: in 2026 the Tampa Bay Rays list Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg as their home ballpark, and Steinbrenner Field in Tampa is back to Yankees spring training and the Tampa Tarpons (Tampa Bay Rays; New York Yankees).

The City of Tampa stadiums page, last updated August 24, 2025, still calls Steinbrenner Field the temporary home of the Tampa Bay Rays, and it still lists the AFL Tampa Bay Storm at the arena and the Florida State League Tampa Yankees at what it calls Legends Field (City of Tampa). The Yankees' own page names the summer team the Tampa Tarpons (New York Yankees). Read the city's Tampa listings as a 2025 snapshot.

The Tampa Bay Rays guide covers the franchise history, its year at Steinbrenner Field and the stadium proposals on the Tampa side of the bay.

Tampa college sports include the University of Tampa Spartans, the 2026 NCAA Division II baseball champions (University of Tampa), and the University of South Florida Bulls, whose on-campus football stadium opens in fall 2027 (USF).

The University of Tampa Spartans won the 2026 NCAA Division II baseball title on June 6, 2026, beating West Chester University 8-4 in Game 3 in Cary, North Carolina. It was their third straight title and the 11th national title in University of Tampa baseball history; the Spartans finished 51-9 (University of Tampa). The University of Tampa Spartans guide covers the other Division II titles, from soccer to volleyball.

USF Bulls football moves to campus in fall 2027, when USF Bulls Stadium opens with 28 luxury suites, 22 living room boxes, 17 loge boxes and about 2,200 club seats. The 150,000 square foot TGH Center for Athletic Excellence will be the daily home of the USF football program (USF Bulls Stadium). The University of South Florida Yuengling Center is a 55,000 square foot facility with a 10,500 seat arena that has had over $43 million in renovations since 2000 (City of Tampa). The USF Bulls Athletics guide covers the full program.

Eleven Tampa sports guides go deeper than this hub, one for each team, venue and big event named below.

The rest of the Tampa sports guides: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays and Tampa Bay Rowdies guides cover the four pro franchises; Benchmark International Arena and Tampa Stadium (The Big Sombrero) cover the buildings; the ReliaQuest Bowl, Super Bowls in Tampa and Spring Training in Tampa guides cover the events; and the USF Bulls Athletics and University of Tampa Spartans guides cover college sports.