USF Selects TBEP to Manage & Operate Sun Dome



TBEP will oversee the day-to-day and strategic operations of the Sun Dome

TAMPA, MAY 1, 2017 – University of South Florida System President Dr. Judy Genshaft and Director of Athletics Mark Harlan announced on Monday that Tampa Bay Entertainment Properties (TBEP) has signed a five-year agreement with Sun Dome, Inc. to manage and operate the USF Sun Dome.

TBEP, which entered a 10-year multimedia rights partnership with USF on April 17, will oversee the day-to-day and strategic operations of the Sun Dome starting July 1, 2017 and running through 2022 with an option to extend the agreement.

Based in Tampa, Fla., TBEP was established by owner Jeff Vinik to provide services to clients relating to their own sports and entertainment properties. It is a separate and different entity than the Vinik controlled organization that operates Amalie Arena and the highly-successful Tampa Bay Lightning NHL franchise, which was lauded as the No. 1 franchise among the four major professional sports leagues by ESPN in 2016.

With this multi-year partnership, TBEP will be responsible for the planning, services, operations and management of the Sun Dome. TBEP will also oversee staff operations, booking and management of events and activities, and the arena's annual operating budget once approved by the Sun Dome, Inc. board.

“We are thrilled to expand our already positive, growing relationship with Tampa Bay Entertainment Properties,” Harlan said. “With today's agreement alongside our multimedia rights partnership, TBEP will be a dynamic partner presenting USF Athletics and the Sun Dome with new and expanding opportunities and elevating our positive impact on campus, in the Bay Area community and across the country.”

About Tampa Bay Entertainment Properties, LLC

Tampa Bay Entertainment Properties, LLC was formed by Jeff Vinik in 2017 as a firm specializing in partnership sales, consulting, marketing and operations in the sports and entertainment industry with a focus on creating world class experiences. Vinik purchased the Tampa Bay Lightning and the leasehold rights to AMALIE Arena, in March 2010, transforming a moribund organization into one of the most highly regarded franchises in sports today; earning recognition as the number one organization in professional sports by ESPN in its 2016 Ultimate Sports Standings. Vinik is also a partner, with Cascade Investment, LLC, in Strategic Property Partners, which is redeveloping 53 acres of property in downtown Tampa into a $3 billion mixed-use development, bringing hotels, housing, retail, office space and the USF Morsani College of Medicine to the Channelside area.

About USF Athletics

USF Athletics sponsors 19 varsity men's and women's teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 competing at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls' athletic program celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015, having started with a men's soccer contest in 1965. Nearly 500 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of Tampa campus. The Bulls have claimed 12 conference titles in the American Athletic Conference since 2013, including four in 2016-17. Nine USF programs reached NCAA post-season competition in the 2015-16 and USF posted a program-record 86 percent Graduation Success Rate among student-athletes in the latest reporting.

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