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JAY CRIDLINA casino and amphitheater may create an entertainment destination.
Five years ago, Orient Road offered little more than a jail, a bingo hall and a service entrance to the Florida State Fairgrounds.
Today, Orient Road is ready to rock.
With Thursday's grand opening of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and the nearby 20,000-seat Tampa Bay Amphitheatre set to open in July, the slice of Fairgrounds-area land between Brandon and Tampa is zooming past Channelside and Ybor City as Hillsborough County's fastest-growing entertainment destination.
"You've got Brandon to the east, and you've got Riverview, which is exploding, to the south," said John Fontana, the casino's general manager. "It's a real exciting time for the east part of Tampa."
The casino, which partially opened last June at the site of a former Seminole bingo hall, is expected to increase its daily patronage from about 2,000 to about 10,000. Construction is far from finished on the $23-million amphitheater just across Interstate 4 at the Fairgrounds, yet owner Clear Channel Entertainment has already booked summer concerts by Rush and the Dave Matthews Band.
United by a shared theme - live music - officials from both Hard Rock and Clear Channel are licking their chops over the expected influx of music and entertainment fans from across central Florida.
"The cash registers are going to start ringing, really, for this whole area," said amphitheater executive director Ed Morrell. "We have an ideal location here, being at the intersection of a major north-south corridor and a major east-west corridor."
The amphitheater is already shaking up Hillsborough County's sonic landscape. Its first scheduled event is a July 29 concert by the Dave Matthews Band, who performed at the Ice Palace/St. Pete Times Forum every year from 1998 to 2002.
The Forum can hold more than 21,000 for some concerts, and the University of South Florida Sun Dome can hold more than 11,000. But sometimes capacity isn't the only determining factor when artists book tour dates.
Most artists, Morrell said, decide before a tour begins whether they'd rather play mostly indoors or out. Their decision often impacts stage and lighting design, and can limit tour date options to certain venues.
"There's an emerging entertainment mecca in this part of the city that didn't exist before," said casino spokesman Gary Bitner of the Fort Lauderdale-based public relations firm Bitner Goodman. "They clearly want to make this a place that becomes known for concerts."
The casino, too, plans to feature live music - Hootie and the Blowfish and country singer John Anderson will perform in the 900-capacity grand ballroom next week. But Fontana is just as excited about the shows that will take place in the amphitheater.
"We've talked about shuttle service between the hotel property and the amphitheater, and parties, pre- and post-concert," Fontana said.
The two new venues will undoubtedly change the face of the Florida State Fair, said Rick Vymlatil, the fair's executive director. The amphitheater will allow the Fair Authority to bring in larger acts, including rock or pop bands with a broader appeal.
"Hard Rock is a big name," he said. "I think they appeal to a younger crowd probably more so than some other properties, and hopefully that is good for our events."
It could also be good for undeveloped land near the fairgrounds, which could see new businesses come in to accommodate the additional daily traffic. "This area between Brandon and Tampa is going to fill up over time," said Fontana, whose hotel has plans to expand from 250 to 750 rooms within the next decade. "I think it will get folks out to this side of town."
- Jay Cridlin can be reached at 661-2442 or cridlin@sptimes.com
If you goA grand opening ceremony is scheduled for just before noon March 11 at the $100-million Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino at 5223 N. Orient Road. After hotel officials christen the complex by smashing a guitar, the 10-person Flying Elvi skydiving team will land the site. For more information, contact the casino at 1-866-762-5463.