Bum economy scraps St. Pete's 'Yacht Bowl'

Just two weeks ago, plans were in motion for a "Super Yacht Bowl," a four-day yacht hop and cocktail party from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 at Vinoy Marina, St. Petersburg Municipal Marina and Port St. Pete.

Hate to say it, but that ship has sailed. The Super Yacht Bowl is no more.

"We didn’t get the number of yachts signing up as early as we thought we would," said Jeff Werner, marina captain for event organizer Blue Highway LLC.

Organizers were looking to have about 30 yachts signed up to rent slips at local marinas by the end of September. By Oct. 10, they had only six.

Blame the mercurial nature of the Dow, which has keel-hauled luxury boat owners’ stock portfolios.

"Yachts are toys. And they’re something that, when the economy goes bad, they don’t get used," Werner said. "Some of the owners of megayachts and superyachts, even though they’re very, very wealthy, may cut back on some of the use of their yacht, because it’s very costly to operate."

It didn’t help that last month, the NFL abruptly cancelled its huge Saturday Night Spectacular, planned for Vinoy Waterfront Park the night before the game. Some of the crowds and sponsors that Blue Highway was counting on pulled their support for the Super Yacht Bowl, Werner said.

“We’ve done a great job promoting it, but we haven’t had that bigger response,” said event promoter Les Abberly. “I think a lot of people are just distracted by everything going on.”

What to make of the cancellation? Abberly said he still thinks some yacht owners will dock in Tampa Bay for the big game, but large-scale yacht parties like this one, planned well in advance, might suffer.

“People are probably going to make last-minute decisions with their time and money, and how to spend it wisely.”

Werner and Abberly said they’ll refer further inquiries to individual marina owners and local hotels. If you want to see what Super Yacht Bowl would have looked like, check out superyachtbowl.com.

(Photo: Jim Damaske)

Dogs getting trained for Big Day

Eight area police dogs will start their Super Bowl training tomorrow.

According to the Tampa police department, the dogs, mostly laborador retrievers, will check vehicles for explosives and do stadium sweeps for dangerous substances, making sure the tens of thousands of fans attending the games are safe.

The Super Bowl will be held Feb. 1 at Raymond James Stadium.

The laborador retrievers are specially trained to detect illegal and dangerous things. (German shepherd police dogs are traditionally trained to apprehend suspects).

The dogs and their human police partners are from the Tampa Police, the federal bureau of Alchohol, Tobbacco and Firearms, the federal Border Protection and the Hillsborough County Sheriff.

"A lot of things have changed since the last Super Bowl" in early 2001, said Tampa Police spokeswoman Andrea Davis. "We didn't have 9/11 back then. We are making sure the game is incredibly safe for the fans, and this is one of the ways."

-- Luis Perez, Times Staff Writer

NFL commissioner looks toward Tampa Super Bowl

TAMPA -- National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell told a gathering of Tampa business leaders and elected officials today that the 2009 Super Bowl should provide a much-needed economic shot in the arm for the region.

He said it was too early to tell whether the current economic crisis would affect the usual impact of the Super Bowl, which will be played at Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 1. But he said, football and the Super Bowl are opportunities for people to come together and "forget about their troubles."

The NFL still expects 100,000 people to visit during the Super Bowl, shop at local stores and eat in local restaurants.

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio said when the city first bid on the event, it was about community pride. But now, the game could have an even more significant meaning.

"My hope is a lot of people who are in the service industry will really benefit from this," she said. "I truly hope this is a shot in the arm for them." She said the county and the state also would benefit from increased sales taxes as well as bed taxes paid in hotels.

Goodell was in town for the luncheon to provide an update on the status of Super Bowl planning.

Janet Zink, Times staff writer

Play every day, go to the Super Bowl

Three free Super Bowl tickets hinge on the willingness of a student to pledge to be active for 60 minutes every day and answer two questions about the importance of health and fitness. The winner of the NFL Super Kid Contest will also get to hand off the ball before the game's opening kick-off in Tampa on Feb. 1, 2009, and appear on boxes of Frosted Flakes. Students ages 6 to 15 can enter the contest at www.NFLrush.com.

Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer

Forum snags the Eagles for Super Bowl week

The Eagles may have missed out on this year’s halftime show gig, but that’s not stopping them from coming to Tampa during Super Bowl week.

The easy-listenin’ supergroup will perform Jan. 29 at the St. Pete Times Forum. Tickets are $49.50, $69.50, $99.50 and $150 $47.75, $82.25, $127.75 and $187.75 (they've updated the prices since last week); they go on sale Oct. 20 at 10 a.m., with a pre-sale Oct. 13-19 through Ticketmaster.com. (The Eagles will also perform in Orlando on Jan. 31.)

This means the St. Pete Times Forum’s lineup for Super Bowl week is pretty much set — and what a lineup it is:

Jan. 27: Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens

Jan. 28: Celine Dion

Jan. 29: the Eagles

Jan. 30: Lightning vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Jan. 31: Dane Cook

Phew. Let’s see any venue try to top that.

Which of these events are you most excited about? Cast your vote in the comments.

No Saturday Night special for the NFL

Earlier this summer, the NFL announced plans for a free “Super Bowl Saturday Night” on the night before the big game at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg. It was to be the second annual such event; last year’s in Arizona featured fireworks, performances by Counting Crows and Boys Like Girls, and appearances by Jerry O’Connell and Derrick Brooks. More than 30,000 people showed up.

Now it appears the party is off. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league has decided to focus its attention elsewhere.

"It was a success last year, but we’ve got some other events in store that will be fun for people of the area, state and the rest of the country," McCarthy said. "We’re focusing on other events, and making those even better. And by the way,” he added with a laugh, "there’s a game."

The NFL will still hold the NFL Experience during the week leading up to the game, and the Pepsi Smash Concert Series at the Ford Amphitheatre on Jan. 28 and 29.

ESPN the Mag hosting party in ... a vacant lot?

ESPN the Magazine has joined the ranks of the elite Super Bowl party-throwers in recent years, but they’ve always had a taste for curious venues: a historic church (2005), multiple floors of an empty warehouse (2007), a lawn outside a performing arts center (2008).

They’ve got another odd venue lined up for the game in Tampa. ESPN the Magazine’s NEXT party for celebs and VIPs will take place Friday at a parking lot in downtown Tampa — 788 E Whiting St., at the corner of Jefferson and E Whiting, to be precise. That’s near Club Underground.

Here's a pic of the site, courtesy of Google Street View:

So yeah, they've got a little work to do.

This is an exclusive VIP party, so public admission is likely to be minimal. But there will be a red carpet and a party beneath a big tent.

The party coincides with The Mag’s NEXT issue, showcasing up-and-coming players, technology and trends in the sports world. Ludacris and Ciara performed last year, and LL Cool J the year before that. Guests last year included Josh Duhamel, LaDanian Tomlinson and Spike Lee.

Join Springsteen on the field at the Super Bowl!

Earlier this week the NFL announced Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band would perform at halftime of Super Bowl XLIII.

Now you can join Bruce and company on the field.

Producers of the halftime show are looking for about 600 "roadies" to help run the stages onto the field and perform various duties during the pregame show and in the hectic minutes leading up to Bruce's performance. If you've ever seen the buildup to an on-the-field halftime performance, you know it's an insanely hectic 10 minutes, so the NFL and the Boss need all the help they can get.

The details: Volunteers must be at least 18, and no experience is necessary. You can volunteer for the pregame show or the halftime show, but not both. You won't get a ticket to the game, and you'll end up standing in the tunnel during the performance itself — the NFL will post an announcement looking for "fans" to run on the field during the show in the coming weeks — but you will get a behind-the-scenes look at the halftime show. And hey, if you ever meet Springsteen at a bar, this’ll make for a good icebreaker.

Log on to superbowlproductions.com to fill out an application form.

UPDATE: The show's producers have contacted us with new updates about their requests. As it turns out, says NFL spokeswoman Joanna Hunter, "stage crews WILL be on the field for the performance, and might even be in the front row in front of the stage itself." So now you have no excuse not to volunteer!

(Photo: Getty Images)

Want to play your way to the Madden Bowl?

For gamers, it’s the real Super Bowl: The Madden Bowl, the annual competition pitting NFL stars against one another in the latest Madden NFL video game.

The 2009 Madden Bowl will be held Thursday, Jan. 29, at the Honey Pot in Ybor City, according to EA Sports spokesman David Tinson. The finer details are still being worked out (which makes sense, considering players are no doubt focused on trying to reach some other game that week).

At the moment, there is one way to get a ticket to the Madden Bowl. EA is in the midst of a nationwide Madden Challenge tour, in which gamers can compete for a spot in the Madden Challenge finals from Jan. 11-14 in the Turks and Caicos Islands. At stake is more than $85,000 in prizes, including a trip to, um, Tampa for the Madden Bowl. The nearest stop of the tour is at 8 a.m. Oct. 12 at the Florida Mall, 8001 S Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando. Register at maddenchallenge.com.

A Tampa Bay Buccaneer has claimed the Madden Bowl crown four times — Jacquez Green in 2001 and 2002, and Alex Smith in 2006 and 2007. And Reggie Brooks won it a Redskin in 1995 and 1996 before joining the Bucs.

(Handout still)