{"id":138497,"date":"2026-01-31T04:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T04:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/138497\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T04:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T04:10:08","slug":"gasparilla-stadium-series-collide-with-cold-snap-in-tampa-bay-area-ready-to-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/138497\/","title":{"rendered":"Gasparilla, Stadium Series collide with cold snap in Tampa Bay area: ‘Ready to party’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cold Cold weekend ahead of major Tampa events<\/a> <\/p>\n

A cold snap is colliding with one of the busiest weekends in Tampa. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to brave the elements for Gasparilla and the NHL Stadium Series. FOX 13’s Blake DeVine reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla. – A cold snap<\/a> is colliding with one of the busiest weekends in Tampa. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to brave the elements for Gasparilla and the NHL Stadium Series.<\/p>\n

Local perspective:<\/p>\n

From pirate cannons to puck drop, this weekend\u2019s cold weather has plenty of people bracing for freezing conditions. Tyler James was waiting in line on Friday for Bert Kreischer\u2019s comedy show outside Benchmark International Arena.<\/p>\n

READ: Lightning, Bruins to face off in Tampa’s first outdoor NHL game<\/a><\/p>\n

“Huge weekend for Tampa for sure. It\u2019s going to be cold,” he said. “I don\u2019t know what this weather is going to be like tomorrow at Gaspy.”<\/p>\n

By the numbers:<\/p>\n

James is one of a handful of hockey fans with their sights set on scoring tickets to Sunday\u2019s Stadium Series<\/a>. The cheapest seats for the outdoor hockey game are selling for more than $200 on the secondary ticket market.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

“It\u2019s once-in-a-lifetime, it might be worth it,” he said. “I might have to pull the trigger, haven\u2019t done it yet, but I might need to.”<\/p>\n

MORE: Gasparilla invasion: Law enforcement continues push for boater safety with rough seas expected<\/a><\/p>\n

Lanness Robinson, the executive director of the Tampa<\/a> Bay Sports Commission, said this weekend\u2019s events have major economic implications for the region.<\/p>\n

“That impact will be felt in our hotels, our restaurants and other vendors that we have,” Robinson said.<\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

With the Gasparilla Pirate Invasion<\/a> set to sail on Saturday, many pirates are prepared to swap their swords and beads for beanies and hoodies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Robinson said colder temperatures could add to the experience of Sunday\u2019s outdoor hockey game.<\/p>\n

READ: Gasparilla 2026 Guide: Here\u2019s what you need to know<\/a><\/p>\n

“The temperatures dropping is ideal for this event,” he said. “We\u2019re going to get the real feel of what playing hockey is all about outside.”<\/p>\n

As the sun set at Sparkman Wharf, crowds gathered to enjoy live music and waterfront views. Many took in the final moments of warmer weather before temperatures drop down. Christian Keller was celebrating his 30th birthday with his wife, Sydney, and on the eve of Gasparilla, he didn\u2019t expect the chilly forecast to slow anyone down.<\/p>\n

“Everybody\u2019s going to be ready to party, rain, snow, sunshine, don\u2019t matter,” he said. “People will just wear it over their winter coats.”<\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

Despite the colder conditions, Gasparilla is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people on Saturday. On top of that, Sunday\u2019s NHL Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium game is sold out.<\/p>\n

The Source: Information for this story came from statements from the NHL and Gasparilla Pirate Festival, an interview with the executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission along with reporting from previous coverage on FOX 13 News.<\/p>\n

Tampa<\/a>Gasparilla Pirate Invasion<\/a>Sports<\/a>Winter Weather<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cold weekend ahead of major Tampa events A cold snap is colliding with one of the busiest weekends…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":138498,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[47,31383,629,115,110,135,137,136,628,221,26929],"class_list":{"0":"post-138497","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-fl","9":"tag-gasparilla","10":"tag-hillsborough","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-tampa","14":"tag-tampa-headlines","15":"tag-tampa-news","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-weather","18":"tag-winter-weather"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}