The Tampa Bay area, site of Super Bowl XXXV, is home to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, Arena Football League's Tampa Bay Storm, and Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Pinellas County hosts the annual Goodlife Games, an Olympics-style event for senior athletes, and is also an official swimming, sailing, and baseball training site for Olympic contenders. Check out all Pinellas County has to offer.

The NFL Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers play in the 65-thousand seat, open air Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. In the north end zone a 103-foot pirate "ship," complete with cannons, shoots soft footballs and confetti when the Bucs score a touchdown.
www.buccaneers.com

The Tampa Bay Storm play their home games at the St. Pete times Forum in downtown Tampa. They have won four league championships in Arena Football.
www.tampabaystorm.com

Tampa Bay got its own Division 1 college football team in 1997 when the University of South Florida Bulls took the field for the first time. The Bulls will move into the Big East Conference in 2004. Meanwhile the annual college football game, the Outback Bowl, is played on New Year's Day at Raymond James Stadium.
www.gobulls.usf.edu

The Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) play to enthusiastic hockey fans at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.
www.tampabaylightning.com

Pinellas County also has a Major League Roller Hockey Team, the Tampa Bay Rollin' Thunder. Fans who bring skates, are invited to an open skate with players after each game. Games are held at the Times Bayfront Center Arena in St. Petersburg.

Major League Baseball came here to stay when the Tampa Bay Baseball Partnership was awarded an expansion franchise. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the newest team of the American League East, began play in 1998 in St. Petersburg. The Rays play their regular season games at Tropicana Field, a 45,360- seat, climate-controlled, domed ballpark.
www.devilrays.com

The Rays also train in St. Petersburg, at Florida Power Park, home of Al Lang Stadium, adding to a glorious tradition of Spring Training in the Bay area. Other teams here for the Grapefruit League are the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin and the New York Yankees in Tampa. Nearby there are the Cincinnati Reds in Sarasota and the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton.

The Florida State League has two baseball teams in Pinellas County, and the New York Yankees’ minor-league headquarters is in Tampa. Once a year, the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association hosts the biggest stand-alone old- timers game in the county — the Legends of Baseball — in St. Petersburg.

Of course there is the world-famous Three Quarter Century Softball Club, Inc. “Kids & Kubs” whose players are men 75 years of age or older, and the slightly younger half- century men’s softball league. Each continues to attract national attention and local crowds for their entertaining brand of softball. Meanwhile, Little League’s 11 and 12-year-old all-stars from around the country play the Majors Baseball Southern Regional at Arnold S. White Stadium in Gulfport before advancing to the Little League World Series each August.

Grand prix fans can look forward to the fact that St. Petersburg will again become a street circuit for CART racing in 2003. The event, planned for February and promoted by the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, will be held along the downtown waterfront including a runway at the Albert Whitted Airport.

For stock car fans, there is racing every Saturday night at the Sunshine Speedway, just south of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Airport at 4500 Ulmerton Road (SR 688), Pinellas Park and drag racing on week nights at the Tampa Bay Dragway, same location.

The waters of the Gulf of Mexico are abundant with saltwater species including kingfish, king mackerel, tarpon, marlin, grouper, snook, tuna, and sailfish. Numerous boat ramps give access to the Gulf and inland waters. And if you don't have your own boat, private charters and party boats are available. Tarpon season runs from mid May through July with tournaments for serious anglers.

Bass and other fresh-water fish are found in Pinellas County's two major lakes -- Lake Tarpon and Lake Seminole.

St. Petersburg's downtown waterfront is the site for the Olympic Regatta Training programs where competitors from all over the world practice their skills for Olympic sailing events. The city also hosts mid-winter regattas for several sailing classes including the Lightning, Thistle, Sonar, International 14, and Flying Dutchman.

The Budweiser Cup, one of the largest sailing events in Florida, is organized each year by the Treasure Island Tennis and Yacht Club and the county's oldest and largest sailing school, the Annapolis Sailing School (located near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in St. Petersburg.

For pure enjoyment and a unique view of the area try a ride on the Fred E Marquis Pinellas Trail. This scenic Rails-to-Trails bicycle-pedestrian path runs for 45 miles, from Tarpon Springs to St. Petersburg, and is a part of the Pinellas County Parks Department.

While the trail is used year-round, Florida's cycling "season" runs from September through April or May. During these months, there is an event nearly every weekend for recreational cyclists. The Tour of Pinellas is an example, sponsored by the Suncoast Cycling Club each April. The St. Petersburg Bicycle Club also has regular organized rides.

BMX racing is popular with young riders of various ages and skill levels who compete at St. Petersburg's Walter Fuller Park.

Many high school and area college teams, as well as individual athletes, have claimed state and national championships. Several local standouts have gone on to professional sports careers -- even winning Olympic Gold Medals!