Varsity Spirit is returning to the Tampa Convention Center for the second year in a row, bringing more than 26,000 attendees. This group will host three cheerleading competitions, The Youth Summit, The Recreation Summit, and The Celebration. These events will take place at the Tampa Convention Center April 25-28.
Drivers should expect increased vehicle and pedestrian traffic near the Tampa Convention Center on these dates.
The competitions will be happening from 8am to 10pm Thursday and Friday, from 8am to 8pm Saturday, and from 7am to 4pm Sunday.
This event is bringing an estimated economic impact of more than $15 million dollars to the City of Tampa. Varsity has contracted 14,928 hotel room nights for these events, which is nearly double the number of rooms contracted in 2023.
Attendance at these competitions, including participants and spectators, is projected to exceed 26,000, which represents an increase from last year’s 12,000 attendees. That number includes more than 600 cheerleading teams, 10,000 cheerleaders, and 1,500+ coaches. Visitors coming to Tampa Bay are from 41 different states and five different countries.
For more information, go to Varsity.com.
What Attendees Should Know
If you are attending the Varsity Spirit cheerleading competitions as a competitor, family member, or spectator, here are some things to know before you arrive to the Tampa Convention Center.
Visitors should be aware of a construction project that has closed Franklin Street at Channelside Drive, which is limiting access to the Tampa Convention Center’s Front Drive. Drivers should avoid this area.
Parking is available at the Tampa Convention Center Parking Garage, located at 141 East Brorein Street in Tampa, across the street from the center’s Franklin Street Entrance. Click here for directions: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dutuXF1khn5hNtzz9
Additional parking is available at Pam Iorio Parking Garage, located at 301 Channelside Drive, Tampa, just one block from the center. Click here for directions: https://maps.app.goo.gl/cxGpu9NWY9o4jx5Q8
Drop-off and pick-up spots for Tampa Convention Center visitors, including ADA and rideshare, are available in front of Harpoon Harry's Crab House, located at 225 S. Franklin St. in Tampa.
Visitors to the Tampa Convention Center can also take the free TECO Line Streetcar to Dick Greco Plaza Station #10, located across the street from the center. Learn more: http://www.tecolinestreetcar.org/
Attendees can enjoy food and beverage concessions inside the Exhibit Halls and throughout the Tampa Convention Center. There is also food available from Big Ray’s Fish Camp Riverwalk, located on the convention center property at The Sail Plaza. There will be food trucks stationed outside the convention center for this event.