Tampa, FL – Outback Bowl officials announced today that the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay and the Westin Harbour Island Hotel have been designated as the Official Team Headquarter Hotels for the Outback Bowl. The partnership will cover the next two bowl games with the Grand Hyatt hosting the SEC Team this year and the Westin hosting the Big Ten team. The hotels will switch conferences for the 2013-14 Bowl.
The Westin has housed a team from the bowl for twenty six years, however the Grand Hyatt will be hosting a team for the first time since 1992. “The Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay is very excited to partner with the Outback Bowl as an Official Team Hotel,” stated Paul Joseph, General Manager, Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. “We recently completed a $16 million renovation and we look forward to welcoming and sharing our new rooms with a team and their fans.”
“We are very fortunate to have two outstanding hotel properties to host our teams and their official parties during their stay in Tampa,” notes Jim McVay, President & CEO of the Outback Bowl. “The Outback Bowl is known as the best bowl trip in the country. Part of that is providing an exceptional experience for the schools and the Grand Hyatt and Westin will do just that.”
The Wyndham Westshore Hotel, meanwhile, will continue as the Official Media Headquarters hotel of the bowl for its fifteenth consecutive year.
The Outback Bowl brings an average of 35,000 to 40,000 out-of-area visitors to the market each year, creating an estimated $40 million economic impact annually and generating millions of dollars in exposure for the region each year.
The 2013 Outback Bowl will kick-off at 1:00 P.M. ET on Tuesday, January 1st. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster. Priority membership seating is also available through the Outback Bowl office at (813) 874-BOWL or on the bowl web site at www.outbackbowl.com.
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