TAMPA, Fla (Reuters) – The Tremendous Bowl’s annual celeb circuit has all however gone quiet in Tampa, Florida, this 12 months, because the COVID-19 pandemic retains A-listers and party-hungry followers at residence.
With a restricted crowd allowed to look at the hometown Buccaneers tackle the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs, Tampa can anticipate far much less income – and socializing – than in years previous when the wealthy and well-known would descend on personal jets to advertise epic bashes forward of American sport’s greatest recreation.
John Terzian, the co-founder and president of hospitality and way of life firm h.wooden Group, advised Reuters about 98% of the occasions followers might anticipate in a traditional 12 months “are usually not occurring,” together with his annual Tremendous Bowl occasion with Los Angeles’ Bootsy Bellows nightclub.
“The occasions we do are extraordinarily costly and so we wouldn’t have the ability to try this with out our company companions,” mentioned Terzian, who first began internet hosting the events in 2014.
“And the company companions need to be fairly cautious and never be concerned in stuff that might be an excellent spreader (of COVID-19).”
He thought of his occasion final 12 months in Miami, “Bootsy on the Water,” to be his greatest but, with Put up Malone headlining and deep-pocketed patrons paying $150,000 for a VIP bundle, full with eight-hour use of a 125-foot yacht with an on-stage personal suite for 80 company.
A 12 months later, days away from an NFL championship recreation that when felt like an impossibility amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, Terzian mentioned he had put aside the frustration of skipping the Tampa occasion scene and has already begun planning for subsequent 12 months’s Tremendous Bowl in Los Angeles.
“It was a really robust name as a result of technically Tampa is open,” mentioned Terzian. “We’re being respectful for the general public at giant and being secure and never doing the occasion.”
A handful of A-Checklist occasions are occurring in Tampa, with WTR Pool and Grill welcoming DJ Steve Aoki on Friday, at an occasion sponsored by ultraclub E11EVEN and media group Barstool Sports activities, the place an all-inclusive “VIP Plus” ticket with an open bar prices $450.
On Saturday, the identical promoters will host DJ Diplo and rapper 50 Cent, charging $1,000 for a VIP ticket for males and $350 for ladies.
These occasions, like the handfuls of smaller, personal events throughout the area, can be anticipated to stick to native well being and security laws.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor not too long ago instituted a masks mandate in high-traffic outside areas, amid stark warnings from public well being specialists over the specter of COVID-19, which has claimed greater than 450,000 lives throughout the US.
The Tampa Bay Tremendous Bowl LV Host Committee has inspired followers to take part in outside actions, together with the annual “Tremendous Bowl Expertise,” which is being held alongside the Tampa Riverwalk and the Tampa Bay Yacht Village, the place a 116-150-foot slip will set seafarers again a cool $50,000.
In the meantime the annual “Style of the NFL” Tremendous Bowl occasion, the place final 12 months company shelled out $700 to nosh on meals ready by celeb cooks, has gone digital, with James Beard award-winner Andrew Zimmern and former “Prime Chef” contestant Carla Corridor set to make appearances.
Reporting by Amy Tennery; Enhancing by Ken Ferris
