LAKELAND, Fla. — It’s the end of an era for Lakeland as it will no longer host a prestigious high school basketball tournament.
Since 1997, Palace Pizza has been serving hot slices and Italian favorites in downtown Lakeland.
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“Most of the people from the RP Funding Center will either walk, Uber, it’s just a short drive but they all come downtown. All of them,” said Giovanni Moriello.
Events at the RP Funding Center, located just half a mile away, have been a big part of the success of the family restaurant.
“We get a lot of business off the RP Center. Throughout the year any event at the RP Center we can feel it. Most of them are on the weekend anyway, so we get very, very busy. And we profit, it helps us a lot,” Moriello said.
For more than 30 years, the RP Funding Center has been the home court for the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Boys and Girls Basketball State Championships. But starting in 2026, the games will tip off in Jacksonville at the University of North Florida.
“Any events at the civic center are always a plus for downtown, it always helps us. So anytime you take an event away from the RP Center you’re just taking away from the downtown businesses,” Moriello said.
Nearly 17,000 fans attended the state basketball finals in Lakeland this year. City leaders said it has long been an anchor for downtown businesses, fueling economic growth.
“You have overnight stays in hotels, what they call heads in beds. Then you’ve got the economic impact that falls from that, whether individuals are going to restaurants and going out around the town,” said Kevin Cook, spokesperson for City of Lakeland.
The FHSAA said moving the state basketball championships to Jacksonville gives student-athletes the opportunity to play on a university court. The FHSAA will continue weightlifting and cheerleading state championships at the RP Funding Center.
Business owners hope the city will continue to work on attracting other large-scale events.
“I hope that we have an event every weekend at the RP Funding Center because it helps downtown immensely,” Moriello said.
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