TAMPA, Fla — For 34 years, the Tampa Bay Lightning have called the Sunshine State home, and hockey in Florida has become the gold standard.
The Lightning repeated as Stanley Cup champions in 2020 and 2021, and now the Florida Panthers are back-to-back champions as well.
Sunday's Stadium Series game at Raymond James Stadium showcases just how Florida, and more specifically Tampa, has become a hockey hotbed.
Former Lightning player Brian Bradley, who joined the team in its first year, 1992, witnessed firsthand the transformation of hockey in Tampa Bay. He spoke with Tampa Bay 28's Blake Phillips about the journey from the sport's early days to its thriving scene today.
When you found out that you were coming to Tampa to play hockey, what was your first reaction?
"I was actually playing golf in Canada with a couple of friends, Gary Roberts and Al MacInnis, who's a Hall of Famer," Bradley said. "They said, I got picked up by Ottawa because it was Tampa and Ottawa, and I was like, oh man, I really wanted to go to Tampa. And they said, "We're lying. You went to Tampa. And I said, "This is great."
What were those first few years like after that first season, where all that buzz was really taking over the town?
"It was just so special those first couple of years. I mean, we just tried to go out in the community because they really were trying to grow the game," Bradley said. "We really only had one arena here. Like we practiced at Sun Blaze or TBSA, and there wasn't really a lot of hockey in Florida. Most of the kids played baseball, soccer, basketball, and football, but hockey wasn't known. You go in the neighborhoods, and kids didn't know what hockey was."
Let's jump now to what's happening Sunday with the Stadium Series game at Raymond James. There was also the Winter Classic in Miami. You just said where the game was in '92 versus where it is in 2026. What is your reaction to hearing those major events announced for Florida?
"It's special. I mean, you know, because I've been here, Phil's been here for a long time, Esposito, since '92, and you know, we've seen the ups and downs and the different ownership changes," Bradley said. "I mean, I know we played at the Expo Hall and the Thunderdome, you know, we had a big crowd for the playoffs where we had 28,000 people in St. Pete for the first playoff game against Philadelphia, but to play outdoors at Raymond James where the Bucs play in front of 65 or 70,000 people, I think it's going to be spectacular."
One last final fun question. You may not want to answer it. If you had to say, is Tampa a hockey town or a football town, what's your answer?
"Well, I'm gonna say I think Tampa is more of a hockey town now, and I think that has to do with the ownership group with Jeff Vinik," Bradley said. "And not only that, but they have won 3 Stanley Cups, and I think the Bucs have won 2. Yeah, there you go. So there's my final answer. It's 3 to 2 for the Lightning."
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