Ringo Starr's late-June concert at Ruth Eckerd Hall, postponed after several members of the All-Starr Band tested positive for Covid-19, has been re-scheduled for Sept. 16. Twelve dates on the cross-country tour were affected. Tickets for the original Ruth Eckerd date will be honored.
During Wednesday’s Board of Trustees meeting, officials from the University of South Florida provided updates to the construction timeline and capacity for a long-awaited on-campus stadium. Athletic Director Michael Kelly said the process is moving faster than anticipated, on pace for completion in time for the 2026 season. USF Foundation CEO Jay Stroman expects the stadium to hold 35,000 people and will include standing-room-only areas and space for future expansion. Kelly said several architectural firms have already reached out to the school, and USF will issue an official invitation to negotiate in the coming weeks.
Chicago-based fintech firm CoinFlip, which is opening a new office and cryptocurrency learning lab in the Water Street Tampa District, is expanding into the Canadian market. CoinFlip is known for its Bitcoin ATMs throughout the U.S. To date, it has 3,500 ATMs across 49 states, taking its place on the frontline of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. "We’re rapidly growing our fleet of crypto ATMs, dozens of which are already up-and-running in Toronto, Ontario, and Vancouver, British Columbia," CoinFlip CEO Ben Weiss said in a LinkedIn post. Investors can now buy and trade Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and several other cryptocurrencies using cash in Canada.
It took sudden-death overtime, but the Tampa Bay Lightning dropped Game 1 of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals to the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche, playing on their home ice in Denver, jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period. However, the Lightning struck back in the second, with Ondrej Palat and Mikhail Sergachev scoring two goals in just 48 seconds to tie the game. Colorado controlled the third, but goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy helped Tampa Bay escape regulation and force overtime. Following a turnover by Bolts defenseman Victor Hedman, Colorado’s Andre Burakovsky played the hero by netting the game-winner for the Avalanche less than two minutes into sudden death. Game 2 is set for 8 p.m. Saturday night in Denver.
The St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation Department is ensuring no child goes hungry through the summer break. In partnership with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service’s Summer BreakSpot, the department is offering free breakfast and lunch to area kids through August 5. The meals are available at 12 locations throughout the city and are open to anyone 18 or under. For a full list of locations, visit the website here.
The new 144-room AC Hotel Clearwater Beach is now open at 395 Coronado Drive. The new hotel is a lifestyle-branded property from Marriott and is managed by Raleigh, North Carolina-based Concord Hospitality Enterprises. The resort offers a European-inspired breakfast and tapas-style dining, a library-focused workspace, a resort-style pool and a 24-hour fitness center.
Tampa Bay Lightning fans received some good news Wednesday afternoon, as coach John Cooper announced star center Brayden Point is “a go” for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Point missed the last two playoff series after suffering a lower-body injury in the opening minutes of Game 7 in the team’s first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. His return is a huge boost for the Lighting offense, as no player has scored more goals than the Point over the last three NHL postseasons. Tampa Bay faces the Colorado Avalanche, the highest-scoring team in this year’s playoffs, in Denver Wednesday night. The puck drops at 8 p.m. and will air on ABC and ESPN +.
St. Petersburg’s Hitchcock’s Green Market announced it is closing by Sunday, June 19. The grocer, located in Tyrone Square at 6765 22nd Ave. N., is offering a 50% discount on its entire inventory as part of a liquidation sale. It remains unclear why the store is closing.
Tampa-based Cirkul, a beverage platform known for its reusable water bottles and flavor cartridges, has closed a Series C funding round of $70 million, which now values the company at $1 billion. The round was led by SC Holdings, according to the company's announcement. Cirkul was founded in 2018 by Waggoner and Andy Gay, who developed the product while studying at Dartmouth College. The goal was to combine the benefits of both bottled beverages and concentrated powders/liquids while eliminating the downsides of each. Today, the company has over 500 employees and is wildly popular on social media with over 1 billion TikTok video views.
Following a year-long search, the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business appointed Gary Patterson to serve as dean of the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance on the St. Petersburg campus. Patterson has filled the role of interim three times in his long career at the school, although he did not seek the permanent position. Patterson, one of USF’s longest-serving educators, began his tenure with the school in 2000. He will officially assume his leadership role on July 1. The school recently received $14 million in donations from philanthropists Kate Tiedemann and Ellen Cotton to strengthen financial technology education and create a Fintech Center.
St. Petersburg police announced Monday that they recovered the body of a missing 70-year-old woman from Boca Ciega Bay, near the Pinellas Bayway. A family member reported that Arlete Desousa was missing Sunday. Shortly after 10 a.m. Monday morning, a passerby spotted a body in the water near Osprey Drive South and called 911. Police confirmed it was the missing woman, and said preliminary evidence shows no signs of foul play.
Following Saturday night’s 2-1 win against the New York Rangers, the Tampa Bay Lightning are the first team to make three consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances since the Edmonton Oilers accomplished the feat from 1983-85. A victory in the best-of-seven finale against the Colorado Avalanche would make Tampa Bay the first NHL team to win three straight championships since the New York Islanders claimed four in a row from 1980-83. The Lightning dropped the first two games of the Eastern Conference final in Madison Square Garden before winning two at home and another in New York. The Rangers, down 3-2 for the third straight round, were 5-0 in elimination games this postseason. The Bolts, behind two goals from Steven Stamkos and Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy’s 20 saves, sent the Rangers home from the playoffs in front of a raucous crowd at Amalie Arena Saturday night. Game 1 against the well-rested Colorado Avalanche is Wednesday night in Denver.
