On Sunday, Tom Brady became the first quarterback to throw for 600 touchdowns in NFL history. Unfortunately, wide receiver Mike Evans handed the ball to a fan in the stands without realizing the significance of the score. This led to a peculiar series of negotiations between the fan and a team official before he relinquished possession of the historical pigskin. In trade, the fan received two autographed Brady jerseys and a helmet, a signed Evans jersey and his game-worn cleats, a $1,000 credit to the team store, and two season tickets for this year and 2022. However, some estimates put the value of the ball as high as $500,000, and Brady joked that the fan should have held out for more. Brady, also a pitchman for the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, said Monday night he would also gift the fan one bitcoin, currently valued at around $60,000. The fan has also asked to play a round of golf with the NFL legend, but Brady has not yet said if he will grant the request.
Nelson Cruz of the Tampa Bay Rays has been named Major League Baseball’s 2021 Roberto Clemente Award winner. The award is given to those who best exemplifies sportsmanship and community involvement, along with the individual’s contribution to his team. Cruz, a seven-time All-Star, is recognized for his support and generosity in his native Dominican Republic through the Covid pandemic. Cruz helped support nearly 1,200 families affected by the pandemic and provided his hometown with a new fire engine, an ambulance, and 80 new firefighter uniforms, among many other contributions. Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. and the Clemente family will officially present Cruz with the award before tonight’s Game Two of the World Series.
The Pinellas County Parks & Conservation Resources department announced Monday that parking terminal upgrades are complete. Pinellas County park and boat ramp terminals are now cashless and feature 4G-LTE connectivity. The new terminals accept credit card payments only, and patrons will be required to enter their vehicle’s license plate number. Customers must display a receipt until a “mobile parking” feature is introduced next year. The county states the upgrades will improve transaction speeds and communication reliability.
Demolition began Tuesday afternoon on the old St. Petersburg Police Department HQ on Central Avenue. The site will become Orange Station at the Edge, a new mixed-use project.
The City of St. Petersburg has contracted to install an outdoor ice skating rink at the St. Pete Pier. Opening Nov. 20, the 4,000-square-foot rink will be part of "Winter Beach," a seasonal concept that includes holiday food and gift vendors, music, movies and more. Skating tickets (including skate rental) will cost $17 per person, through closing day, Jan. 17. Details are available here.
On Monday, the International Shuffleboard Association (ISA) announced that the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club will host the 40th ISA Championship. The championship will be held from Oct. 22 – 28, 2023. The St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club was founded in 1924, and the event will kick off the club’s 100-year anniversary celebrations. The St. Pete club is the oldest and largest shuffleboard club in the world. The announcement comes after two ISA Championships were canceled due to the Covid pandemic
The Tampa Innovation Partnership is hosting its annual Innovation Gathering on Thursday, Oct. 28. Now in its seventh year, the Innovation Gathering will feature the Taste of Uptown, the Innovation Exhibition, and the Community Impact Awards. New for this year’s event will be the inaugural presentation of the Jack A. Kolosky Healthcare Innovator Award. The Innovation Gathering will be held a RITHM@Uptown in Tampa, from 5:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $10-50, and more information on the event can be found here.
Allegiant (NASDAQ: ALGT) will have a new nonstop route to St. Petersburg from Akron, Ohio beginning March 4, 2022. To celebrate, the company is offering one-way fares on the new route as low as $59, Allegiant announced. “St. Pete-Clearwater is one of the most popular destinations in Allegiant’s network,” Drew Wells, Allegiant’s senior vice president of revenue and network planning, said in a release. “This new route will give our customers in Northeast Ohio an affordable, convenient travel option for their vacations to one of the hottest markets in Florida.” The new service would operate twice weekly.
As of Monday morning, drivers on Interstate I-275 near Tropicana Field can see a billboard paid by a Canadian nonprofit group reading, "Dear Rays, Montréal won’t pay for your new stadium. Sincerely, Taxpayers." The group behind the billboard is the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, a federally incorporated, not-for-profit citizen’s group. The message is directed at the Rays, as the team has considered splitting future seasons between Tampa Bay and Montreal.
Renowned author, advisor and journalist Sarah Chayes will be the keynote speaker for the 2022 St. Petersburg Conference on World Affairs, which kicks off Feb 15. Chayes has a long trajectory of covering political corruptions during her career at National Public Radio to advising the topmost levels of the U.S. military, serving as a special adviser to two commanders of the international forces in Kabul. The St. Petersburg Conference will bring together distinguished diplomats, military and academic experts to discuss current critical international issues. The St. Pete Catalyst is one of the sponsors for the event.
Florida Funders, a Tampa-based hybrid of a venture capital fund and an angel investor network, are set to close on $50 million-plus of funds for its Fund 2 LLC on Oct. 31. Through its Fund 2 LLC, the investor network has invested in startups such as Intecrowd, Grow Credit and Kliken.
As part of the ongoing upgrades to the city's sewer system, St. Pete Beach is conducting construction along Gulf Boulevard and 55th Avenue. The construction will continue for about two weeks and is followed by PTSA installing a new bus stop south of 55th Avenue on the west side of the road. This will cause daily lane closures of the outside lane until the project is complete around Thanksgiving day.
