Bob Martinez Sports Center is a 3,432-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

named after former Tampa mayor and

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Bob Martinez Robert Martinez (born December 25, 1934) is an American retired politician who served as the 40th governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, Martinez was the first person of Spanish descent to be elected governor o ...

. The facility is home to the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...

Spartans men's and women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

teams, as well as the Spartans volleyball team. The Spartan Sports Center, as it was then known, hosted the Continental Basketball Association's

Tampa Bay Thrillers The Tampa Bay Thrillers were a franchise in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1984–1987. They won back-to-back championships in 1984–85 and 1985–86. At the end of the 1986–87 CBA regular season the team relocated to Rapi ...

for their 1985–86 season. It was also the planned home of the Tampa Bay Strong Dogs of the American Basketball Association, but the team folded without playing a game in Tampa. The facility is on the University of Tampa campus across the Hillsborough River from downtown Tampa and was opened in 1984.Facilities
at tampaspartans.com, URL accessed November 7, 2009
Archived
11/7/09

References

American Basketball Association (2000–present) venues Basketball venues in Florida College basketball venues in the United States Sports venues in Tampa, Florida 1984 establishments in Florida Continental Basketball Association venues Sports venues completed in 1984 Former South Florida Bulls sports venues {{Florida-sports-venue-stub