It was a big weekend for both St. Pete and Tampa. The Gasparilla Pirate Festival along Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa, and the WWE Royal Rumble inside Tropicana Field brought nearly 500,000 people to the region on Saturday. That’s in addition to Monday Night Raw at AMALIE Arena drawing a crowd of nearly 12,000 on January 29.

These events aren’t just for folks who live in St. Pete, Tampa, or even the surrounding areas within Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. Visitors from at least 15 different countries and 43 states poured into the Tampa Bay region to be a part of the major global spectacles.

Sunrunner carries 3,406 passengers during the Rumble weekend

This was a huge boost for the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) SunRunner System. On Saturday, January 27 PSTA counted 3,406 riders across the day. Several buses were added to the route and increased frequency to support that volume. This was all in support of the 48,000+ fans piling into the Trop on Saturday night.

That 3,406 mark for the Sunrunner is the highest single-day ridership since the fare was implemented.  The largest day in SunRunner’s history was Localtopia 2023 with 5,168 riders. Very close behind was the 2023 Pride Parade with 5,044 riders. However, those were both during the fare-free period.

TPA has a huge Sunday after Gasparilla

This boost was also felt by businesses in the area. Fabrica Pizza, just a few bocks from Tropicana, reports that its sales were double that of last year during the same weekend on both Friday, Jan. 26, and Sat., Jan. 27. The Vinoy Renaissance Hotel was also operating at about 90% capacity through the weekend.

On the other side of the Howard Frankland Bridge, Tampa International Airport saw a huge passenger boost on Sunday, January 28. Airport officials report 86,384 total arrivals and departures. That’s close to one of the busiest days in airport history. The record of 90,000+ travelers was set during spring break 2023. We imagine that record could be eclipsed this March/April.

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