Super Bowls in Tampa — Tampa, Florida

Tampa has hosted five Super Bowls at two stadiums on North Dale Mabry Highway. Super Bowl XVIII (January 22, 1984) and Super Bowl XXV (January 27, 1991) were played at Tampa Stadium; Super Bowl XXXV (January 28, 2001), Super Bowl XLIII (February 1, 2009) and Super Bowl LV (February 7, 2021) were played at Raymond James Stadium, which replaced the older stadium next door. According to WPTV, NFL owners awarded Tampa its first game in 1981, and Tampa became the first mid-sized city and first Florida city outside of Miami to host the championship game.

The fifth game put Tampa in a small group. When owners moved Super Bowl LV to Tampa in 2017, WUSF reported that Tampa would be the fourth city to host five games, joining the Miami area, New Orleans and the Los Angeles area. The five Tampa games include a record rushing day, one of the closest finishes in the history of the event, two defensive routs and the first Super Bowl played in a competing team's home stadium.

The first Tampa Super Bowl was a Raiders rout. When Super Bowl XVIII was played between the Los Angeles Raiders and Washington on Jan. 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium, the Raiders won 38 to 9. WPTV reports that the Tampa Bay metro area had slightly under 1.4 million residents when the game was awarded in 1981. NFL.com analyst Gil Brandt credited Tom McEwen, the former sportswriter and sports editor of The Tampa Tribune, with the civic push that brought the Buccaneers to Tampa in 1976 and then the game itself, which came after the Bucs' eighth season.

On the field, Raiders running back Marcus Allen carried 20 times for a then-record 191 yards and two touchdowns, including a 74-yard run in the third quarter, and was named MVP, according to WPTV. Brandt singles out a play just before halftime at Tampa Stadium: linebacker Jack Squirek intercepted a Joe Theismann screen pass at the Washington 12-yard line and returned it for a touchdown and a 21 to 3 lead. The CBS telecast of the Tampa game also carried the broadcast debut of the first Apple Macintosh television advertisement during a third-quarter break.

Tampa's second Super Bowl, on January 27, 1991, was decided on the final play. The New York Giants led the Buffalo Bills 20 to 19 when Buffalo drove to the 29-yard line with eight seconds left; WPTV reports that Scott Norwood's 47-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right, less than a yard outside the upright. The Tampa Stadium game was the first of four straight Super Bowl losses for the Bills.

The game was played during the Gulf War, with the conflict in the Middle East intensifying. Brandt recalls that security at Tampa Stadium was extremely heavy, and WPTV notes that Whitney Houston's national anthem before kickoff is widely regarded as one of the best renditions performed at the event. ABC, which televised the game, aired a special report about Operation Desert Storm in place of the halftime show. Super Bowl XXV was also the last Super Bowl played at Tampa Stadium, which was demolished after the Buccaneers moved next door.

Raymond James Stadium, opened in 1998, hosted its first Super Bowl on January 28, 2001. Brandt describes it as a huge leap from Tampa Stadium. The Baltimore Ravens beat the New York Giants 34 to 7: WPTV reports that Baltimore's defense allowed just 152 yards, recorded four sacks and forced five turnovers, and that Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who grew up in nearby Lakeland in Polk County, was named MVP. The third quarter included back-to-back kickoff returns for touchdowns, a 97-yard Giants return answered by an 84-yard Ravens return. The Gasparilla festival was moved from early February to the Saturday before the game so that the Tampa parade and the Super Bowl did not collide.

Super Bowl XLIII, on February 1, 2009, produced Tampa's most dramatic finish. Pittsburgh led 17 to 7 at halftime after linebacker James Harrison's Super Bowl record 100-yard interception return for a touchdown at the end of the second quarter. Arizona scored 16 straight points, capped by Larry Fitzgerald's 64-yard touchdown catch with 2:37 left, before the Steelers won 27 to 23 on Santonio Holmes' 6-yard game-winning touchdown reception with 35 seconds left, according to WPTV's account of the Tampa game.

Super Bowl LV was not originally Tampa's game. WUSF reported on May 23, 2017 that heavy rains in Los Angeles had pushed completion of the new stadium there back by a year to 2020, and that league owners voted unanimously to move Super Bowl LV to Tampa's Raymond James Stadium, with Los Angeles taking the 2022 game. Tampa had been a finalist for the 2019 and 2020 games, which went to Atlanta and Miami, and the stadium had undergone a multi-million dollar renovation before the award.

The game was played during the COVID-19 pandemic. NFL.com reported that the February 7, 2021 game at Raymond James Stadium would include 25,000 fans and 30,000 cutouts, the smallest attendance in Super Bowl history, and that 7,500 of the fans were vaccinated health care workers given free tickets. CBS News, citing Tampa station WFTS, reported that fans paid $100 to send a photo to fill a seat, with a portion of the proceeds going to Feeding Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers became the first team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium and beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31 to 9.

No sixth Tampa Super Bowl had been awarded as of the most recent reporting gathered for this page. In a February 10, 2025 report, ABC Action News said the next three announced sites were Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara for 2026, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood for 2027 and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for 2028, with later years open. The station reported that Raymond James Stadium, by then more than 26 years old, faces newer competition, noting mega-modern stadiums in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Arizona, and new stadiums planned in Nashville, Buffalo and Jacksonville.

The same ABC Action News report said upgrades are likely needed at Raymond James but there is no plan or financing for it in place as of now. The Tampa Bay Sports Commission, which leads the region's bids, framed a stadium refresh as the condition for a sixth game. In the meantime, the station reported that Tampa appeared close to a deal to host the College Football Playoff championship for the second time in 2029, after the 2017 title game at Raymond James.