Colorful History Of The Tampa Bay Lighting

One of the National Hockey League’s most successful expansion franchises has been the Tampa Bay lighting. They first took to the ice 1992 and within four short years they qualified for the playoffs. The Lightning story is rich with drama. There has been ownership turmoil, venue changes and championship euphoria. With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at this fascinating, if not somewhat unconventional, team.

The National Hockey League expanded in 1992 with additions in Ottawa and Tampa Bay. In the late 80s there were two groups seeking the franchise in the Bay area. Much of the drama began with one group front man, Phil Esposito, former player and member of the Hall of Fame. Late in the game, he lost his financial backers but did not let that get in his way.

During the final moments, Esposito got involved with a Japanese investor group. Not sufficiently satisfied, he then got the financial support of George Steinbrenner, majority owner of the New York Yankees. Steinbrenner would be a limited partner. With all this, Esposito and his group won the rights to a Tampa franchise.

The Lightning’s inaugural season was not exactly encouraging. But it was not an utter catastrophe either. Within one month of play they were atop of their division. However, the season ended in reverse. They finished the season in last place. They did manage to earn fifty-three points, a total which was the highest for any expansion’s team first year.

Their little amount of success they did see was quite remarkable when you take into account where they were playing. Home for the Lightening was a little expo hall within the Florida State Fairgrounds that only seated about 11,000 people. This tiny venue at the fairgrounds created more than a few chuckles and sneers.

The good news was that they would move out of the hall the next year. Now for the bad news. They moved to the Thunder Dome (initially called the Florida Suncoast Dome). This dome was built to house baseball games and was in St. Petersburg. Luckily they did move out of there too and the new baseball team, the Devil Rays (now the Rays) moved in in 1998. The Thunder Dome is now called Tropicana Field.

In addition to venue issues, the team suffered from ownership problems. By the mid-nineties the team was facing bankruptcy and was being investigated by the IRS. There was even talk that Japanese crime syndicates were involved in the money matters of the team. Finally, after a short-lived ownership by Art Williams, the club was sold to Bill Davidson, owner of the Detroit Pistons. It was at this point that Tampa’s fortunes changed for the better.

Things turned around very quickly for them. It could have been the new ownership or it may have been their new arena. Eventually in 1996 they moved into a suitable venue, the Ice Palace, which was later renamed the St. Pete Times Forum. Whatever it was, they saw some good times. Unexpectedly, they became the Stanly Cup winners in 2004 with a victory over the Calgary Flames. They attracted many fans who loved their “underdog” status.
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