Selection Day is 6 December
The Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl kicks off at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, 18 December at Raymond James Stadium. Tickets go on sale in December, after Selection Day on Sunday, 6 December. Group sales run through the bowl office at (813) 301-6623.
A hotel bed needs no announcement. The bowl's housing portal returns rooms for the night of 18 December today.
Twenty hotels on the first page
A search on the portal for check-in 18 December and check-out 19 December returned 20 downtown properties on the first page. Four of the 20 carry a free-cancellation term.
Tampa Marriott Water Street holds 56 rooms. Its lowest rate is $279.00 a night before tax and $358.33 in total. JW Marriott Tampa Water Street holds 55 rooms at $399.00 a night and $494.54 in total. Both cancel free until 11:59 p.m. on 13 December.
Hotel Flor Tampa Downtown holds 54 rooms at $230.69 and $295.89. SpringHill Suites Tampa Downtown holds 30 at $274.00 and $310.99. Their free-cancellation lines fall on 16 December.
The other 16 cards carry no free-cancellation term. Their lowest rates run from $211.98 at The Barrymore to $476.00 at The Tampa EDITION, and a cancellation takes the full amount.
The portal's own record is a year old
The portal header reads “Fri, 12/19/2025 - Fri, 12/19/2025”, and its default stay is 18 to 20 December 2025. A reader who opens the page sees the 2025 dates.
The inventory behind the page answers for 2026. The search that returned these 20 cards carried 18 December 2026 as the arrival date.
Two hours between the lot and the gate
Lots open at 11:00 a.m. The ticket office opens at the same hour, between the Suzuki Marine and Fifth Third Bank gates. Gates open at 1:00 p.m. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m.
Two hours separate the lot from the gate. A car parked at 11:00 a.m. leaves the walk to the turnstile on your own clock.
The gate takes one pass
Tickets exist on a phone. PDFs, printed copies and screenshots do not scan. Add the ticket to Apple Wallet or Google Play before leaving the room.
Every patron needs a ticket, whatever the age. One clutch purse no larger than 4.5 by 6.5 inches is the only bag allowed inside. Lockers sit on Tom McEwen Blvd, southeast of the Suzuki Marine gate, and rent for $10.
Christmas week runs into the game
Christmas Day falls on Friday, 25 December, one week after the kickoff. Thursday 17 December and Saturday 19 December sit inside the Christmas travel window. Both are downtown Tampa nights.
A Friday arrival and a Saturday departure keeps the stay on the night of the game.
Parking is bought at the lot
The stadium's parking page states that prepaid availability varies by event. The stadium's event block for this game publishes no parking price. Every lot takes card payment.
Ten rooms or more
A group of 10 rooms or more can put the request out to bid. hotelhuddle sends one request to 50 or more hotels in the destination, and they answer with rate quotes in 24 to 72 hours. No commission is added to the rate.