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Tampa Port Authority confirms Lightning owner Vinik frontrunner to own Channelside

 
Published May 30, 2012

The Tampa Port Authority finally received confirmation that Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik is the frontrunner to buy the troubled Channelside Bay Plaza. As widely reported last week, Vinik acknowledged his group had been asked by an Irish bank to make a formal presentation to the port.

The Anglo Irish Bank of Dublin took back Channelside in 2010 after the previous owners defaulted on a $27 million loan. The Irish government now owns the bank.

The port owns the land underneath the retail complex and can approve or veto the deal. The next board meeting is June 19.

Vinik's team includes Andrew Wright, head of Tampa commercial real estate firm Franklin Street, and Anthony Everett, founder and president of Everett Realty Services in Tampa.

The bank sent the port biographical information on Vinik and his team. The documents don't reveal exact ownership interest, role or responsibilities of the parties, said Charles Klug, the port's general counsel. He expects more details soon.