The Super Bowl is not only one of the world’s premier sporting events: It also provides a prime opportunity for the host city — or in this case, the host region ― to showcase its charms.
Since the big game was last played here in 2009, the Tampa Bay area has gained a wealth of new restaurants, luxury hotels and cultural amenities. It has world-class beaches, a generally fine climate and three championship sports teams.
What’s not to like?
Well-heeled visitors smitten with the area and considering a move can find a wide range of luxury housing options. And prices, while steadily rising, remain lower than those in California, South Florida and many other top markets.
Here are the 10 most expensive homes currently for sale, with the listing agents in parentheses.
No. 1 — 58 Bahama Circle, Tampa
Price: $29 million
The basics: 21,796 square feet, seven bedrooms, eight full bathrooms, eight half baths, 6-car garage (Stephen Gay, Katherine Glaser)
When it comes to sports royalty, you can’t get much closer than with this bayfront behemoth built in 2011 by New York Yankees great Derek Jeter. After Jeter took over the Marlins and moved to Miami, Patriots-turned-Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and his supermodel wife Gisel Bundchen became the country’s most famous renters. Enter through a soaring 24-foot-high foyer and gaze out floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking fountains, a spa, an 80-foot saltwater lap pool and the bay. A huge clubroom boasts a full-service bar, a billiards table and multiple TVs, while other amenities include a gym, wine cellar, movie theater, in-law suite and au pair wing. The estate — which attracts gawkers by land and sea — sits on what is the largest waterfront property ever assembled on Davis Islands near downtown Tampa. (If you buy it, you’ll fit in faster if you remember to say “islands’' and not “island.”)
No. 2 — 2450 Bryan Lane, Tarpon Springs
Price: $17.7 million
The basics: 12,757 square feet, nine bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, three half baths (Linda Mellor and Daniel Westbrook)
Tarpon Springs, about 40 minutes from downtown Tampa and downtown St. Petersburg, is best known for its Greek heritage, reflected in its sponge docks and myriad restaurants serving flaming saganaki. Close to the fun but assured of privacy is this fenced estate with two separate houses on 17 park-like acres overlooking Lake Tarpon. In addition to all those bedrooms and bathrooms, there are two exercise rooms, two offices, a media room, a pool and a hidden concrete panic room. Not including a canal that runs through the property, there is 575 feet of waterfront with five docks and a boat ramp. The price includes all furnishings and a 2016 Bennington Tritoon boat.
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Explore all your optionsNo. 3 — 12321 Fort King Highway, Thonotosassa
Price: $17.5 million
The basics: 36,361 square feet, eight bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, 14 half baths. (Mary Pond and Dina Sierra Smith)
Named for the 400 live oaks on the property, the Oaks sits on 36 rolling acres on Lake Thonotosassa about a half hour east of Tampa. The main house, designed in a French country manor style, has six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms, a bowling alley, an indoor heated saltwater pool and a fitness room with steam showers, massage area and sauna. The price incudes a two-story guesthouse, an outdoor saltwater pool, a six-bay horse stable, a go-cart track and a mile-long jogging trail. The estate was built by one of the founders of Lazydays RV, said to be the world’s largest recreational vehicle dealership.
No. 4 — 501 Barcelona Drive, Tierra Verde
Price: $12.9 million
The basics: 3,093 square feet, four bedrooms, four full bathrooms (Fallon Arnold and Jennifer Zales)
If the price sounds high for a relatively modest house, it’s because it is on two waterfront acres with four docks and five boat slips in one of Tampa Bay’s most popular boating communities. Stuart Arnold, founder of the Auto Trader magazine, acquired the land — about 20 minutes from downtown St. Petersburg — to dock his yachts. Arnold died in 2017 and now his family is selling the property, which has the most waterfront footage of any currently available in the Tampa Bay area. There’s also a tennis court.
No 5 — 415 S Royal Palm Way, Tampa
Price: $9.5 million
The basics: 9,269 square feet, five bedrooms, seven full bathrooms. (Ann Mullis and Cindy Richards)
Although it is in Beach Park, one of South Tampa’s toniest neighborhoods, this house is a rarity in that it’s not on the water. The current owner, lawyer James Wilkes, is a climate-change believer who built the house in the 2000s to sit well above rising sea levels. Entry is through a foyer with onyx floors and a bronze staircase opening to a formal two-story living room, dining room and mahogany-walled den. The grounds include a fire pit, putting green, outdoor shower, pool bath and mosquito misting system. Wilkes gained national attention for suing nursing homes over claims of abuse and neglect. He also co-founded Red Vinyl records, which in a $500-million deal a few years ago sold the rights to 3,000 songs including many recorded by artists such as Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and Faith Hill.
No. 6 – 588 Riviera Drive, Tampa
Price: $9.15 million
The basics: 6,551 square feet, six bedrooms, six full bathrooms (Allan Mezrah)
Custom built in 2019, this contemporary Davis Islands home has open bay views that are visible through the second-floor master suite with its 13-foot floor to ceiling windows. Amenities include a rooftop terrace, wine cellar and elevator. The kitchen is equipped with Wolf appliances.
No. 7 – 706 Guisando de Avila, Tampa
Price: $8.5 million
The basics: 28,295 square feet 10 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and three half baths. (Toni Everett)
North of downtown Tampa, Avila is a gated community popular with pro athletes and others who seek privacy and security: Residents have included former Bucs coaches Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden and former Major League baseball player and manager Lou Piniella. Among the largest of some very large homes is this mansion on six acres modeled after a 17th-century British palace. Built in 2004 and extensively upgraded since, it has two offices, a gym, a yoga room, a formal ballroom and an art room. One of the sellers is part of the Glazer family, owners of the Bucs.
No. 8 – 5030 Sunrise Drive S, St. Petersburg
Price: $8 million
The basics: 9,093 square feet, seven bedrooms, six full bathrooms, six half baths. (Carlina Sarabia)
Built during Florida’s 1920s land boom, the main house on the southern St. Petersburg waterfront has a library, staff quarters and six fireplaces. There is also a guesthouse on the 4.5 acre bayfront property, whose outdoor space includes a double-lane lap pool, a pool house with terraces, an outdoor kitchen, a bocce ball court, a putting green and a custom pizza oven. The parcel can be subdivided.
No. 9 – 6526 Surfside Blvd., Apollo Beach
Price: $8 million
The basics: 7,628 square feet, five bedrooms, five full bathrooms (Brian Morris)
Still under construction, this house in a waterfront community south of Tampa sits on .58 acres directly on Tampa Bay. It has its own private gate and entrance, and is within walking distance of restaurants and stores.
No. 10 – 900 Park Street N, St. Petersburg
Price: $7.877 million
The basics: 10,442 square feet, six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms, three half baths (Glenda Quinn)
Like to a have few friends over to watch the game? One of Pinellas County’s largest residential lots, this 5 ½ acre estate on the Intracoastal Waterway has enough room to park more than 50 cars. The house, built in 1941 in St. Petersburg’s historic Jungle Shores area, has six fireplaces, two interior and two exterior kitchens, a private media room, a master bath with spa tub, sauna and steam room, and an enormous living room where a previous owner often hosted charity galas. The pool has been redone with an infinity edge and fountains.
Times staff writer Emily L. Mahoney contributed to this report.
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