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Getting Ready For The Big Game

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By B.C. MANION

bmanion@tampatrib.com

Published: November 5, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - Football fans aren't the only ones gearing up for Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa.

A construction crew is building a Country Inns & Suites at 8109 Benjamin Road, aiming to complete the 65-room hotel before Feb. 1 to accommodate out-of-town visitors for the National Football League championship game.

Amenities in the 36,000-square-foot hotel include a swimming pool and Jacuzzi, a fireplace in the lobby and an indoor fitness center. The building, estimated to cost about $7 million, will be four stories tall.

The location was selected because of its proximity to the Veterans Expressway and Tampa International Airport, said Arvind Patel, with Nobel Hospitality, which is building the project.

The hotel, when completed, will have 15 to 20 employees.

A proposal to build a soccer stadium across the street from the hotel has added to enthusiasm for the project, Patel said.

The new-era Rowdies have proposed opening a 5,000-seat stadium across from the hotel in 2010. The stadium eventually could expand to nearly 10,000 seats. Investors say the stadium would host professional soccer games for the Rowdies, high school and college soccer games, and small concerts.

Proponents of the stadium plan must receive a rezoning of the land before beginning construction.

Reporter B.C. Manion can be reached at (813) 865-1507.

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