This piece is going to be a bit opinion, a bit business as well.  It all stems from the news that was released this morning that the St. Petersburg Times, and with it the St. Pete Times Forum, will be changing into the Tampa Bay Times on January 1st, 2012.

A name change of a newspaper isn't a common thing, I do not think, while name changes for sporting venues has become all too common in this age.  Very rarely do you see venues not named for a corporate sponsor.  So the change of the Forum into the Tampa Bay Times Forum is more of the same - just a modification of what was already there.

From the press release from the team:

"Our good name is our most important asset," said Times Chairman and CEO Paul Tash. "As we take up our new name, we are delighted to raise it above the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Jeff Vinik, Tod Leiweke and their team at the Tampa Bay Lightning have proven themselves to be excellent partners who share our values and our vision for the Tampa Bay region."

The naming rights partnership, enacted September 2002, was extended to August 31th, 2018.

The arena name can change, but my nickname for the place stays the same.  This is Times Palace; a hybrid of the original name for the venue (Ice Palace) and the corporately sponsored name.  It's short, and it's catchy...  Though a degree pretentious.  

At the very least, this may stop the confusion that people have with a venue, named for  St. Petersburg, being located in downtown Tampa. 

This morning, the St. Petersburg Times gave front page attention to the changes at the St. Pete Times Forum. Most of them are supposed to be completed by Monday's home opener against the Florida Panthers - with some exceptions.

One of those exceptions is the entrance, which is being rebuilt entirely and is not expected to be ready until November.(the Forum is opening on gameday 2 hours before puck drop in order to compensate for access problems caused by this). Another not-ready-for-prime-time aspect of the renovation is supposed to be the PNC Bank Club restaurant, formerly Channelside Club.

But a major pièce de résistance of the renovation and new gameday experience at the Forum are a pair of Tesla coils that are supposed to shoot sparks after a Lightning goal. It was stated yesterday by Lightning COO Steve Griggs that the Tesla coils may not be ready for Monday, as they need to be tested thoroughly so all the kinks are ironed out.

But for the curious who want to see what is to come, below is video of the coils being tested.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning play all of one game at the St. Pete Times Forum this preseason. That's not much of a change from recent years, as the team has spent more time on the road at third-party locales than at Times Palace.

This year, however, there is different reasoning why the Bolts are only playing one game at the Forum. Actually, it's somewhere north of $35 million reasons. The renovation to the arena continues, and will continue for some time yet. A good bit of the work will be completed for the home-opener on October 17^th, but not all of it.

October 17^th is 24 days away, and Friday's preseason game at the Forum is tomorrow... That should tell you that the building remains a construction zone / work in progress.

The team issued an advisory for those attending tomorrow. Preseason games usually aren't a major draw, but of course there will be those go to see changes to the Forum first-hand, up-close, as well as to catch some Lightning hockey action.

From the team:

As fans prepare to attend Friday's game against the Panthers (7:30 p.m.), Lightning management asks them to please take note of the following:

• The McDonald's Ticket Office (and will call windows) will be located in temporary facilities on the West Plaza near the parking garage
• The Metro PCS Client Services Lounge for season ticket members is being relocated to the Rolling Thunder marketing vehicle near the ticket office
• Doors to the arena will open at 5:30 p.m. to allow fans more time to enter through stair towers on the east and west side of the Times Forum, rather than the conventional entrances, which are being rebuilt as part of the new West Entry

Fans with questions are encouraged to call the St. Pete Times Forum before coming to the game on Friday at 813.301.6500.

It's also noted in the release that you should not expect the "wow" additions to be in use for this game: Don't expect to see the lightning firing tesla coils, or hear the pipe organ, or have a drink on the new party deck. Those officially begin use on October 17th at the home opener.

Just over a week until Rookie Camp in Brandon adn South Florida. And it won't be long after that for the Lightning to commence their preseason. Already players are taking practice at the Ic e Sports Forum in Brandon.

Yeah, well, what about the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning? It's just shy of three weeks before the Forum hosts it's first and only preseason date. Will the building be ready in a round-about way to host the Lightning and the Florida Panthers? Here's the latest renovation update from the Bolts:

Join us in comments for tonight's open thread

With the $35 million revamp of the St. Pete Times Forum speeding along, and the upcoming Tampa Bay Lightning season approaching, it's time for the Forum to start looking for more help.

The Forum will be holding a Jobs Fair on Monday, August 29^th, between 5 and 8 PM. There will be a number of openings in a number of areas with and around the building::

Part Time Positions Available include:

Guest Services, Platinum Services, Plaza Team, Housekeeping, Conversion, Event Security, Parking, Valet Attendant, Box Office, Food & Beverage, Retail.

Parking will be in the East Parking Lot. Please enter through XO Club Entrance on the West Plaza

As it reads above, the positions are only part-time work, but it's certainly an opportunity for those looking for something right now. Go prepared, not only professionally, but personally to see the ongoing transformation of the Forum and the franchise itself.

Revisiting a topic from last month when I dropped the idea of Tampa hosting the 2012 NHL draft, word comes from Triblive.com that the Tampa Bay area is indeed in the running to host the event:

But, the Triblive article focuses on the Pittsburgh Penguins and Consol Energy Center as the leading candidate to host the event:

The city actually might be marked for the 2012 NHL Draft, though speculation on popular social-media platforms that the event is a lock to land at Consol Energy Center is inaccurate, according to the league.

″(The Penguins are) one of the teams in (the) 2012 draft bid process,″ said Jamey Horan, the NHL's vice president of player development and event communications. ″But no decision has been made yet.″

There is no immediate timetable to announce a destination for the next NHL Draft, which is convened annually in late June. The Tampa Bay Lightning also is a leading contender to host the event.

The Penguins have not hosted the NHL Draft since 1997 at Civic Arena.

Pittsburgh can boast a longer and more prestigious NHL history, and the Penguins are one of the marquee teams in the league with some of the marquee players of the sport (hello, Sidney Crosby...). The city of Pittsburgh also has a much more temperate climate during the summer, compared to the constant heat and humidity of the Tampa Bay area.

But could the fact the Penguins have hosted another marquee event recently (the 2011 NHL Winter Classic) work against them? Would the NHL actually be wary of continuing to over-sell Pittsburgh? Doubtful, but it's worth considering.

2012 is epic for the city of Tampa and the St. Pete Times Forum. Times Palace is already renown as a top venue for entertainment, but there are two marquee events that are making its way to the Forum next spring and summer, respectively: The 2012 NCAA Frozen Four (college hockey's equivalent to the Final Four) and the 2012 Republican National Convention (editor note: I mention the event, lets abstain from the politics / political reaction in comments, please).

But between April and August, punctuated by a few NHL hockey games and the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs (no pressure, Guy, Steve...) there's going to be a good deal of idle time at the Forum. Of course, it's not idle time for the building, as events are always ongoing there (concerts, the circus, etc), but on the scale of marquee events, Times Palace will have a break in the action around the time of the summer solstice.

How about Tampa hosting the 2012 NHL Entry Draft?

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Whether you're a Lightning fan with little ones or if you're a Lightning fan who wants to focus solely on the task at hand or if you're just a huge Woody and/or Buzz fan (there's no judgment here; I'm a Team Buzz guy myself), you may have been keeping an eye nervously on one particular storyline developing around the NHL Eastern Conference Finals: the potential conflict of dates between the Tampa Bay Lightning's series with the Boston Bruins and "Disney On Ice presents Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 3".

Well, breathe easy; management at the St. Pete Times Forum and event promoter Feld Entertainment have worked out a new schedule that will accomodate both events at the Forum next week.

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