As a follow-up to our story from a few weeks ago regarding Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik’s interest in the Channelside Bay Plaza retail complex next to the Tampa Bay Times Forum, it would appear that Vinik has emerged as the top bidder for the property.
Actually, to use the words of the TBO.com article on the matter, Vinik has emerged as “the only qualified bidder”.
The article accentuates the notion by providing a quote from a member of the competing bid, which sounds like a concession:
Ken Jones, who was helping to lead the Edwards bid, said, “I have a lot of respect and admiration for Vinik’s group and we hope to be helpful in any way. I’m excited to see a guy with his level of commitment and dedication to be involved in this.”.
The bank will present the Vinik bid to the Tampa Port Authority in the near future, though the Port is under no obligation to accept Vinik’s bid/offer for the property.
