The fixture
The Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl plays on Friday, December 18, 2026, with a 2:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Raymond James Stadium, 4201 N Dale Mabry Hwy in Tampa. The bowl's ticket page and the stadium's event block carry the same date and time.
One night of rooms
A 2:30 p.m. Friday kickoff takes Friday out of the working calendar. Arrive Thursday, hold one night of rooms, play Friday, and fly home Friday evening or Saturday morning.
A third night covers the Saturday after the game, and the property sets the rate for that night.
The stadium clock
Raymond James Stadium publishes the running order for this game. Parking lots open at 11:00 a.m., the ticket office opens at 11:00 a.m., gates open at 1:00 p.m., and kickoff lands at 2:30 p.m.
Gates open 90 minutes before the ball. A coach that reaches Dale Mabry at 12:30 p.m. has 30 minutes to unload and clear security before the gate line builds.
The ticket office opens on event days only and sits between the Suzuki Marine and Fifth Third Bank gates. Rideshare drop-off and pickup happen at Mass Transit.
Three rules for the group email
Every patron needs a ticket, regardless of age. Tickets are mobile only, and a screenshot will not scan at the gate. The stadium runs a no-bag policy and allows one clutch purse no larger than 4.5 by 6.5 inches.
Send those three lines with the itinerary.
Thursday evening and the 2025 block party
The bowl ran its block party at The Sail, 333 S. Franklin St, on December 18, 2025 at 4:30 p.m., the day before the 2025 game. Each team's head coach and selected players addressed fans before the bands played. A DJ and tailgating games followed.
The bowl's fan-events page still prints those 2025 dates and times. Ask the bowl office for the 2026 date before you print an agenda, and hold Thursday evening open either way.
The Sail sits at the Tampa Convention Center, 5.5 miles and about 11 minutes by road from the stadium in a routing estimate. A downtown base puts the group at the party and a coach ride from the gate.
Suites, sized by the seat count
Raymond James Stadium sells suites in three published sizes: 8-person, 16-person and 36-person. The suite desk answers at 813-998-3877.
An 8-person suite covers a leadership group and its guests. A 36-person suite covers a client party with a catering line. The stadium site publishes no price for either.
Ask the suite desk for four numbers: the price for this game, the food and beverage minimum, the deposit date, and the date the suite releases back to the stadium.
Tickets and the block
Public ticket sales open in December, after Selection Day on December 6 and after the teams are named. Group ticket sales run through Ben Salo at (813) 301-6623.
The bowl names Tampa Marriott Water Street and JW Marriott Tampa Water Street as official host hotels. Its wider preferred list sits behind the host hotels page.
No hotel page prints a rate, a cut-off date, a block code or a minimum stay. Those terms live at the sales desk.
Put four asks in one email to each sales office: the nightly rate for the block, the cut-off date, the minimum stay, and the last date to cancel without penalty. Add a fifth for a Thursday morning arrival: early check-in for part of the block.
Counting rooms for one night
A one-night block turns on two numbers: the peak room count, which sets what the desk will hold, and the number of rooms the group will guarantee.
Ask what the contract says about unsold rooms. Get that answer in writing with the rate and the cut-off date.
Ask for the block on one page, with the rate, the cut-off, the release terms and the deposit date.
Florida, and where the booking has to happen
bookMyTeam publishes a seller-of-travel notice, last updated October 22, 2026. The notice states that the platform cannot process hotel booking requests from residents of, or for travel to, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa and Washington. Florida law, Chapter 559 of the Florida Statutes, requires sellers of travel to register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and bookMyTeam is not currently registered as a Florida Seller of Travel.
Book this trip direct with each property's group sales office. Questions about the notice go to compliance@hotelhuddle.com.
The calls to make this week
Call the suite desk at 813-998-3877 for the 8-person and 36-person price. Call group tickets at (813) 301-6623 for the seat map once teams are named. Call both host hotels for the Thursday night block. Call the bowl office for the 2026 block party time.
Four calls set the budget, the room count and the Thursday evening plan before Selection Day on December 6.
