TAMPA, Fla (WFLA)- It’s almost impossible to spend time in Downtown Tampa without experiencing something untouched by Jeff Vinik’s philanthropic work or business ventures.
This week, Vinik celebrates the ten-year anniversary of his $170 million purchase of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010.
Since then, Vinik and his family are embedded in the Tampa Bay community through philanthropy and investments in the growth of the community.
Vinik has invested more than $80 million in private funding into the Lightning’s home at Amalie Arena.
Under Vinik’s ownership, the Lightning have seen 231 consecutive sold out home games, thanks in large part to the team playing in the Eastern Conference Finals four times in the last ten years.
Vinik has also given back to the Tampa Bay community, under his ownership the Vinik family has donated more than $30 million to Tampa Bay area non-profits.
Just this week, the Lightning Community Heroes Program, backed by the Vinik family, reached its $20 million mark after celebrating its 397th hero.
In an interview with Lightning radio analyst Caley Chelios, Vinik expressed his hope that others are inspired by the local heroes the team features.
“For the whole organization, we’re so proud of the Community Hero Program,” Vinik said. “With all these heroes shown during our second TV time out, 20,000 people in our building also shown on TV, hopefully we’re inspiring more people to give their time, to give their dollars, to get involved and help those who are less fortunate.”
Most of Vinik’s business projects have thrived, setting a high standard for the future of Tampa Bay.
Strategic Property Partners— Vinik’s joint venture with Bill Gates’ investment fund, Cascade Investment, LLC— is playing a key role in the redevelopment of Water Street, downtown Tampa’s $3 billion-plus mixed-use project.
Vinik spent $10 million to create and establish Embarc Collective, a tech and startup innovation hub aiming to foster the startup landscape in Tampa Bay.
In 2019, Embarc Collective, led by Lakshmi Shenoy, spent 1,000 hours of coaching with tech startups. Now, the collective is comprised of 43 local startups.
Just last month, Vinik developed a new company called Vinik Sports Group to replace Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment.
“I look forward to the next ten years because we’ve got a lot more great things to do,” Vinik said.
