Top stories of the week: Tampa bottling giant sues YouTuber over contract; Vinik working to transition Tampa Bay Lightning ownership and more
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Tampa Bay's source for local business news & events. Part of the American City Business Journals network.
Tampa bottling giant demands $68M from YouTuber over production contract
Refresco US Inc. is suing the sports drink brand owned by social media influencer Logan Paul on allegations his team reneged on a multiyear contract that left the bottling company on the hook for millions of dollars it spent to refit a custom production line.
Christina Georgacopoulos has the details.
Vinik working on deal to eventually transition control of Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik is in talks to expand the team’s ownership group in a deal that, if it closes, will value the hockey team at nearly $2 billion, according to Canadian sports channel Sportsnet .
Vinik began expanding the Lightning’s ownership several years ago. New York-based private equity firm Arctos Sports Partners bought minority stakes in the Lightning in 2022 and 2023. Vinik had been the sole owner of the Lightning since former CEO Tod Leiweke, who was a minority owner of the team, left the organization in 2015.
Ashley Gurbal Kritzer has the story.
On the front
Here's this week's cover story
In the late 2010s, as construction cranes rose over the urban cores of Tampa and St. Petersburg, siblings Courtney Bissett-Hayes and Paul Bisset had an idea: Why not bring some city-worthy development to the suburbs?
Their brainchild took the form of The Hub at Bexley, a 44,000-square-foot retail village in the master-planned community of Bexley.
Read more about it in this week's digital edition.
New nightclub to open in downtown St. Pete
Opulence Nightclub plans to open in late August at the former site of Ringside Cafe in downtown St. Petersburg. The club will feature Afrobeats, house and R&B music.
Henry Queen has the news.
Recommended by LinkedIn
• • •
Sign up for Tampa Bay Business Journal's emails to get the latest business news for Tampa Bay in your inbox twice a day. Already signed up and loving the work we do? Consider subscribing for less than $3 a week.
• • •
Jesuit High School president to resign next month
Father Richard Hermes has announced he will be resigning as president of Jesuit High School of Tampa, FL .
Hermes served in the role for 16 years, making him the longest-tenured president in the Catholic school’s history. He is being reassigned by the Jesuits U.S. Central and Southern Province, of which Jesuit is an apostolate.
Breanne Williams has more.
Column: Why your rent isn’t coming down anytime soon
Apartment rents in Tampa Bay have soared 50% since 2019, and while renters hope for relief, it’s not likely to come.
Despite a slight decrease in rents over the past year, this trend won’t last. Per CoStar Group , a real estate analytics company, apartment rents in Tampa Bay declined 1.8% over the past 12 months, or $30 per month on a median monthly rent of $1,750. The reduction is due to a flood of new apartments in the market.
Through the 2000s, Tampa Bay saw an average of 2,000 to 3,000 new apartments built per year, with a record 5,000 units in 2021. New inventory today is two to three times the record number of units with 10,600 new apartments completed and another 14,000 units under construction.
Read more about it in this week's guest column by Owen LaFave .
More Trending Headlines this week:
That's all for this week's top headlines, and thanks for supporting the TBBJ. This weekly round-up of Tampa Bay business news was compiled by Devonta Davis, digital producer. Questions? Comments? Concerns? News tips? Send them to dddavis@bizjournals.com.
For more business news, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram.