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Fusion, A Popular Teen Hangout In New Tampa, Closes

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By SARAH ROTHWELL, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 29, 2007

NEW TAMPA - The doors have closed on a popular New Tampa teen nightspot.

Fusion High School Ministry, which occupied the former Krispy Kreme Doughnuts at 17501 Dona Michelle Drive, closed Dec. 14 so the property's owners, Colonial Bank, could move forward with construction plans.

Fusion, an outreach of St. James United Methodist Church, provided entertainment for about 200 teens. When the ministry's doors opened in August, teens turned out for Friday night concerts, filling the building and spilling out into the parking lot. Secular and Christian bands performed weekly. Now, a new space is needed to house the crowd.

"We're more than a church looking for a building," said Eric Crawford, St. James' interim youth pastor. "This is a community outreach that's proven to work. There's really a need for a place like this."

Crawford is looking for a New Tampa location large enough to accommodate a concert stage, video games and seating. Price and location present obstacles. Colonial let Fusion use the space rent-free. The ministry paid only for utilities.

"We're hoping someone will donate a new space or offer a discount," Crawford said. "We want another building that the kids think is a cool place to go, where we can continue what we were doing."

In the meantime, Fusion will hold events at St. James, 16202 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. The group will meet at 7 p.m. Fridays for social events and at 6:15 p.m. Wednesdays for Bible study. Still, it isn't the same, Crawford said.

"The space is much smaller, so it really limits what we can do," he said. "We won't be able to fit 200 kids in the building at St. James."

Crawford is taking measures to ensure teens won't forget about Fusion.

He has collected more than 100 e-mail addresses and will post updates on Fusion's MySpace page, www.myspace .com/fusion318.

"Today's teens are used to a different style," Crawford said. "They aren't all going to get up in the morning and go to a traditional church service. They need a place that's their own."

For information on Fusion, call (813) 971-4790.

Sarah Rothwell can be reached at (813) 865-4845 or srothwell @tampatrib.com.

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