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Tampa Ignoring Untapped Middle-Age Market

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 29, 2008

Every now and then, a list of some sort comes out showing Tampa somewhere near the bottom of whatever quality the list is ranking.

It would seem Tampa is not much thought of in the neo-hip-wannabe 25-to-34 age group, generally the one responding the most to these lists. I'm not surprised.

Tampa always has been too hot, too wet and not enough like New York. Maybe it's because I've lived in other places that I have an appreciation for where I am now. Maybe it's because I'm not from New York, but I think it may be simply that Tampa has an image problem.

Specifically, we don't have one.

Orlando has an image; so do Miami and St. Pete. Even Clearwater has an image, if you're into beaches and bikinis.

Personally, I think we should build an image around the 40-to-60 age group.

This is the group of wage earners and income producers who are more financially stable, more invested in community affairs and more likely to vote. We are the people who find the theater more interesting than the Xbox. We are the ones who spend leisure time in places developed for leisure (such as a "Riverwalk," maybe), instead of at the newest nightclub for misbehavior. Well, most of us anyway.

This will not be an easy sell, but I believe it can be done. We are the ones who stood by our football team, helped our hockey team come of age and, with any luck, we'll be around in 20 years or so to see a pennant with the Rays' name on it.

As a former Midwesterner, I speak from personal experience; at best, people go where jobs are offered that meet whatever the need of the moment is, and then they move to Tampa. Why else would half of the Bronx and the other half of Brooklyn move to Tampa?

I'm not saying Tampa is for everyone. It's not. Not every 40-year-old man wants to dress up like a pirate and act a fool once a year in broad daylight, nor does every 50-year-old sun-kissed woman with a 30-year-old body want to hang out at the nearest clothing-optional resort. Or maybe they do; that's not the point. The point is, not all of us are ready for Sun City; even they have an image.

Let's face it: where the 40- to 60-year-olds go, so go the families they still support. Remember, we stop to smell the roses because we can; we are the reason for bike and running trails. We support arts festivals and elementary school fundraising drives. We like stuff like that.

I asked my 20-something daughter what she thought. She said, "Not enough money, pops, and too many old people." Her best friend "J" agreed and added, "But, you know, if you grow up here, it's different."

Well, there you have it.

William Scruggs is a Tampa resident.

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