Nine Hours in One Hall, on a Sunday
Showcase of Champions runs Dec. 6, 2026, at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. Hwy 301 N, Tampa. The venue calendar carries 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event page prints the date as All Day. The calendar entry carries the clock.
The competition occupies the Entertainment Hall: 51,000 square feet, 36-foot ceilings, a stage, portable bleachers for spectators, two downstairs dressing rooms, complimentary Wi-Fi and utilities through the floor and wall. Combined with the adjacent Expo Hall the footprint reaches 138,000 square feet. Visitors enter from U.S. Hwy 301 at Gate 1.
What the Gate Charges
Spectator admission runs $25. Children 3 and under enter free. Four spectators pay $100. Six pay $150. A squad with two parents per athlete multiplies that figure by roster line.
The event page prices parking at “$10 online | $12 onsite.” The parking portal lists “Showcase of Champions December 2026 - Single Entry,” dated Dec. 6, 2026, “One Time Entry Only. Enter through Hwy 301 entrance,” “General Parking $10.00.”
Two Dollars a Vehicle, Once per Entry
The spread is $2 per entry. One car saves $2. Two cars save $4.
The portal terms carry the bite. “Each Ticket Is Good For One Parking Entry.” “Parking does not include Event Entry.” A party that leaves for lunch and returns buys a second entry.
Nine hours makes that second entry likely. Prepay the pass, then ask the property whether a walk or a shuttle removes it entirely.
Sunday Creates the Saturday Night
Dec. 6, 2026 is a Sunday. An 8 a.m. floor call puts the travelling family in a bed on Dec. 5.
The competition closes at 5 p.m. and school runs the following morning. A second night buys no attendance. Ask the property to quote Saturday and Sunday as separate lines, and put both figures in writing.
Seven Partners, 0.2 to 5.0 Miles, No Rates
The venue publishes seven hotel partners with a distance field. Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tampa Fairgrounds Casino sits at 0.2 miles and reads “directly across the street from the Florida State Fairgrounds.” Wyndham Garden Tampa Fairgrounds/Casino sits at 1.5 miles. Staybridge Suites Tampa-Brandon sits at 2.7 miles. Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-East/Brandon sits at 2.8 miles. Courtyard Tampa-Brandon sits at 4.4 miles. Cambria Hotel Tampa-Brandon sits at 5 miles. Hampton Inn & Suites Tampa East sits at 5.0 miles.
No dollar figure appears across those seven entries. That absence is the negotiating surface. Send the distance and the gate time in one message so each property answers against a known clock.
Two Distance Fields Split From Their Copy
Wyndham Garden prints 1.5 miles in the Distance field and “just one mile” in its copy. Hilton Garden Inn prints 2.8 in the field and “less than 2 miles” in its copy. Treat the field as the published number and ask for drive time in writing.
Four Numbers for the Request
Send the Dec. 5 arrival, the 8 a.m. Dec. 6 gate, the spectator count and the $12 onsite parking rate. Ask for the Saturday rate in writing, the Sunday night as its own line, and a parking credit covering one entry per vehicle.
Six spectators and four athletes pay $150 at the gate and $24 for two cars at the onsite rate. Those dollars are committed. The room line is open, and a Saturday night inside a December weekend is where the ask belongs.
Florida Sits Outside the Platform’s Booking Scope
The hotelhaggle.org seller-of-travel page, last updated Oct. 21, 2026, reads that the company cannot process hotel booking requests “from residents of or for travel to Florida, Hawaii, Iowa and Washington.” The Florida line reads “Not currently registered as a Florida Seller of Travel” and cites Chapter 559, Florida Statutes. The page states the restriction applies across grouprooms.org, hotelhaggle.org, hotelslots.org, bookmyteam.org and partners.hotelhuddle.com.
Tampa sits in Florida. The request travels directly to each property. compliance@hotelhuddle.com answers written questions about the restriction.
