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Tampa hopes to fix Ybor's image

The idea is to stress that the area has far more than just bars.

By JANET ZINK
Published November 29, 2005

TAMPA - There's more to Ybor City than weekend partying.

That's the message city officials want to communicate. They want to spend at least $350,000 to launch an advertising campaign to market the entertainment and historic district.

The City Council is scheduled on Thursday to vote on a $200,000 contract with Roberts Communications to develop the campaign and make initial media buys. Another $150,000 has been budgeted for future advertising. The money comes from property tax revenues generated in the district.

"We want to promote the eclectic nature of Ybor City," said Vince Pardo, manager of Ybor City Development Corp. "We do have more than just bars here. We have restaurants. We have cultural experiences. School kids are here every day of the week."

The marketing campaign, according to a request for proposals sent out by the YCDC and city officials in July, is intended to "change the perceived negative image of the Ybor District" and promote positive aspects with billboards, radio and newspaper advertisements.

Since taking off as an entertainment district in the 1990s, Ybor City has earned a reputation as an alcohol-soaked party central with a dangerous edge.

Last year, a college football player was shot and killed at the edge of Ybor City. In February, a woman fell to her death from a balcony. In June, four people were stabbed, one fatally, during a concert, and police officers shot and killed a man while breaking up an armed robbery. Early Friday, a man was shot after a fight.

On Monday, the Miami Herald ran a front-page story comparing Ybor's rich culturally diverse past to its drunken, brawling present.

"There's bad stuff going on all over the city," said Deanne Roberts, president of Roberts Communications. News stories tend to focus on the "bad stuff" going on in Ybor, she said. "We have to displace this one impression."

Roberts moved her business from the West Shore district to Ybor in March because she wanted a more creative environment for her employees.

Since opening the office in Ybor, Roberts said she's come to think that Ybor doesn't really deserve its bad reputation.

Mayor Pam Iorio has taken several steps to clean up the area.

In the past year, she has approved a teen curfew, ordered sweeps on businesses that violate rules regarding noise, signs and crowd control, and opened Seventh Avenue to vehicles on weekend nights to curb the street party atmosphere. She's pushing to strengthen restrictions on noise and take away wet-zonings of businesses that don't follow state liquor license rules. She also wants state law changed so the city can regulate drink specials in Ybor.

Brad Cooper, who's owned an art gallery in Ybor City since 1990, said Iorio's efforts are starting to make a difference.

"Everything she's done so far is great. It just takes time for it to incrementally have an impact," Cooper said.

A city-sponsored Ybor gallery hop, which has been held the second Wednesday of every month since September, has also shown that the district has more to offer than bars, he said.

"We haven't really had business from it, but it brings people down," Cooper said.

Roberts acknowledged that $350,000 won't pay for a huge advertising campaign. She hopes to get local businesses to piggyback on the project so the money will go further.

"If I can get middle-aged women like me to feel good about going to Ybor on weekend nights, we'll have done our job," she said.

--Janet Zink can be reached at 813 226-3401 or jzink@sptimes.com

[Last modified November 29, 2005, 02:15:28]