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Outback Bowl fans are here to stay, spend

By TIMES WIRES
Published December 5, 2006

Unlike a year ago, tourism businesses are smiling over the Outback Bowl. You might recall the grumbling last year after the bowl committee picked the University of Florida, because many Gator fans were day-trippers who didn't stay in local hotels or eat in the restaurants. It has been obvious for a while the Gators were headed for a bigger bowl. The Outback opponents, Penn State and the University of Tennessee, have big fan followings. Neither team has come to Tampa for a bowl game in years. The Nittany Lions last appeared in the 1999 Outback Bowl. The Volunteers haven't played locally since 1993, when the event was still called the Hall of Fame Bowl. "Both are excellent teams that travel well for bowl games," said Bob Morrison, executive director of the Hillsborough County Hotel & Motel Association.

Coming soon: a great place to work

Now that hotshot California researcher SRI International is officially expanding to St. Petersburg to team up with USF-St. Pete, we learn the organization is apparently a pretty good employer, as well. San Jose magazine recently honored the nonprofit SRI as one of Silicon Valley's "Best Places to Work." SRI won kudos for offering up to $100 per month in tax-free transit assistance, on-site massages, a staff activities center, emergency backup child care, employee art exhibitions, and local and community involvement. Here's hoping SRI is also an employment trend-setter in the Tampa Bay area.

Lincare gets credit for rapid growth

Expect Lincare Holdings Inc. to keep growing. The Clearwater home oxygen company just upgraded its line of credit to $390-million from a $200-million credit agreement that was slated to expire in April. The syndicate of lenders for the five-year credit facility includes Bank of America and Calyon's New York branch. Lincare consistently reports double-digit revenue increases thanks to an aggressive strategy of both acquisitions and new center openings. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the company reported sales of $358-million, up 11.8 percent from the prior year. Lincare provides oxygen to 648,000 customers in 47 states.

[Last modified December 4, 2006, 23:31:29]