The Ford Amphitheatre is located at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 7 miles east of downtown Tampa. It is host to some of the world’s biggest entertainers.
It opened in 2004 and is Tampa’s first state-of-the-art outdoor concert facility. It has over 9,500 reserved seats under the clamshell roof, with room for an additional 10,000 fans on the Festival Lawn. The lawn seats are sloped and they are general admission.
The roof is very unique and is made out of a translucent fabric. It is approximately 80’ to 90’ above the audience and provides about 2.5 acres of shade. The roof design allows all the reserved seats and lawn seats to have unobstructed views of the stage.
There are two 20’ x 30’ video screens on each side of the main stage and LED screens have been added in the Festival Lawn area.
The Ford Amphitheatre is a Live Nation venue. Live Nation is the world’s largest live entertainment company on the planet. They are a publicly traded company and have venues all over the world. They are also the owner of the House of Blues restaurant chain.
The Florida State Fairgrounds are conveniently located just off of I-4 and US Highway 301. I-4 connects Tampa and Orlando and goes right by Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. You can easily see the Ford Amphitheatre from a distance as you are entering or leaving the Tampa Bay area. It is right along I- 4.
The Fairgrounds consist of approximately 320 acres, which allow the Ford Amphitheatre ample parking for any show. Access to parking is through the Florida State Fairgrounds’ main gate off US Highway 301 and the secondary entrance off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. There is a preferred carpool lot available on a first come first served basis for cars with 4 or more people. Parking lots usually open 2 hours before the show
The box office hours for the venue are Monday – Friday 10:00am to 5:00pm. They are only open on weekends, the day of a show, or when tickets for a show go on sale that day. They accept MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express. The box office has a service charge of $5 per ticket and all shows are sold “Rain or Shine”.
There are accessible seats available in all price ranges and they are sold as 1 accessible seat plus 1 companion seat. Accessible seats are in row A in each section.
Even though the Ford Amphitheatre is an outdoor venue, you must wear your shoes and shirts at all times. As you can imagine this can be a problem during Ozzfest. They allow you to bring in a 1-gallon clear plastic bag of snacks per person and up to a 20 oz. factory sealed bottle of water per person. Be prepared to have everything checked thoroughly at the gate.
If you are looking for a great place to see a show in an outdoor setting, the Ford Amphitheatre is an outstanding place to go. It is an easy drive from Orlando and an even easier drive from the Tampa Bay area. Check our calendars often, because the big names come to the Ford Amphitheatre.