After 43 years, the legendary “Bro Bowl” in Tampa remains one of the coolest aspects of our city – a historic symbol of skate culture and architectural excellence. From appearing in Tony Hawk’s Underground (THUG), to making the National Register of Historic Places, the Bro Bowl’s legacy thrives. The City of Tampa posted a wonderful tribute to the skate icon. Fandom has an entire gallery dedicated to the Tampa level in THUG if you want to see are city rendered for a skating game circa 2003.
The Bro Bowl at Perry Harvey Sr. Park Skate Park aka “Bro Bowl 2.0” was formally dedicated to the public on April 16, 2016, writes Team Pain, a group that has designed and built skateparks across the country.
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Bro Bowl immortalized in Tony Hawk’s Underground
According to city officials, it was one of the first public skate parks in Florida. The Bro Bowl was first built in the 1970’s and became the first skate park to be added to the National Register of Historic Places.
“Ultimately though, the City of Tampa was in favor of demolishing and relocating the skate park to honor Tampa’s once thriving black business districts by creating “Perry Harvey Sr. Park” to include statues, murals and other interactive artwork,” writes Team Pain. Tampa broke ground on Perry Harvey Sr park in 2015.
City officials decided to build a replica in the new skate park after several pleas from the public to save the Bro Bowl. It was originally built in 1978 and named a historic landmark in 2013.
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The Bro Bowl 2.0 spans 17,000 square feet at 1200 N Orange Avenue. The Bro Bowl 2.0 had its official grand opening back in April 2016, where then mayor Bob Buckhorn joined in the festivities, and even let a skater ollie over him.
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