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- Issue #685: Downtown Sheraton Gets Luxury Makeover, Rays Stadium Experience Coming, Hot Bedrooms Hurt Sleep, Pro Women’s Basketball Heads To Tampa
Issue #685: Downtown Sheraton Gets Luxury Makeover, Rays Stadium Experience Coming, Hot Bedrooms Hurt Sleep, Pro Women’s Basketball Heads To Tampa
10/8/2026
Ted Grellner
08 Oct
GOOD MORNING
Introducing Our Newest Special Edition: North Tampa Bay High School Sports!
Your Schools. Your Teams. Your Athletes. Your Community.
Ever wonder why it’s so hard to find the latest scores, results, and upcoming games for our local high school sports teams? We have, too. And we’re doing something about it!
Following the introduction of our special Events Edition, we’re excited to announce another new weekly newsletter—this one dedicated to high school sports throughout the North Tampa Bay area!
Starting today at noon, and every Tuesday at noon thereafter, we'll bring you a convenient roundup of weekend sports results, along with upcoming games, matches, and events—so students, parents, grandparents, and local sports fans can stay connected to the teams and young athletes who make our communities proud.
And here's the best part: You'll get to try it FREE!
We'll be sending everyone several complimentary editions so you can see the value for yourself before we offer it as an optional paid upgrade to your regular newsletter.
But we need your help to make it even better!
After you've had a chance to read it, please tell us what you think. Are we covering the schools and teams you care about? Did we inadvertently leave out a local high school?
We want to hear from you!
Because our local student-athletes deserve recognition—and our community deserves an easier way to follow their achievements.
Watch your inbox today at noon. We think you're going to love what's coming!
Dr Ted
USAF Retired
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In this issue of NewTampa | WesleyChapel Local Pulse
Local News
— Former Downtown Sheraton Transforms Into Luxury Hotel With Two New Dining Destinations
— New Westshore Experience Center Will Bring Rays’ Future Stadium to Life
Medical News
— Why a Hot Bedroom Could Affect Your Sleep, Stress and Anxiety
Sports
— Pro Women’s Basketball Coming to Tampa’s Yuengling Center Next May
Former Downtown Sheraton Transforms Into Luxury Hotel With Two New Dining Destinations
Tampa’s Riverwalk is getting a major new hospitality destination as Hotel Cala prepares to open in January at 200 N. Ashley Drive, replacing the former Sheraton. The Hilton-backed “urban resort” will feature 281 renovated rooms and two new dining concepts operated by Tao Group Hospitality.
LAVO will serve as the hotel’s signature restaurant, offering upscale coastal Italian cuisine including house-made pasta, pizza and specialty dishes, along with cocktails and a curated wine selection. BarOnda will provide a more casual waterfront setting, pairing cocktails and shareable bites with views along the Riverwalk.
Designed by Rockwell Group, Hotel Cala draws inspiration from Tampa’s waterfront, tropical setting and Italian and Cuban heritage. The property will also include a resort-style pool deck with cabanas, a 24-hour fitness center and 10,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, creating another destination for downtown visitors and locals.
New Westshore Experience Center Will Bring Rays’ Future Stadium to Life
Tampa Bay Rays fans will soon get an advance look at the team’s future home through a new 15,000-square-foot Ballpark Experience Center opening in Tampa’s Westshore District early next year.
Located at 1111 N. Westshore Blvd., the center will showcase the proposed $2.36 billion stadium and surrounding 120-acre mixed-use district, scheduled to open in March 2029. About 5,000 square feet will be open to the public, featuring memorabilia, family-friendly exhibits, digital stadium previews and an opportunity for visitors to create personalized baseball cards.
The remaining space will serve prospective season-ticket holders, premium clients and sponsors, offering technology that demonstrates seating sightlines, hospitality areas and other stadium features.
Meanwhile, more than 400 construction-industry representatives attended contractor outreach sessions for the massive project. The Rays have committed more than $1.3 billion toward the stadium and cost overruns, while Tampa and Hillsborough County approved up to $876 million in combined public financing.
Why a Hot Bedroom Could Affect Your Sleep, Stress and Anxiety
A hot bedroom may affect more than comfort. A controlled study of 41 healthy adults ages 18 to 25 found nighttime heat increased anxiety, disrupted sleep and altered several biological markers associated with stress and brain health.
Researchers compared participants exposed to normal temperatures with periods of daytime heat at 89.6°F and nighttime heat at 86°F. Anxiety scores rose during both conditions, increasing 24.71% after daytime heat and 27.80% after nighttime exposure.
Nighttime heat produced broader effects. Participants experienced poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration, along with increased cortisol, inflammation and oxidative stress markers and reduced levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF.
Researchers believe hot nights may interfere with the body’s normal overnight recovery and stress-regulation processes. However, the experiment measured only short-term heat exposure in young, healthy adults, so additional research is needed to determine whether the findings apply to older adults or repeated long-term exposure.
A person can be asleep without realizing it. In a phenomenon called sleep-state misperception, people who are objectively sleeping can perceive themselves as having been awake for much of the night. Brain monitoring may show genuine sleep even while the person later reports, quite sincerely, that they “never slept.”
Pro Women’s Basketball Coming to Tampa’s Yuengling Center Next May
Tampa is adding another professional sports franchise as The UpShot League brings a women’s basketball team to the city in 2027. The yet-to-be-named expansion team will play its home games at Yuengling Center beginning in May 2027, with season-ticket deposits already being accepted.
The UpShot League launched in 2026 with teams in Jacksonville, Savannah, Charlotte and Greensboro. The growing professional league offers another opportunity for talented players hoping to continue their careers, including college standouts pursuing eventual WNBA opportunities. Several players from the league’s inaugural season later signed WNBA deals.
Tampa is among the league’s first expansion markets, strengthening its presence in the Southeast. Local fans are also being invited to help name the new Tampa franchise. The team will join a growing Tampa Bay professional sports landscape that includes the Buccaneers, Rays, Lightning, Rowdies and Tampa Bay Sun FC.
Top Events in Tampa Bay this week of: | Best Things to Do in Tampa Bay this weekend | TB Weekend Entertainment Guide | |
|---|---|---|---|
October 5 | Augus | May | |
Source: tampabay.com | Source: | Source: |
Useful Arts & Entertainment Event Links
The Arts
- The Exhibiting Society of Artists (new)
- USF College of the Arts
- USF Steinway Piano Concert Series
Theater
- NTPAC - New Tampa Performing Arts Center
- New Tampa Players
- USF School of Theatre & Dance
- Wesley Chapel Theater Group
- Carrollwood Players Theatre
Misc
- Carrollwood Center Events
- Craft Festivals (new)
- Fall (Farmer’s) Market Guide for Tampa Bay (new)
- The Krate, WC
- The Shops at Wiregrass, WC
- visitflorida.com
For Kids
- Fun4TampaKids
What Did You Think of This Issue? |
—> Comments are welcomed after voting
Reader Comments
“As always, great read with valuable information. Thanks Dr. Ted!”
“Always informative and interesting!”
“I always enjoy reading your updates. Thanks so much!”
“My favorite morning coffee companion!”
“As always! Appreciate the positivity!! Best morning read.”
“I always enjoy these issues. Thanks so much!”
“Best local newsletter!”
“Love seeing all the community events in one place. The calendar is
getting crowded.
“Always has good info and to the point.”
“Read this in the am. I like the new restaurants feature so I know when things will open. ”
“Keep up on the great information.”
“Good local coverage. Great job.”
“News is concise and no nonsense. I always appreciate it!”
“Good mix and balance of interesting, newsworthy and entertaining content.”
“Happy to read something other than politics. Great job.”
“This is my daily morning read. Great info. ”
“Love the attention grabbing topics that encompass what’s going on now as well as future implications. Great job. ”
“I get Information here that I might otherwise miss.”
“I love this newsletter, the type of information without the useless fillers.”
Any suggestions are always welcomed - Thanks