Benchmark International Arena Game Day Guide
Tampa Bay Lightning · Tampa, FL
Know Before You Go
- Bag policy
Bags larger than 12 x 12 x 12 inches are prohibited, and bags larger than 4 x 6 x 1.5 inches at hockey games must go through X-ray screening.
Medical and parenting bags larger than the general limit are permitted but receive additional screening; all entry points may use additional search techniques.
- Gate opening
General doors normally open 60 minutes before puck drop for Lightning games.
Benchmark International Club Level, Ashley VIP Lounge, and Executive Suite guests may enter 90 minutes before puck drop; times can change without notice.
- Mobile tickets
All tickets for games and events at Benchmark International Arena are mobile only.
Tickets are sold through Ticketmaster and the ReliaQuest Ticket Office.
- Re-entry
Guests who exit Benchmark International Arena during a hockey game cannot re-enter.
- Prohibited items
Prohibited items include oversized bags, camera and binocular bags, audio or video recorders, lasers, weapons, bottles and cans, sharp objects, sticks, fireworks, pepper spray, outside food and drink, controlled substances, chairs, wrapped gifts, large or pole-mounted signs, noisemakers, and sharp chains or spikes.
For Lightning games, still cameras with lenses shorter than 6 inches are permitted, but video and audio recording equipment is not.
- First aid
First Aid rooms staffed by Tampa Fire Rescue are across from Sections 112 and 312.
Notify the nearest arena employee when medical help is needed away from either room.
- Nursing and lactation
A Nursing Mothers Room is located between Sections 129 and 130.
- Family restrooms
Family and ADA restrooms are designated at Sections 208 and 328.
Family restrooms include baby-changing tables, and baby-changing stations are also available in restrooms on the Promenade, Club, Terrace, and IOA Suite levels.
- Tickets for children
Children younger than 2 are admitted free when they sit on an accompanying adult's lap.
The age limit can change at a show promoter's request, so confirm event-specific exceptions with Client Services or the ticket office.
- Guest services
Guest Services is on the main concourse across from Section 101, with additional representatives throughout the arena.
For an emergency contact during an event, call Arena Security at 813-301-6770 and provide the section, row, and seat.
- Service animals
Service animals are permitted inside Benchmark International Arena.
- Smoking and vaping
Cigarettes, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco, vaping devices, and pipes are prohibited inside the arena.
Cigar smoking is permitted only in the designated Cigar Lounge, and the venue states that this exception can change.
Game Day Timeline
What the day looks like at Benchmark International Arena, hour by hour.
Walk the Tampa Riverwalk
The 2.6-mile waterfront path connects hotels, restaurants, and parks to the arena. Start at Water Street Tampa or Bayshore.
Pregame in the Channel District
Hattricks Lounge and Sparkman Wharf are the go-to pregame spots. Or take the free TECO Streetcar to Ybor City for cigars and Cuban food.
Doors open
Enter Benchmark International Arena and catch warm-ups. The Tesla coils above the scoreboard (yes, real Tesla coils) are a Lightning signature.
Find your seat
The arena fills with blue-and-white jerseys. Lightning fans have become among the most passionate in the NHL since the Cup runs.
Game time
Three 20-minute periods. The Tesla coils fire after every Lightning goal, an experience unique to Benchmark International Arena.
Grab a Cuban sandwich
Tampa's Cuban sandwich is the signature arena food. Pair it with a Cigar City Jai Alai IPA, brewed locally.
Ybor City or Water Street
Take the free TECO Streetcar to Ybor City for post-game nightlife, or walk Water Street Tampa for waterfront dining.
Tips & Fan Reports
Benchmark International Arena has real Tesla coils that fire after every Lightning goal. It's unique in the NHL.
Ybor City (TECO Streetcar connection) has Tampa's best nightlife for postgame. The streetcar runs late.
The Tampa Riverwalk connects the arena to the Convention Center and Curtis Hixon Park. Walk along the water pregame.
The free TECO Streetcar connects the arena to Ybor City. Use it for pregame and post-game bar-hopping.
Tampa is warm year-round. Shorts and a Lightning jersey are perfectly acceptable at a January hockey game.
Benchmark International Arena's waterfront location means stunning sunset views from the plaza before evening games.
Doors open only 60 minutes before puck drop unless you hold Benchmark International Club Level, Ashley VIP Lounge or Executive Suite tickets.
The Pam Iorio Garage and the Teal Lot are both a three-minute walk, but the arena runs no parking itself.
For a Lightning game the X-ray threshold drops to 4 by 6 by 1.5 inches, far below the general 12-inch limit, so only a bag under that size skips the scanner.
Accessible drop-off is the circle off Channelside Drive beside the Accessible Entrance.
Before the Game
Benchmark International Arena is at 401 Channelside Drive, controls none of the parking in downtown Tampa and publishes no tailgating policy. The closest garage and lot it recommends are each a 0.1 mile, three-minute walk: the Pam Iorio Parking Garage at Channelside Drive and South Florida Avenue/South Morgan Street, and the Teal Lot off South Morgan Street and Eunice Street. The bag rule has a hockey-specific tightening that catches people: bags over 12 by 12 by 12 inches are prohibited generally, but for hockey games anything larger than 4 by 6 by 1.5 inches must go through an X-ray scanner. Doors open 60 minutes before a Lightning game, or 90 for Benchmark International Club Level, Ashley VIP Lounge and Executive Suite guests.
Where to Go Before the Game
Pam Iorio Parking Garage
At Channelside Drive and South Florida Avenue/South Morgan Street, with two entrances, a 0.1 mile, three-minute walk from the arena. The City of Tampa runs it, it has elevator access throughout, and the arena names it the most convenient place for disabled parking.
Known for 0.1 mile, 3 min walk · Two entrances · City of Tampa garage
Channelside Drive drop-off circle
The arena's own address is 401 Channelside Drive. The accessible drop-off area is off Channelside Drive in the drop-off circle, next to the Accessible Entrance, and staff will bring a free wheelchair and escort on request.
Known for 401 Channelside Drive · Accessible drop-off · Beside the Accessible Entrance
Downtown Tampa parking
The arena runs none of the downtown garages and lots, but recommends them by the direction you arrive from, from the Teal Lot off South Morgan Street and Eunice Street, a 0.1 mile walk, out to the Florida Aquarium Lot, 0.4 mile and about nine minutes away.
Known for Not arena-controlled · Grouped by arrival direction
Pregame Rules
What Benchmark International Arena allows before the game, and what it does not.
- Bags larger than 12" x 12" x 12" are prohibited. Large bags, not including small clutches, must go through an X-ray scanner prior to entry.
- For hockey games, bags larger than 4" x 6" x 1.5" must go through an X-ray scanner prior to entry.
- Medical and parenting bags exceeding these sizes are permitted, subject to additional search procedures.
- Doors open for a Tampa Bay Lightning game 60 minutes prior to puck drop. Doors for Benchmark International Club Level, Ashley VIP Lounge and Executive Suite guests open 90 minutes prior.
- The arena does not control any parking in the downtown area. The Pam Iorio Parking Garage, at Channelside Drive and South Florida Avenue/South Morgan Street, is a 0.1 mile walk and the most convenient for disabled parking.
- An accessible drop-off area is off Channelside Drive in the drop-off circle, adjacent to the Accessible Entrance.
Weather
Benchmark International Arena is indoor, so these are the conditions for the parking lot and the walk in, not the seats.
Across the NHL season the warmest month is October, with an average high of 86°F, and the coldest is January, when the average low is 53°F. January is the wettest month at 2.6 inches and November the driest at 1.4 inches.
That January low ranks 31st coldest of the 32 NHL venues, and January here ranks 25th wettest.
October
2.3 inchesNovember
1.4 inchesJanuary
2.6 inchesMarch
2.5 inchesApril
2.5 inchesWhat to Bring
- Only the outside food and drink the rule allows
Outside food and beverages are prohibited except when needed for medical purposes.
- A card or a phone wallet
All arena-managed retail and concession locations use cashless payment.
How We Checked This Page
Every section below names the source it was read from and the day it was read. Where we could not reach a published figure, the page says so rather than presenting an estimate as a checked fact.
- Game day timeline
Gate opening time checked against the venue's own gate-opening policy: General doors normally open 60 minutes before puck drop for Lightning games.
- Pregame
Benchmark International Arena official site (benchmarkintlarena.com): Arena Guide, Parking, and ADA / Accessibility
- Weather
NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
- Venue policies
Current Benchmark International Arena guide, accessibility, ticketing, parking, and Tampa Bay Lightning dietary pages reviewed for Lightning policies.