Tampa Bay Lightning’s New Sensory Room At Amalie Arena

The Tampa Bay Lightning have introduced an incredible new sensory room at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa.

So much to love about our team. The Tampa Bay Lightning organization is first class in every way. It appears the Bolts have a "community first" mentality. I've always loved the way the honor local heroes during games. The organization has been proactive in terms of inclusion. And they just recently made a move to make nights at games even more comfortable and inclusive.

Here's how their new sensory room came about. The Lightning's DET Council got together with CARD, which is University of South Florida's Center for Autism & Related Disabilities. Between the two teams working together, they were able to come up with amazing room that is geared toward making guests at Amalie who have sensory processing challenges comfortable. When a guest visits the room, they have access to tools and environment that can either help stimulate or calm them, depending on their needs.

Elizabeth Frazier is Lightning executive vice president of community and development and social impact. I've had a chance to speak with her during interviews on Q105. She's incredible at her job and really cares about the community. She spoke about the new sensory room at Amalie Arena explaining, “The addition of the sensory room reflects our ongoing commitment to providing innovative solutions to support the diverse needs of our community. We want every guest who enters our building to feel welcome, safe, and supported, and this new sensory room is a significant step towards achieving that goal.”

Imagine having a child with sensory challenges or having those challenges yourself. You can step away from the noise of the game and the crowd and go to the room which is located in the Lexus Suites entrance lobby at Gate C.

On April 9, the Lightning celebrated Neurodiversity Night when they played Columbus. Before the game, Lightning players and employees held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to usher in the new era of the sensory room at Amalie Arena.

Check out the Tampa Bay Lightning season schedule here.

The first two games in the Tampa Bay Lightning's quest for another Stanley Cup will be in Toronto. That's an awful long drive so if you want to be around fellow Bolts fans, here are some great spots all over the Tampa area to catch the games where it'll get loud and rowdy.

The team's official watch parties that have been announced so far are both at Sparkman Wharf. There will be live entertainment, playoff swag, giveaways, autographed prizes, concession specials, Thunderbug and more. The watch parties will begin one hour before game time and are free to the public. While that's cool, maybe you want to stay closer to home. So here are our favorite spots to catch Lightning games.

Head to Dave & Buster's near the Westfield Brandon Mall. Lots of big screens and lots of parking. Try the soft pretzels with honey mustard.

Thanks to Cari Batstone McLaughlin for this tip. She loves Norton's Sports Bar because they make special Lightning shots for her.

Head to Shaker & Peel. It's definitely American style Mexican but the margaritas are pretty solid.

Head to Fairway Pizza & Sports Page Pub. Some buffalo shrimp sound good?  Their wings are good too.  But most come for the pizza.

Located on the water, get some Loaded Island Fries at Whiskey Joe's Bar & Grill.  They're sweet potato waffle fries topped with BBQ pulled pork.

The party's always on at Ferg's near Tropicana Field.  Sure you'll find mostly Rays games, but you'll find a few TVs showing Bolts games too.

Hattricks is the no brainer choice if you're in Tampa.  The best wings around and it's a hockey themed bar even when the game's  not on. Other good Tampa choices include Riveters, Brickhouse Tavern, The Blind Goat, and Yoeman's.

A huge beer and cocktail selection, the Irish 31 Pub House & Eatery is a great spot for a pint of Guiness and a burger.