We are counting down the minutes till Taylor Swift brings her Eras Tour to Tampa. The first show is taking place on Thursday, April 13 with two more shows after that. With 3 sell-out crowds that means that roughly over 225,000 people will be around the Raymond James Stadium these days. Also, don’t forget her merch bus opens outside of Ray Jay on April 12. Need ideas on where to pregame before the show? We have a list of 5 great restaurants near Raymond James Stadium.
Doors to the show open at 4:30. We recommend getting to Ray Jay around that time if you want plenty of time to buy merch, head to the bathroom, or grab a couple beverages before the show. A nice tip we’ve seen on social media is to head to the highest level and check out the merch stands there. They may not have everything like the ones in the ground level will, but if you head there first the lines should be shorter. You can also skip the hassle and buy merch from Taylor’s website, but shipping will take about a month. Also, be aware of Raymond James’ bag policy. Swifties in other cities have been turned away at the front of security line because their bag is either too big or not clear. Read more about parking and security tips here.
So where should you go to eat before the show? There’s plenty of great restaurants by Raymond James to choose from. Know that you may not be able to leave your car there, even if it’s walking distance. But it may make your Uber price cheaper to get picked up from these places instead or waiting at the drop off area at the stadium. We went to Yelp to see the highest rated places and added a few of our own favorites.