The Tampa Sportatorium, where wrestling was filmed, might be demolished

TAMPA — The building at 106 N. Albany Ave. only hosted professional wrestling for about a quarter of its existence, but fans say enough happened there to make the century-old structure a significant part of Tampa’s history.

Known as the Tampa Sportatorium, it served from 1965-1987 as a television studio and office for Championship Wrestling from Florida, which was considered one of the nation’s preeminent promotions.

Now, the Tampa Sportatorium seems destined for demolition.

In late 2022, Tampa City Council approved to have that city block, which includes four other parcels, rezoned to allow for an eight-story building with 235 residential units and nearly 10,000 square feet of commercial space.

The developer and property owner, St. Louis, Missouri-based Subtext Living, did not respond to two emails and two voicemails asking for an update on the project, but their website says groundbreaking is set for 2025.

Demolition permits have not yet been submitted to the city but, during the first week of July, salvaging crews were cleaning out the structures sitting on the two acres of land.

The city’s Historic Preservation Commission must review a request to demolish a building that is 50 years old or older. If the commission feels a building might meet local historic landmark criteria, it is then up to city council to decide if the designation should be placed on the structure despite the owner’s objection. Such designation makes it harder to knock down a building.

Historic preservationist Del Acosta said the commission considers whether the architecture is historically significant or something or someone significant is associated with the building. The structure’s exterior seems to have been altered since it was first built for a dry cleaning business, so its architecture likely won’t qualify as historic.

Was Championship Wrestling from Florida an important enough part of Tampa history?

“Clearly, the answer is yes,” said Barry Rose, who, as an archivist of Florida professional wrestling history, admitted he is biased. “If someone doesn’t consider it important, they need a history lesson. Back then, Tampa didn’t have the Bucs or other professional sports. Tampa had professional wrestling and the wrestlers were Tampa’s biggest stars.”

Before the WWE ruled the professional wrestling landscape as a global promotion, different areas of the country had regional promotions, most of which fell under the nationwide umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance.

Championship Wrestling From Florida was founded in Tampa in 1949 by Clarence Luttrall and was later owned by Eddie Gossett and his son Mike Gossett. News archives say the first match was held at the two-story Tampa Sportatorium in 1961. According to property records, the promotion purchased the building in 1965 for $4,000.

A sampling of those who performed regularly at the Tampa Sportatorium include Dusty Rhodes, Buddy Colt, Boris Malenko, Wahoo McDaniel, Hiro Matsuda, Dory and Terry Funk, Jack and Gerald Brisco, and Brian Blair.

“Whenever people ask me who walked through those doors, I say it would be easier for me to come up with a list of guys who didn’t walk through those doors,” Rose said.

Television shows were taped there Wednesdays and broadcast on Saturdays. Matches of consequence rarely occurred at the tapings, but rather involved a big star easily defeating an unknown to entice fans to attend the live events held Tuesday nights at the Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory, where the marquee battles occurred.

The promotion folded in 1987, in large part due to the growth of the WWE.

The armory was later converted into the Bryan Glazer Family JCC. The Tampa Sportatorium was most recently used to manufacture women’s clothing, but has been vacant since at least 2016.

Acosta said he would be surprised if the city denied a demolition request based on a building’s history: “As far as I know, it has never happened.”

Nicole Gossett, daughter of the late Mike Gossett, was not shocked to hear the Tampa Sportatorium might come down.

“It was only a matter of time,” she said. “My dad would tease that if the termites stop holding hands the whole building would come crashing down. A lot of fans will be sad but the memories will carry on.”