As we know, Tampa has landed another Final Four.
This one is the Women’s basketball Final Four in 2019. It will be the third such–following Final Fours in 2008 and next year. And once again this is largely the work of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and its well-regarded, proactive executive director Rob Higgins.
But while Higgins is the high-energy point man for such presentations, there was also a notable “closer” for the winning 2019 bid. Innisbrook owner Sheila Johnson, a co-founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), talked passionately about what such events mean to this community and how uniquely qualified we are to host them–indeed, multiple times.
Johnson also has some serious sports chops. She’s an owner or partner in three pro sports franchises: the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the NBA’s Washington Wizards. She is also second only to Oprah Winfrey among the wealthiest black females in the U.S. In short, you want her on your side.