# Jai Alai Frontons



## Chevy114 (Jul 21, 2011)

Tampa Jai Alai Fronton




















I was not old enough to go when it closed in 98, but my co-worker said he probably would have graduated college faster if he didn't go to so many manatees lol

Miami Fronton, now called Casino Miami Jai Alai





































I went to a matanee here once, it was fun, but sad. 25 people at the most there and me pretending to know how to bet. It was my 2nd time ever going to Jai Alai and I realized it was more fun with other people than by myself.

Ocala Jai Alai



















Went here once with a bunch of drunk buddies of mine and had a blast. The older guys bet on it for years in Tampa and showed me the ropes. Actually won some money and had to pay for beers after.

Long story short, the sport started in Spain, came to Cuba in the winters and by the 1920s had made it's way to Miami. Known as the fastest sport in the world because of the fact that they are in the Guinness Book of World Records for throwing a ball 188 mph. The only paramutal sport where you can bet on humans. Once a thriving sport that had a dress code and averaged 1,500 people a show in various cities in Florida and the Northeast. Buildings that look more like Bowling allies or Skating Rinks now only hanging on by a thread. The combination of a 3 year strike (longest in any sport), not being televised, and having difficult to understand gambling options like horse/dog racing have all practically killed the sport. 

In Florida a bill was passed that said if you had a paramutal sport (dog, horse, or Jai Alai), you could add a poker room. Now more money is made in the casino side than the Jai Alai side, so little attention is put into the sport. Miami just spent 150 million on the casino yet roped off unsafe seating in the Jai Alai area. Even sadder, the laws didn't clarify how the paramutal sports had to be run, so in Ocala they literally have 2 guys who played football at UF playing each other once a day just to keep the casino open. 

Talks of opening more Frontons around the country always come up every few years including talks of Tampa reopening one back in 2015. Time will tell what happens to the sport, but most agree that the sport is poorly run and outdated from top to bottom. 

Great article:
http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2013/2/28/4036934/jai-alai-sport-in-america-miami

30 for 30 Short about what happened: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WIWF-O04NI

Tampa come back article:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/localg...hillsborough-commissioner-eyes-fowler/2239729

Post more pictures of Frontons if you can!


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