Tampa Bay Lightning owner donates $5 million to art museum

The Tampa Museum of Art has received a $5 million gift from Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and his wife, Penny, that will support renovations related to the institution’s new education center, which opened May 16 and will henceforth be known as the Vinik Family Education Center.

The education center is part of the museum’s $100 million Centennial Campaign for Renovation and Expansion.

According to a news release, the education center will serve as the museum’s temporary entrance while additional renovations are completed on the west side of the building. The first classes in the space will be the museum’s summer art camps for ages 6-17, beginning June 6. More than 200 children are already enrolled in the program.

“The Tampa Museum of Art is renowned for the value of its educational programs and its exceptional support for Hillsborough County students and teachers,” Penny Vinik states in the release. “We are delighted to advance that good work with this gift and to further contribute to the museum’s mission to educate, engage and inspire Tampa Bay residents and others around the world.”

In October 2019, the release states, the Viniks donated $5 million to the museum’s Centennial Campaign, which to date has raised $71 million.

“The opening of our new education center is long-awaited for museum members, volunteers and other visitors,” Tampa Museum of Art Director Michael Tomor states in the release. “We are so thrilled to finally have a facility with a capacity to match the demand for our education programs, and we are grateful to the Viniks for their generous gift to help make this facility and the future growth possible.”