A centre for business and leisure

Centre Club, an all-purpose location for business people in Tampa, has invested $1.8 million for renovations to spruce up life at the club.

The renovations come from an in-depth look by the club at the habits and behaviors of its members, says Tim Jarrett, the general manager. Club officials came up with five key reasons members use the facility, and they catered the renovations to meet those ideals. The list includes:

-For an office away from the office to have coffee, informal meetings or do other work;

-To entertain clients and have personalized, upscale meals;

-To host private events;

-For networking and connecting with other businessmen and businesswomen; and

-To have a place to go while traveling (Centre Club is owned by Dallas-based ClubCorp, which has more than 200 locations nationwide).

The Tampa Centre Club, in the Westshore district, has 720 members, who now have plenty of options. Leisurely activities at the club include shuffleboard, a ping-pong table that doubles as a conference table, and a newly constructed bar featuring local craft beers and a wide variety of whiskey, Jarrett says. The TV count was increased from one to 13.

For members strictly focused on business, Centre Club added places for phone calls and emails, Jarrett says. Three newly designed meeting spaces were put in and are themed after the local sports teams: the Buccaneers, Lightning and Rays.

Overall, the four-month-long renovation was about adapting to the changing ways of today's business crowd. “How it was constructed over 30 years ago was not fitting with how members use it now,” Jarrett tells Coffee Talk. “It's more relevant to how people do business nowadays.”