32 minute read
Florida Progress Corporation Business Information, Profile, and History
Barnett Tower
One Progress Plaza
Suite 2600
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
U.S.A.
History of Florida Progress Corporation
Florida Progress Corporation is a diversified holding company whose primary businesses are fuel supply and power. Its primary subsidiary, Florida Power Corporation, the state's second-largest utility, was supplying electricity to 1.3 million customers in 1997. Its service area was primarily in northern and central Florida, including the cities of Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and Winter Park. The electric utility accounted for 90 percent of Florida Progress's earnings; the remaining ten percent was contributed by the subsidiary Electric Fuels, a fuel supply and transportation company. Florida Progress had recently divested itself of its real estate and financial services subsidiaries and was expected to get rid of its failing life insurance company in the late 1990s.
Early History
Florida Progress was formed in 1982 as a holding company for Florida Power, for the purpose of diversifying beyond utility operations. Florida Power itself originated in 1899 as St. Petersburg Electric Light & Power Company. Its name was changed to St. Petersburg Lighting Company in 1915, to Pinellas County Power Company in 1923, and to Florida Power Corporation in 1927. Florida Power's parent company was General Gas & Electric Corporation, part of the Associated Gas & Electric System, one of the large utility holding companies prominent in the early 20th century.
In the 1920s and the 1930s the utility expanded through acquisitions of both investor-owned electric companies and municipal systems in Florida. Among the former purchases were Clearwater Lighting Company in 1923 and both Oklawaha Power Company and West Florida Power Company in 1935. Florida Power acquired several municipal electric systems in 1930, in New Port Richey, Dunnellon, and Branford, and in 1934 added the operations of four other small Florida communities.
The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 eventually broke up the Associated Gas & Electric System, which included utilities in Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, as well as Florida. The act limited each holding company's operations to a single contiguous system, rather than the far-flung empires that many such companies had. The Securities and Exchange Commission, which administered the holding companies' divestiture, organized Associated Gas & Electric's Florida and Georgia operations into a single system. Florida Power became an independent, publicly-held company in 1945, with Georgia Power & Light Company as a subsidiary.
Growth in the 1950s and 1960s
In 1951 Florida Power acquired electrical operations in Madison, Monticello, and Perry, Florida, from Florida Power & Light Company. In 1957 it sold Georgia Power & Light to Georgia Power Company for about $11.8 million.
Florida Power's sales and earnings grew steadily during the 1960s, and the company gained a reputation for good management. Electric Light & Power, a trade magazine, named the company electric utility of the year in 1970. The utility, however, had a potential problem in its heavy dependence on imported oil to run its generating plants. Florida Power had researched nuclear energy for several years during the 1960s, and in 1968 it began construction of a nuclear unit at its Crystal River plant, which already had two fossil-fuel units.
Energy Problems in the 1970s
The nuclear unit was scheduled for completion in 1972 but cost far more than expected and also had construction problems that delayed its completion. Meanwhile, the soaring cost of oil after the Middle East oil embargo of the early 1970s plunged Florida Power into financial difficulties, as imported oil accounted for about 80 percent of its fuel consumption. In 1974, when Florida Power's earnings fell 35 percent from the previous year, it temporarily suspended construction of the nuclear unit to conserve cash.
During this period, to reduce its use of foreign oil, Florida Power looked to coal as well as nuclear power. It began converting two oil-burning plants to coal in 1975. In 1976 it formed Electric Fuels Corporation, a company involved in coal mining and the transportation of coal and other commodities via rail and barge, with customers including Florida Power and other utility and industrial companies.
The nuclear unit finally went into operation in March 1977, and saved the utility $46.7 million in fuel costs during the remainder of the year. Florida Power's 1977 earnings were up 38 percent from their 1976 level.
However, problems soon developed. In March 1978, the utility was forced to shut down the nuclear unit after a coolant leakage was detected. Company officials subsequently discovered that a latch had given way, shattering a reactor assembly and flushing pieces through the coolant system. Broken tubes then caused the leaks. The unit was shut down for repairs for seven months in 1978. Florida Power wanted Babcock & Wilcox Company, the firm that had built the unit, to perform the repairs at its own expense, but Babcock & Wilcox refused, citing a limited warranty clause in its contract. It then did the repairs for an additional fee.
In 1981 Florida Power sued Babcock & Wilcox in an effort in recover its costs. The utility contended that the unit's design and construction had been inadequate in the first place; therefore, Babcock & Wilcox was responsible for the accident. In 1984 Florida Power reached a settlement with Babcock & Wilcox, in which the utility received $11.8 million&mdashout $7.2 million from insurers and $4.6 million directly from the construction firm. The latter was mainly in the form of credits against future bills for equipment and services.
Diversification in the 1980s
During this period, diversification became a priority for Florida Power. Taking advantage of Florida's rapid population growth, in 1981 it formed Talquin Corporation, a real estate developer and building-products manufacturer. Stepping up its move beyond utility operations, it formed Florida Progress Corporation in 1982, and Florida Power became its principal subsidiary. Florida Power's stockholders received one Florida Progress common share for each common share of Florida Power they held. Florida Power's subsidiaries, Electric Fuels and Talquin Corporation, became subsidiaries of Florida Progress.
In 1983 Florida Progress formed Progress Credit Corporation, an equipment-leasing and -financing business concentrating on aircraft. In 1985 the holding company formed Progress Technologies Corporation to develop and market technology-based products and processes for use in a variety of industries. The following year Florida Progress bought Mid-Continent Life Insurance Company, which specialized in low-premium life insurance marketed through independent agents, was based in Oklahoma City, and dated back to 1909. These diversifications, along with the diversification of Florida Power's fuel sources, produced improvements in Florida Progress's sales, earnings, and stock price. Florida's population growth was a factor as well; in 1987 the company's utility customer base increased 4.4 percent, double the U.S. average.
In 1988 Florida Progress formed Progress Capital Holdings, Inc. to handle financing for its nonutility operations. Progress Capital subsequently became the parent of all the nonutility subsidiaries except Electric Fuels. Also formed that year was Progress Energy Corporation, whose purpose was to invest in cogeneration projects and small power plants outside Florida, but Florida Progress discontinued this business just two years later.
Another venture begun in 1988 was Talquin Corp.'s formation of partnerships to construct luxury apartment buildings in Florida cities, including Tampa, Orlando, and Fort Myers. The real estate company was seeking projects that would provide a quick return on investment, but the recession in Florida's real estate market and the national economy hurt results in 1989 and 1990. In 1990 Florida Progress decided to sell Talquin's building-products operations, because they did not fit in with the company's future direction. The establishment of a $14 million reserve to cover the expected loss on sales of these businesses was the principal reason for a 12.5 percent drop in Florida Progress's earnings in 1990.
In 1990 Talquin sold 3,200 acres of south Florida citrus groves it had acquired as an investment six years earlier, for an after-tax profit of about $10 million. That same year Talquin completed and sold its first luxury apartment complex, in Orlando, and finished other projects including Barnett Tower, a 26-story building in downtown St. Petersburg that became the new headquarters for Florida Progress, with portions occupied by several other companies.
Florida Progress's insurance and coal operations both grew in the late 1980s and early 1990s. From 1986, when it was acquired, through 1990, Mid-Continent had a 19 percent annual increase in its insurance in force, topping $8.5 billion in 1990. Its earnings increased an average of 26.5 percent annually during those five years. It added more than 4,000 agents, putting the total at more than 6,000, and doubled its number of regional offices, to 26. Electric Fuels bought a rail-car repair company, Kustom Karr, in 1990. It also added to its coal reserves that year, buying Kentucky mines with a capacity of producing about two million tons of coal annually. During 1990 it sold five million tons of coal to companies other than Florida Power. Its operations also reduced the cost of coal used by Florida Power by 14 percent from 1985 to 1990.
New Directions and Leadership in the 1990s
By 1990 Florida Power had greatly decreased its use of foreign-produced oil. In fact, its fuel mix was 54 percent coal, 22 percent oil, 13 percent nuclear energy, ten percent purchased power, and one percent natural gas. In 1990 Florida Power signed a 20-year contract to purchase power from The Southern Company and made plans to build a transmission line to connect it with Southern's operations in south Georgia. The nuclear unit at Crystal River, despite experiencing a variety of outages in 1988 and 1989, received its highest performance rating ever from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 1990. The nuclear unit was one of five electricity-generating units at the Crystal River site, the others being fossil-fueled; Florida Power explored sites for another complex of a similar size.
As it entered the 1990s, Florida Power was a relatively energy-efficient utility, able to offer its customers low rates. About 90 percent of its customers were residential, leaving the company less vulnerable to the vagaries of the economy than utilities that depend more on industrial and commercial customers. Its customer base had grown 3.8 percent annually from 1985 to 1990, almost twice the national average, thanks to the influx of people into Florida.
Florida Progress's efforts at diversification, however, showed mixed results in the early 1990s. Electric Fuels was maintaining a constant level of coal sales to Florida Power, while increasing sales to other companies, and was contributing 4.5 percent of Florida Progress's earnings. Mid-Continent Life Insurance Co. and Progress Credit Corp., contributing four and five percent respectively to the parent company's earnings, were faring respectably. Talquin, however, was facing a weak real estate market, reporting losses in 1991 that represented four percent of Florida Progress's earnings. Other investments in businesses unrelated to the company's core industries, such as its 80 percent interest in the chemicals research company Advanced Separation Technologies Inc., were making dubious contributions to the company's health.
In 1991 Jack B. Critchfield took over the reins from chairman Andrew Hines. With the change in leadership came a change in direction for Florida Progress. Critchfield narrowed the company's focus to electricity generation, fuel supply, and financial services. Unrelated investments or wholly owned subsidiaries were sold off. Critchfield also began a gradual process of divesting its real estate and financial services holdings, starting in 1991 with the sale of Talquin's building products operations and certain assets of Progress Credit.
Problems with the Crystal River nuclear plant also plagued Florida Power in the mid-1990s. Although the plant achieved a capacity factor of 100 percent in 1995, it was shut down for much of 1996 and perhaps all of 1997 because of a scheduled refueling, repairs, and concerns about the design of the backup safety system. The plant was expected to return to service near the end of 1997. The problems cost the company not only financially but also in customer goodwill. Florida Power attempted to regain some of its repair costs by raising rates, but customer outrage led the company to rescind the rate hike.
Florida Progress continued its process of divesting its real estate and financial services holdings in the mid-1990s. In 1996 the company spun off the remaining assets of Talquin and Progress Credit, creating the independent company Echelon International Corporation. In May 1997 Mid-Continent Life Insurance Co. was placed in receivership by the insurance commissioner of Oklahoma. Florida Progress was expected to lose some or all of its 85.6 million investment in the company.
Deregulation in the Late 1990s
Nuclear plant problems and diversification woes were not Florida Progress's only concerns in the late 1990s. Looming deregulation demanded a transition plan. Florida Power enjoyed certain advantages over other utilities in the nation as deregulation neared. Rapid population growth in Florida and slow movement by state legislators to institute competition gave Florida Power a stable customer base for the near future. In addition, as a peninsula, Florida was relatively isolated from power lines stretching across state lines. However, Florida Power suffered from a poor public image, caused by high rates, frequent outages, and the lengthy shutdown of its nuclear plant. As a medium-sized utility, it could not compete with the largest utilities in the nation, which were already positioning themselves to cherry pick the choicest commercial customers when deregulation took effect.
Growth was seen as the surest route to success in a competitive environment. To that end, in September 1997 Florida Progress announced a joint venture with Cinergy and New Century Energies to market energy services to large commercial customers. The alliance, called Cadence, had a two-step plan: first, offer advice on lowering energy costs and help consolidate customer's energy bills, and second, provide electricity to these customers once deregulation took effect. Late in 1997 the joint venture had attracted one major customer, Service Merchandise. Analysts speculated that a merger could result from this alliance.
Principal Subsidiaries: Florida Power Corporation; Electric Fuels Corporation; Mid-Continent Life Insurance Co.
Related information about Florida
pop (2000e) 15 982 400; area
151 934 km²/58 664 sq mi. State in SE USA,
divided into 67 counties; the ‘Sunshine State’ or ‘Peninsular
State’; discovered and settled by the Spanish in the 16th-c; ceded
to Britain in 1763, and divided into East and West Florida; given
back to Spain after the War of Independence, 1783; West Florida
gained by the US in the Louisiana Purchase, 1803; East Florida
purchased by the US, 1819; admitted as the 27th state of the Union,
1845; seceded, 1861; slavery abolished, 1865; re-admitted to the
Union, 1868; capital, Tallahassee; other chief cities,
Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, St Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale; a long
peninsula bounded W by the Gulf of Mexico and E by the Atlantic
Ocean; rivers include the St Johns, Caloosahatchee, Apalachicola,
Perdido, St Marys; C state has many lakes, notably L Okeechobee
(fourth largest lake wholly within the USA); highest point in
Walton County (105 m/345 ft); the Florida Keys Islands
stretch in a line SW from the S tip of the state, all linked by a
series of causeways; the NW is a gently rolling panhandle area, cut
by deep swamps along the coast; the S is almost entirely covered by
the Everglades; the SE coast is protected from the Atlantic by
sandbars and islands, creating shallow lagoons and sandy beaches; a
warm sunny climate, but occasional danger of hurricanes (eg
widespread damage caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992); many famous
resorts (Palm Beach, Miami Beach); the Everglades National Park,
Walt Disney World entertainment park, John F Kennedy Space Center
at Cape Canaveral; the nation's greatest producer of citrus fruits;
second largest producer of vegetables; sugar cane, tobacco, cattle
and dairy products; processed foods, chemicals, electrical
equipment, transportation equipment, wood products; phosphate and
other minerals; one of the fastest-growing parts of the country; an
important area for retirement homes; large Hispanic population
(especially from Cuba).
references
Florida is a U.S.
state located in the southeastern
United States. It
was named by Juan Ponce de León, who landed on the coast on April 2, 1513, during Pascua Florida (Spanish for "Flowery Easter," referring to the
Easter
season).
Geography
Florida is situated mostly on a large peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the
Atlantic Ocean,
and the Straits
of Florida. It is near the countries of the Caribbean, particularly the
Bahamas and Cuba.
At 345 feet (105 m) above mean sea level, Britton Hill is the highest point in Florida and
the lowest highpoint of any U.S. state. Lake County holds the
highest point of peninsular Florida, Sugarloaf
Mountain, at 312 feet (95 m).
Areas under control by the National Park Service include:
- Big Cypress National Preserve, near Lake
Okeechobee
- Biscayne National Park, near Key Biscayne
- Canaveral National Seashore, near Titusville
- Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, in St.
Augustine
- De
Soto National Memorial, in Bradenton
- Dry
Tortugas National Park, at Key
West
- Everglades National Park
- Fort Caroline National Memorial, at Jacksonville
- Fort Matanzas National Monument, in St.
Augustine
- Gulf Islands National Seashore, near Gulf
Breeze
- Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, in
Jacksonville
See also List of Florida state parks
Boundaries
The state line begins in the Atlantic Ocean, traveling west, south, and north
up the thalweg of the
Saint Mary's River. At the origin of that river,
it then follows a straight line nearly due west and slightly north,
to the point where the confluence of the Flint River
(from Georgia) and the Chattahoochee River (down the Alabama/Georgia line) used
to form Florida's Apalachicola River. The seasons in Florida are actually
determined more by precipitation than by temperature with mild to cool,
relatively dry winters
and autumns (the dry
season) and hot, wet springs and summers (the wet season). The hottest temperature ever
recorded in the state was 109 °F (43 °C), set on June 29 1931 in Monticello. The coldest was ?2 °F (?19 °C), on
February 13 1899, just 25 miles (40 km) away,
in Tallahassee. These thunderstorms, caused by collisions
between airflow from the Gulf of Mexico and airflow from the Atlantic Ocean, pop up in
the early afternoon and can bring heavy downpours, high winds, and
sometimes tornadoes. The
storm is believed to have been similar in composition to a hurricane, and even brought
storm surges of six
feet or more to regions of the Gulf coast.
Although some storms have formed out of season, hurricanes pose a threat
during hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 to November 30. Hurricanes Charley (August 13), Frances (September 4?5), Ivan (September 16), and Jeanne (September 25?26) cumulatively cost the
state's economy US$42 billion. Later, Hurricane Katrina
(August 25) passed
through South
Florida and Hurricane Rita (September 20) swept through the Florida Keys. Hurricane Wilma made
landfall in Florida in the early morning of October 24 as a Category
3 hurricane, with the storm's eye hitting near Cape Romano, just south of
Marco
Island, according to National Hurricane
Center.
Florida was the site of the second costliest weather disaster in
U.S. history, Hurricane Andrew, which caused more than US$25 billion in
damage when it struck on August 24, 1992.
In a long list of other infamous hurricane strikes are the 1926
Great Miami
Hurricane, the Lake
Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928, the Labor Day
Hurricane of 1935, Hurricane Donna in 1960, and Hurricane Opal in
1995.
Environmental issues
Florida is the fifth-largest producer of greenhouse gases among
the 50 U.S. states. Much of Florida, being only a few feet above
sea level now, would be underwater if the sea level rose
dramatically due to the continued melting of glaciers, parts of the Antarctic ice shelf, or Greenland's cover of ice. Of
the many indigenous people, the largest known were the Ais, the Apalachee, the Calusa, the Timucua and the Tocobago tribes. Juan Ponce de
León, a Spanish conquistador, named Florida in honor of his "discovery"
of the land on April 2
1513, during Pascua Florida, a Spanish
term for the Easter
season. French Huguenots founded Fort Caroline in modern-day Jacksonville in
1564, but this fort was conquered by forces from the new Spanish
colony of St. Augustine the following year. The local leaders
(caciques) demonstrated
their loyalty to the Spanish by converting to Roman Catholicism and
welcoming the Franciscan priests into their villages.
The area of Spanish Florida diminished with the establishment of
English colonies to the
north and French colonies
to the west. The English weakened Spanish power in the area by
supplying their Creek
Indian allies with firearms and urging them to raid the
Timucuan and Apalachee client-tribes of the
Spanish. On March 3
1845, Florida became the
27th state of the United States of America. On January 10 1861, before the formal outbreak of
the Civil
War, Florida seceded from the Union; On
June 25, 1868, Florida's congressional
representation was restored. font-size: 95%;">
Presidential elections results
Year
|
Republican
|
Democratic
|
| 2004 |
52.10%3,964,522
|
47.09%
3,583,544
|
| 2000 |
48.85%2,912,790
|
48.84%
2,912,253
|
| 1996 |
42.32%
2,244,536
|
48.02%2,546,870
|
| 1992 |
40.89%2,173,310
|
39.00%
2,072,698
|
| 1988 |
60.87%2,618,885
|
38.51%
1,656,701
|
| 1984 |
65.32%2,730,350
|
34.66%
1,448,816
|
| 1980 |
55.52%2,046,951
|
38.50%
1,419,475
|
| 1976 |
46.64%
1,469,531
|
51.93%1,636,000
|
| 1972 |
71.91%1,857,759
|
27.80% 718,117
|
| 1968 |
40.53%886,804
|
30.93% 676,794
|
| 1964 |
48.85% 905,941
|
51.15%948,540
|
| 1960 |
51.51%795,476
|
48.49% 748,700
|
The basic structure, duties, function, and operations of the
government of the State of Florida are defined and established by
the Florida
Constitution, which establishes the basic law of the state and
guarantees various rights and freedoms of the people. The legislature enacts bills,
which, if signed by the governor, become Florida Statutes.
The Florida
Legislature is comprised of the Florida Senate, which has
40 members, and the Florida
House of Representatives, which has 120 members. The current
Governor of
Florida is Republican Jeb Bush, brother of U.S. President George W. The Tampa area, once a
major center of Democratic union support, is now almost evenly split between
registered Republicans and Democrats, making it part of the
important I-4
Corridor swing region. The Walt Disney World
Resort, a mega-resort consisting of four theme parks, more than twenty
hotels, water parks, shopping centers, and other attractions, is an
important tourist attraction located in Lake Buena
Vista. Together, Walt Disney World, and other theme park
resorts such as Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld, are an important driver of the Central
Florida economy.
Other major industries include citrus fruit
and juice production, banking, and phosphate mining within the Bone Valley region. The
state did not have a state minimum wage law until November 2, 2004, when voters passed a
constitutional amendment establishing a state minimum wage and
mandating that it be adjusted for inflation every six months.
Historically, Florida's economy was based upon cattle farming and
agriculture (especially sugarcane, citrus, tomatoes, and strawberries). font-size: 95%;">
Historical
populations
|
Census
year |
Population
|
|
| 1830 |
34,730
|
| 1840 |
54,477
|
| 1850 |
87,445
|
| 1860 |
140,424
|
| 1870 |
187,748
|
| 1880 |
269,493
|
| 1890 |
391,422
|
| 1900 |
528,542
|
| 1910 |
752,619
|
| 1920 |
968,470
|
| 1930 |
1,468,211
|
| 1940 |
1,897,414
|
| 1950 |
2,771,305
|
| 1960 |
4,951,560
|
| 1970 |
6,789,443
|
| 1980 |
9,746,324
|
| 1990 |
12,937,926
|
| 2000 |
15,982,378
|
Race and ancestry
The largest reported ancestries in the 2000 Census were German (11.8%), Irish (10.3%), English (9.2%), American (8%) and Italian (6.3%).factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=&_cityTown=&_state=04000US12&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010
Before the American Civil War, when slavery was legal, and during the Reconstruction era that followed, African Americans made
up nearly half of the state's population.fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus/Historical
Census Broswer at the University of Virginia (URL accessed 26
August 2006). Their proportion declined over the next century, as
many moved north in the Great Migration while large numbers of northern whites
moved to the state. Today, large concentrations of black residents
can be found in northern Florida (notably in Jacksonville,
Gainesville and Pensacola), the Tampa Bay area, and South Florida (where their numbers have been
bolstered by significant immigration from Haiti and Jamaica).
Florida's Hispanic
population includes large communities of Cuban Americans in
Miami and
Tampa, Puerto
Ricans in Tampa and Orlando, and Central American migrant workers in inland West-Central
and South Florida. The Hispanic community continues to grow more
affluent and mobile: between the years of 2000 and 2004, Lee County in southwest Florida, which is largely suburban in
character, had the fastest Hispanic population growth rate of any
county in the United States.www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060309/NEWS01/603090396/1075
Whites of all
ethnicities are present in all areas of the state. There is a large
German population in
Southwest
Florida, a sizeable and historic Italian community in the
Miami area, and
white Floridians of longer-present generations in the culturally
southern areas of inland and northern Florida. Haitian Creole
is the third most spoken language at 2.2 percent, followed by
German at 0.6
percent and Italian at 0.4 percent.
Article II, Section 9, of the Florida
Constitution provides that "English is the official language of
the State of Florida." Florida's current religious affiliations are
shown in the table below:
-
Christian,
82%
-
Protestant, 54%
- Baptist,
19%
- Methodist, 6%
- Presbyterian, 4%
- Episcopal, 3%
- Lutheran, 3%
- Pentecostal, 3%
- Other Protestant, 16%
- Roman Catholic, 26%
- Other Christian, 2%
- Jewish,
4%
- Other Religions, 1%
- Non-Religious, 13%
Education
Florida's public primary and secondary schools are administered by
the Florida Department of Education.
Florida's public-school revenue per student and spending per $1000
of personal income usually rank in the bottom 25 percent of U.S.
states. Governor Jeb
Bush has been criticized by many Florida educators for a
program that penalizes underperforming schools (as indicated by
standardized
tests, most prominently the FCAT) with fewer funding dollars. www.sptimes.com/News/050801/State/Bush_s_trustees_mostl.shtml
In 2002, former governor and then U.S. Senator
Bob Graham (Dem.) led
a constitutional-amendment ballot referendum designed to
restore the board-of-regents system. -->
Transportation
Highways
Florida's interstates, state highways and U.S. Highways are maintained by the Florida
Department of Transportation.
Florida's interstate highway system contains 1,473 miles
(2,371 km) of highway, and there are 9,934 miles
(15,987 km) of non-interstate highway in the state, such as
Florida state
highways and U.S.
Highways.
Florida's primary interstate routes include:
- I-4, which
bisects the state, connecting Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando, and Daytona
Beach, having junctions with I-95 at Daytona Beach and I-75
at Tampa.
- I-10, which
traverses the panhandle, connecting Jacksonville,
Lake
City, Tallahassee and Pensacola, having junctions with I-95 at
Jacksonville and I-75 at Lake City.
- I-75, which
enters the state near Lake City (45 miles west of Jacksonville) and
continues southward through Gainesville,
Ocala,
Tampa's eastern suburbs, Bradenton, Sarasota, and Fort Myers to
Naples,
where it crosses the "Alligator Alley" as a toll road to Fort
Lauderdale before turning southward and terminating in
Hialeah/Miami Lakes having junctions with I-10 at Lake City
and I-4 at Tampa.
- I-95, which
enters the state near Jacksonville and continues along the
Atlantic Coast through Daytona Beach, Melbourne/Titusville,
Palm Bay,
Vero
Beach, Fort Pierce, Port Saint
Lucie, Stuart, West Palm Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale before
terminating in Miami, having junctions with I-10 at Jacksonville and
I-4 at Daytona Beach.
Florida's secondary interstate routes include:
- I-110, a spur from I-10 into downtown
Pensacola.
- I-175, which connects I-275 to southern downtown
St.
Petersburg.
- I-195, an extension of Miami's Airport Expressway
(S.R.
a spur eastward from I-95 to Miami
Beach.
- I-275, a sixty-mile (100 km)www.kurumi.com/roads/3di/i275.html
westward loop from I-75 north of Ellenton, over the
Sunshine
Skyway Bridge, through St. Petersburg, to Tampa
International Airport and downtown Tampa, reconnecting with
I-75 in Tampa's northern suburbs.
- I-295, a partial beltway around Jacksonville that will
loop completely around the city by 2007.
- I-375, which connects I-275 to northern downtown St.
Petersburg.
- I-395, an extension of Miami's Dolphin Expressway
(S.R.
a spur eastward from I-95 to Miami Beach.
- I-595, which connects I-75, I-95, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and
Port
Everglades.
Florida has several toll roads, totaling 515 miles (830 km) of the state
highway system. Major toll roads include:
- I-75, as it passes through the Everglades between Naples and Fort Lauderdale
has been grandfathered as a toll road from its original
construction as S.R. 84
- Florida's
Turnpike, which begins at Interstate 75 south of Ocala and
continues southeast through Orlando, Port Saint Lucie, and south
through the western suburbs of Fort Lauderdale and Miami to
Homestead
For more information about the myriad secondary toll expressways
in Florida, see articles detailing roads maintained by the Florida Turnpike
Authority, the Miami-Dade
Expressway Authority, and the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority.
Intercity rail
In 2000, voters approved a constitutional amendment to construct
a high-speed rail system to interconnect Florida's major cities.
The Florida
High Speed Rail Authority, originally formed to implement the
high-speed-rail amendment, has vowed to find a way to implement the
system without the amendment.
Amtrak service exists in
Florida: Sanford, in Greater Orlando, is the southern terminus of the
Amtrak Auto
Train, which originates at Lorton, Virginia, south of Washington, DC. Orlando
is also the eastern terminus of the Sunset Limited, which
travels across the southern United States via New Orleans,
Houston, and
San Antonio
to its western terminus of Los Angeles.
Florida is served by two additional Amtrak trains (the Silver Star and the Silver Meteor), which
operate between New York City and Miami. Miami has an automated guideway people-mover system, as
well as a 22-mile metro
system, and most cities have bus service.
Airports
Florida's major international airports, which processed more
than 15 million passengers in 2005, are Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
(22,390,285), Miami International Airport (31,008,453), Orlando
International Airport (34,128,048) and Tampa
International Airport (19,045,390).
Secondary airports, with annual passenger traffic exceeding 5
million in 2005, include Jacksonville International Airport (5,741,652), Palm Beach
International Airport (West Palm Beach) (7,014,237) and
Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers)
(7,518,169).
Other smaller, regional airports with commercial service (with
passengers served in 2005, where available) include those at
Daytona Beach (615,841), Fort Walton
Beach, Gainesville (345,788), Key West,
Melbourne (466,367) ,Naples,
Panama City (382,551), Pensacola
(1,638,605), Sarasota-Bradenton (1,337,571), St. Petersburg-Clearwater (596,510) and Tallahassee
(1,129,947). Sanford (1,649,237) is primarily served by international
charter airlines.2005 North America Airports Traffic
Statistics URL retrieved September 15, 2006
Metropolitan areas
Florida has nineteen Metropolitan
Statistical Areas (MSAs) defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget
(OMB).
|
Metropolitan
Statistical Areas |
2005
Population |
|
Cape Coral-Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical
Area |
549,442 |
|
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach Metropolitan
Statistical Area |
494,649 |
|
Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin Metropolitan
Statistical Area |
188,939 |
|
Gainesville Metropolitan Statistical Area |
256,985 |
|
Jacksonville Metropolitan Statistical Area |
1,277,763 |
|
Lakeland Metropolitan Statistical Area |
541,840 |
|
Miami-Ft.Lauderdale-West Palm Beach Metropolitan
Statistical Area |
5,422,200 |
|
Naples-Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical
Area |
317,788 |
|
Ocala Metropolitan Statistical Area |
304,926 |
|
Orlando-Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical
Area |
1,861,707 |
|
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville Metropolitan
Statistical Area |
531,970 |
|
Panama City-Lynn Haven Metropolitan Statistical
Area |
161,721 |
|
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Florida Metropolitan
Statistical Area |
439,877 |
|
Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce Metropolitan
Statistical Area |
381,033 |
|
Punta Gorda Metropolitan Statistical Area |
154,030 |
|
Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice Metropolitan Statistical
Area |
673,035 |
|
Sebastian-Vero Beach Metropolitan Statistical
Area |
130,043 |
|
Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area |
334,886 |
|
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan
Statistical Area |
2,589,637 |
Important cities and towns
City Population > 700,000
City Population > 300,000
City Population > 200,000
- Hialeah
- Orlando
- St. Petersburg
City Population > 100,000
- Cape Coral
- Clearwater
- Coral Springs
- Fort Lauderdale
- Gainesville
- Hollywood
- Miami Gardens
- Pembroke Pines
- Miramar
- Palm
Bay
- Port Saint Lucie
- Pompano Beach
- Tallahassee
City Population > 75,000
- Boca Raton
- Brandon
- Davie
- Deltona
- Kendall
- Lakeland
- Melbourne
- Miami Beach
- Plantation
- Sunrise
- West Palm Beach
|
City Population > 50,000
- Boynton Beach
- Bradenton
- Daytona Beach
- Deerfield Beach
- Delray Beach
- Fort Myers
- Fountainbleau
- Kendale Lakes
- Kissimmee
- Largo
- Lauderhill
- Margate
- North Miami
- North Miami Beach
- Palm Coast
- Palm Harbor
- Pensacola
- Sarasota
- Spring Hill
- Tamarac
- Tamiami
- Town 'n' Country
- Weston
City Population > 25,000
- Altamonte Springs
- Aventura
- Apopka
- Bartow
- Bonita Springs
- Coconut Creek
- Cooper City
- Coral Gables
- De
Land
- Dunedin
|
- East Lake
- Egypt Lake-Leto
- Fort Pierce
- Greater Carrollwood
- Greenacres
- Hallandale Beach
- Homestead
- Jupiter
- Kendall West
- Key
West
- Lake Magdalene
- Lake Worth
- Lauderdale Lakes
- Lehigh Acres
- North Fort Myers
- North Lauderdale
- Ocala
- Ocoee
- Oakland Park
- Ormond Beach
- Oviedo
- Palm Beach Gardens
- Panama City
- Pinellas Park
- Plant City
- Port Orange
- Port Charlotte
- Riviera Beach
- Royal Palm Beach
- Sanford
- South Fort Myers
- Titusville
- University
- Wellington
- Westchester
- Winter Haven
- Winter Park
- Winter Springs
|
Professional sports teams
Club
|
Sport
|
League
|
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
Football |
National Football League |
| Tampa
Bay Buccaneers |
Football
|
National Football League
|
| Miami
Dolphins |
Football
|
National Football League
|
| Orlando
Magic |
Basketball |
National Basketball Association |
| Miami
Heat |
Basketball
|
National Basketball Association
|
| Tampa
Bay Lightning |
Ice
hockey |
National Hockey League |
| Florida
Panthers |
Ice hockey
|
National Hockey League
|
| Tampa
Bay Devil Rays |
Baseball |
Major
League Baseball |
| Florida
Marlins |
Baseball
|
Major League Baseball
|
| Orlando
Predators |
Arena
football |
Arena
Football League |
| Tampa Bay
Storm |
Arena football
|
Arena Football League
|
| Brevard County Manatees |
Baseball
|
Minor
League BaseballFlorida State League
|
| Clearwater Threshers |
Baseball
|
Minor
League BaseballFlorida State League
|
| Daytona
Cubs |
Baseball
|
Minor
League BaseballFlorida State League
|
| Dunedin
Blue Jays |
Baseball
|
Minor
League BaseballFlorida State League
|
| Fort
Myers Miracle |
Baseball
|
Minor
League BaseballFlorida State League
|
| Jacksonville Suns |
Baseball
|
Minor League Baseball
|
| Jupiter
Hammerheads |
Baseball
|
Minor
League BaseballFlorida State League
|
| Lakeland
Tigers |
Baseball
|
Minor
League BaseballFlorida State League
|
| Sarasota
Reds |
Baseball
|
Minor
League BaseballFlorida State League
|
| St. Lucie
Mets |
Baseball
|
Minor
League BaseballFlorida State League
|
| Tampa
Yankees |
Baseball
|
Minor
League BaseballFlorida State League
|
| Palm
Beach Cardinals |
Baseball
|
Minor
League BaseballFlorida State League
|
| Vero
Beach Dodgers |
Baseball
|
Minor
League BaseballFlorida State League
|
| Miami FC |
Soccer |
USL First
Division |
| Ajax
Orlando Prospects |
Soccer
|
USL Premier Development League |
| Bradenton Academics |
Soccer
|
USL Premier Development League
|
| Central Florida Kraze |
Soccer
|
USL Premier Development League
|
| Cocoa
Expos |
Soccer
|
USL Premier Development League
|
| Palm Beach
Pumas |
Soccer
|
USL Premier Development League
|
| Bradenton Athletics |
Soccer
|
W-League |
| Central Florida Krush |
Soccer
|
W-League
|
| Cocoa
Expos |
Soccer
|
W-League
|
| Central Florida Strikers |
Soccer
|
Women?s Premier Soccer League |
| Miami
Surf |
Soccer
|
Women?s Premier Soccer League
|
| Orlando
Falcons |
Soccer
|
Women?s Premier Soccer League
|
| Palm Beach
United |
Soccer
|
Women?s Premier Soccer League
|
| South
Florida Breeze |
Soccer
|
Women?s Premier Soccer League
|
| Tampa Bay
United |
Soccer
|
Women?s Premier Soccer League
|
| Florida
Everblades |
Ice hockey
|
East Coast Hockey League |
| Florida
Seals |
Ice hockey
|
Southern Professional Hockey League |
| Jacksonville Barracudas |
Ice hockey
|
Southern Professional Hockey League
|
| Pensacola Ice Pilots |
Ice hockey
|
East Coast Hockey League
|
Orlando, Florida (Name TBA)
|
Basketball
|
American Basketball Association |
| Palm
Beach Imperials |
Basketball
|
American Basketball Association |
| Pensacola
Aviators |
Basketball
|
American Basketball Association |
| Jacksonville Jam |
Basketball
|
American Basketball Association |
| Tampa
Bay Strong Dogs |
Basketball
|
American Basketball Association |
Spring training
Florida is the traditional home for Major League Baseball spring
training, with teams informally organized into the "Grapefruit League."
As of 2004, Florida
hosts the following major league teams for spring training:
Club
|
Location
|
| Atlanta
Braves |
Walt Disney World
|
| Baltimore
Orioles |
Fort Lauderdale
|
|
Additional topics
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