MacDill Happenings

Brandon Area Youth Soccer League (BAYSL) Flames Select will be holding team tryouts from Tuesday-Sunday, May 26 - 31, at the J.C. Handley Soccer Field, located at 3104 S. Kings Ave. in Brandon, for U8, 9 and 10 Academy teams to U19 boys and girls. BAYSL summer camp programs will also hold the BAYSL Flames Select Team Pre-tryout Camp from Monday-Friday, May 18 - 22, for boys and girls ages 7-18. From Monday-Friday, June 8-12, BAYSL Recreational 1/2 Day Camp will be held for boys and girls ages 6-11. From Sunday-Saturday, August 2-8, BAYSL Flames Competitive Camp will welcome boys and girls ages 7-11 in the a.m. and ages 12-18 in the p.m. Register early - space is limited. For more information, call 684-5948. Brandon is an affordable housing alternative from many people who work at MacDill AFB. Brandon is about a 30 minute drive from MacDill AFB. The LeRoy Selmon Expressway runs from Brandon to Tampa and can cut 10 to 15 minutes off your commute during rush hour. Make sure you buy a SunPass transponder it’ll save you .25 cents at each toll booth. Also, instead of waiting to pay at the toll booth with a SunPass transponder, you can go through the automated pay lane and save yourself some time. Brandon has all the amenities that anyone would need. The Westfield Shoppingtown is one of the largest malls in the Tampa area. It not only a shopping destination but also a great place for dinner with the Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen and Sam Selzer’s Steakhouse along with a host of other restaurants. A great local jazz club is Dela’s After Dark with its initimate setting and delicious food for dinner. There is a large variety of housing available. From single family homes to condos to townhouses, there something for every budget. The local community is very supportive of military families with many establishments offering military discounts. In Brandon there is the MacDill AFB Branch Medical Clinic across the street from the AMC 20 Brandon Regency movie theater so that military families don’t have to drive onto MacDill AFB for medical appointments. Make sure ask to go to the branch clinic in Brandon when you register at Tricare. A great source of information about Brandon can be found at the Brandon Chamber of Commerce website. There are some great neighborhoods in the Brandon area: FishHawk Ranch, Bloomingdale, Providence Lakes, and Brentwood Hills. Towns near Brandon include Seffner, Riverview, Lithia and Apollo Beach.