Dick Greco statue to be displayed at plaza renamed for him

TAMPA -- Curtis Hixon has a park. Bill Poe has a plaza and a parking garage. Nick Nuccio has a parkway. Now another former mayor, Dick Greco, will have something in downtown Tampa named after him.

Greco Plaza will be the new name of the covered streetcar stop across from the Tampa Convention Center. It also will be the home of a bronze statue of Greco, who was Tampa's mayor twice, from 1967-1974 and 1995-2003.

The bronze statue by sculptor Steve Dickey, paid for with private donations, portrays Greco relaxing on a bench, where people will be able to sit next to the likeness of the famously chummy mayor. It's expected to be unveiled during a ceremony at the plaza sometime in the next 30 to 45 days.

The plaza, now called the Southern Transportation Plaza, is located between the Marriott Waterside and Embassy Suites hotels, and has connections for the electric streetcar, buses and taxis. Greco, a big booster of the streetcar, chose the location. The board of Hillsborough Area Regional Transit voted today to display the statue and rename the plaza for Greco.

"If you think about Dick's two terms, he had a lot to do with downtown rejuvenation," longtime Greco associate Ron Rotella told the board.

The statue is intended to portray Greco at about 50, roughly halfway between his two terms in office.

"I wish it were a better likeness because the statue, it's a lot better looking than he is," Rotella joked.

-- Mike Brassfield, Times staff writer