When refering to the Tampa Bay area which is made up of 4 counties;
Hernando County
Hillsborough County
Pasco County
Pinellas County

Primary Cities;
Clearwater
St. Petersburg
Tampa

Suburbs between 50,000 to 100,000 Inhabitants;
Bradenton
Brandon
Largo
Palm Harbor
Spring Hill
Town 'n' Country

Suburbs with 10,000 to 50,000 Inhabitants;
Citrus Park
Dunedin
Egypt Lake-Leto
East Lake
Greater Carrollwood
Holiday
Land O' Lakes
Lealman
Lutz
New Port Richey
Greater Northdale
Oldsmar
Palm River-Clair Mel
Pinellas Park
Plant City
Safety Harbor
Seminole
Greater Sun Center (Sun City Center)
Tarpon Springs
Temple Terrace
University
Westchase

Other attractions include;
Busch Gardens, The Florida Aquarium, Museum of Science & Industry and Lowry Park Zoo.

Long established cities, such as Cuban flavored Ybor City, near the bay contain historic architecture. Fresh seafood and locally grown produce are available in many restaurants.

Sports attractions include;
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and many professional quality golf courses, tennis courts, and pools.

Sports teams;
The Tampa Bay Area is home to three major professional sports teams and a number of minor-league and college teams

National Football League:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa

National Hockey League:
Tampa Bay Lightning: St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa

Major League Baseball:
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg

Arena Football League:
Tampa Bay Storm: St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa

NCAA Football, Div.1, Big East:
The University of South Florida Bulls: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa

NCAA Basketball, Div. 1, Big East:
The University of South Florida Bulls: The Sun Dome in Tampa

Major League Baseball Spring training teams in the area
Spring training in Florida for teams in the Grapefruit League:
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays of Major League Baseball play spring training games at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg
The New York Yankees of Major League Baseball play spring training games at Legends Field in Tampa
The Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball play spring training games at Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater
The Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball play spring training games at Knology Park in Dunedin

Minor League baseball teams in the area include:
Florida State League (Single-A baseball)

The Tampa Yankees: Legends Field in Tampa
The Clearwater Threshers: Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater
The Dunedin Blue Jays: Dunedin Stadium at Grant Field in Dunedin

Sporting Events
The NCAA football Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium is held annually, usually on January 1.
Three Super Bowls have been held in Tampa, in 1984, 1991 and 2001.
Tampa will host Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Tampa Bay area or simply Tampa Bay after the body of water it surrounds, is a metropolitan area on the Gulf coast of west-central Florida. It includes the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, as well as numerous other small municipalities in Pasco, Hernando, Pinellas, and Hillsborough counties. The population for the Tampa Bay area currently stands at 2,589,637; as of a July 4, 2005 estimate. It is experiencing urban sprawl and the area grows at an average of 20,000 to 40,000 residents every year, which is about 200,000 to 400,000 every 10 years. Most of the sprawl has occurred in the more rural areas because of more affordable land; such areas are Lutz, Land O' Lakes, Pasco County and Hernando County. The West Coast of Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico is considered a tourist destination as the weather is semi-tropical and the region contains significant natural beauty, including brilliant sunsets, exotic foliage, and attractive scenery. The Tampa Bay area contains three major public beaches. Coastal access and ports provide the opportunity to observe dolphins, manatees and other sea life, experience deep sea fishing, scuba diving, and join cruises to Gulf of Mexico destinations including Cozumel, Key West and the Cayman Islands.

Most commonly refers to the area around the bay located in the northern region of California. The peninsula part is based around San Francisco. The other major areas include Oakland in the east bay, and San Jose in the south bay. The Bay Area constitutes of all those regions and suburbs of those cities near the bay. There are, however, common misconceptions of the bay area, such as the Bay Area of Memphis, Tennessee, as well as a few others. THE BAY AREA MOST COMMONLY REFERS TO THE REGION IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, YOU CAN NOT DENY THAT.

Aka YaY Area
Home of the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers.

Richmond, Oakland, Vallejo, Pittsburg, San Jose, Hercules, Berkeley, etc.

Northern California also the home of
rappers E-40, San Quin, Federation, Messy Marv, Keak Da Sneak & the one and only MAC DRE!

The San Francisco Bay Area, also known as the Bay Area, is a geographically diverse metropolitan area that surrounds the San Francisco Bay in Northern California. Home to more than eight million people, it is composed of cities, towns, military bases, airports, and associated regional, state, and national parks sprawled over nine counties (ten, according to some agencies) and connected by a massive network of roads, highways, railroads, and commuter rail.
The Bay Area, unlike the typical metropolitan area, contains several distinct urban and suburban centers. While San Jose is the largest city in the Bay Area (having surpassed San Francisco in the 1990 census), for most of its history San Francisco was the largest city in the region. The area containing the city of San Francisco, together with Oakland and San Jose, is the sixth-largest consolidated metropolitan area in the United States.The following lists are based on the ten-county definition of the Bay Area. Cities in bold serve as county seat. The places listed in italics are located in Santa Cruz county, which is excluded by the nine-county definition.

Counties
* Alameda County
* Contra Costa County
* Marin County
* Napa County
* San Francisco County
* San Mateo County
* Santa Clara County
* Santa Cruz County
* Solano County
* Sonoma County

Cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants
* San Jose, 953,679
* San Francisco, 799,263
* Oakland, 412,318
...

San Francisco + San Jose + Oakland = Bay Area

The East Bay 510 Consist of Oakland, Berkley, Richtown, Alameda, Haystack, San Leandro, Union City, Fremont, Newark, Milpitas... The West Bay 415 Consist of San Fransico or "the sco", San Matao, East Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Daily City, Redwood City... The South Bay 408 Is like San Jose and Santa Clara area... Or North Bay 707 Vallejo area... These are Just the citys I have explored growin up there is prolly a few I missed but your town wasn't important enough to make it so die you beezy.

bay area is in nor cal.. frisco area of course.. redwood city, oak, sunnyvale, san jose, frisco, etc.

The area surrounding the San Francisco Bay. Includes North Bay, East Bay, South Bay and the Peninsula.
Do noth confuse with wannabe Bay Areas like Memphis.
99.999999999999999999% of the time it's refering to the place in the NorCal.