Bucs poised to make a playoff run? (Tampa, Orlando: vs, parking)

[craigm1841]

Originally Posted by Town&Country

I have a question: Why can't the Bucs sell out games when they've been in playoff contention all year? Why are all the home games blacked out?

The Jags and Fins have been filled to the roof... har har. Florida is not a football state other than college ball. Time for the team to move to LA....

Florida is a football state. Bucs ticket prices are the second highest in the NFL.

[xbillyx]

Originally Posted by craigm1841

Florida is a football state. Bucs ticket prices are the second highest in the NFL.

They did seem extremely high when I took a look. And they wonder why they're not selling out games?

It seems cruel to me to blackout home games. During these tough economic times, it's hard to spend money on things we don't really need. Blacking out the games seems like a big *uck you to hardworking families wanting to enjoy it in the comfort of their homes.

[craigm1841]

Originally Posted by xbillyx

They did seem extremely high when I took a look. And they wonder why they're not selling out games?

It seems cruel to me to blackout home games. During these tough economic times, it's hard to spend money on things we don't really need. Blacking out the games seems like a big *uck you to hardworking families wanting to enjoy it in the comfort of their homes.

It is. and the glazers are a bunch of a-holes.

Taxpayers paid for that stadium, and we cant even watch the games. Team owners are allowed to, and many times do, purchase remaining tickets at extreme discounts to afford local fans the opportunity to watch the games. Instead- the glazers have opted to not do this and jack up ticket prices. We are all not Billionaires like them.

[xbillyx]

Originally Posted by craigm1841

It is. and the glazers are a bunch of a-holes.

Taxpayers paid for that stadium, and we cant even watch the games.

That's such crap. This blackout thing is pushing me close to the edge on the NFL. I knew it was always about money but this is too far. You'd think they'd be happy with all that advertising revenue they'd be pulling in if the games weren't blacked out. I guess not.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Town&Country

I have a question: Why can't the Bucs sell out games when they've been in playoff contention all year? Why are all the home games blacked out?

The Jags and Fins have been filled to the roof... har har. Florida is not a football state other than college ball. Time for the team to move to LA....

Florida has proven itself to be non-supportive of pro sports franchises for the most part. A lot of people point fingers at the transplant population, but as the 4th largest state in terms of population, there are plenty of people who grew up here that have no excuse. Others point to inconvenient geography getting to the games, as if every other sports venue in the country is centrally located for everyone (not!). Some say ticket prices are too high and that the local team has one of the highest ticket prices of any city, which oddly enough doesn't seem to impact as deeply teams in cities where the ticket prices are only slightly less. Others say the it's the economy and that people can't afford tickets, as if this is the only place in the country with a poor economy.

In the end, it's all excuses. People who live in Florida, and particularly in this area for some reason, are flat out lazy and largely non-supportive of the area pro sports teams. There's no legitimate reason why the Rays (who won the AL East pennant) and the Bucs (in contention for the playoffs for the first time in years) can't fill, or almost fill their venues. It's embarrassing.

[TB Fla]

This year has been pretty bad for local sports attendance. But this year certainly isn't the standard for this area when it comes to the Bucs.

Packing Them In: Ranking Each NFL Team's Fans Based on Attendance | Bleacher Report

[craigm1841]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In 1995 Malcolm Glazer purchased the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a National Football League franchise, for a then-record $192 million following the death of former owner Hugh Culverhouse. The front office staff of the team includes sons Bryan Glazer, Edward Glazer and Joel Glazer.

Immediately upon purchasing the Bucs in 1995, Glazer declared the team's home field, Tampa Stadium, inadequate and began lobbying local government for a replacement.[7] Glazer entertained relocation offers from other cities, but kept the Bucs in place after the local government agreed to build the franchise the $200 million state-of-the-art Raymond James Stadium, construction of which was funded by a local sales tax increase. Due in large measure to a very favorable lease agreement in which the team collects most of the revenue from the stadium while the local government must pay almost all of the expenses, the franchise was valued at $963 million by Forbes magazine in 2007.[8]

For the first several years, the Buccaneers experienced improved success on the field during Glazer's ownership. After suffering through over a decade of consecutive losing seasons, the Bucs made the playoffs in 1997 and the NFC championship game in 1999 under coach Tony Dungy, and won their first Super Bowl in 2002 under coach Jon Gruden.

After Glazer began to take control of Manchester United in 2003 (see below), the Bucs' fortunes faded, as they spent far less on player salaries than allowed under the NFL's salary cap. Media observers and local fans have expressed their suspicion that Glazer has diverted funds from the Bucs to reduce the debt accumulated in the Man United purchase at the expense of the Bucs' continued success.[9][10]

As the economy in the Tampa Bay area began to go down, the possibility of TV blackouts began to surface. The first blackout scare occurred before the Bucs hosted a Wild Card game against the New York Giants during the 2007 season. The team had originally banned non-Florida residents from ordering tickets through Ticketmaster. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo stepped in telling the Associated Press "There are constitutional prohibitions against states discriminating against other states' residents or impeding businesses by other states. There are possible discrimination issues." The Bucs would eventually drop the non-Florida residents ban and the game had the blackout lifted.[11] The following offseason, the Glazers had announced that ticket sales would increase by an average of $15 per ticket although fans who had expiring PSLs did not have to pay another deposit to keep their seats at Raymond James Stadium and had the option to renew by signing a three-year agreement for which those who do will continue to receive an annual rebate of 5% on their original deposit fee.[12] The price increase in tickets marked the sixth consecutive year the Glazers have raised prices causing their once-lengthy waiting list for season tickets to disappear.[13] Regardless, all Buccaneers home games - preseason and regular season - had the blackout lifted in 2008 and in 2009.

Before the 2010 NFL season began, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had sold out every preseason, regular season and postseason game at Raymond James Stadium. It was revealed recently that the Glazers have bought up unsold tickets in recent years in an effort to have the blackout lifted.[14] But blackouts were eventually becoming a reality when Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer warned of the possibility that Buccaneer home games could get blacked out.[15] The blackouts officially became reality first when the Bucs confirmed well before the 72-hour blackout deadline that the team's preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs would be blacked out marking the first ever blackout at Raymond James Stadium [16] and the first blackout of any kind overall since an October 26, 1997 game against the Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Stadium failed to sell out before the deadline. The Bucs later had their first regular season game blacked out when the home opener against the Cleveland Browns failed to sell out in time to allow for local television. There were hopes that home games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the reigning Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints games might sell out in time to have the blackout lifted [17] but those hopes would soon be dashed when the Steelers game was blacked out [18] and the Bucs announced well in advance through an e-mail to the Tampa Tribune by Chip Carter, sports director at FOX affiliate WTVT which would have aired the home game against the Saints, that the Saints game would be blacked out as well. It is now possible that the Bucs could have an entire home schedule blacked out for the first time since the 1996 season.[19]

[craigm1841]

Originally Posted by TB Fla

This year has been pretty bad for local sports attendance. But this year certainly isn't the standard for this area when it comes to the Bucs.

Packing Them In: Ranking Each NFL Team's Fans Based on Attendance | Bleacher Report

This report is SEVERELY flawed...

Raymond James Stadium
Capacity: 65,857
Average attendance: 62,991
Percentage: 96%

The only stadium with a pirate ship inside of it, Raymond James Stadium packs in an average of 62,991 people each time the Buccaneers play, filling 96 percent of the stadium. Pretty impressive for a team that went 3-13 last season.

I live across from raymond james and I can see inside every sunday and have been to two games. It is never even close to that full.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by TB Fla

This year has been pretty bad for local sports attendance. But this year certainly isn't the standard for this area when it comes to the Bucs.

Packing Them In: Ranking Each NFL Team's Fans Based on Attendance | Bleacher Report

How about the Rays?

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by craigm1841

This report is SEVERELY flawed...

I live across from raymond james and I can see inside every sunday and have been to two games. It is never even close to that full.

I think it's referring to last season which I still don't get the sense was that great in terms of attendance.