The Buccaneers "continue to invest in the enhancements to 19-year-old Raymond James Stadium," with the cost of those improvements reaching $150M, according to Rick Stroud of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Bucs COO Brian Ford yesterday "detailed the latest enhancements to be completed" before the team hosts the Browns in its '17 preseason home opener. Highlights of the third phase of improvements include a 25% increase in space in the West Stadium Club, which will "provide over 60,000 square feet of lounge area upon completion." There will be two 26- by 15-foot video walls "located at each end of the West Stadium Club and 178 new 4K video monitors," as well as a 10,000-square-foot Bucs team store "open Tuesday-Sunday with exclusive merchandise." More than 100 seats will also be "added to the all-inclusive Hall of Fame club which opened in the east stadium lounge last year." Meanwhile, the team is "constructing an 18,700-square foot home locker room which offers three times more space" for Bucs players, a "significant departure from the past two decades." The original locker room will be exclusive to the USF football program (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/12). In Tampa, Ashley Gurbal Kritzer noted the first phase of renovations "brought the NFL's third-largest video scoreboards to Raymond James Stadium." The renovations are funded by $28.8M in public money from the Tampa Sports Authority. The Bucs are "footing the remainder of the bill" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/11).
