The Buccaneers are spending $20M to “build a state-of-the-art, 100,000-square foot indoor practice facility that will have a bleacher-seating capacity of 3,500,” according to Rick Stroud of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. The steel frame is “nearly erected and is awaiting installation of prefabricated insulated wall panels.” The west and north elevation will “have 30-foot wall panels of glass.” Completion of the project by Tampa-based EWI Construction is “expected by the start of the regular season Sept. 10.” The facility is “just the latest example" of the Glazer family's investment in its franchise. The team will have “spent an additional” $125M when all the renovations are completed at Raymond James Stadium. Bucs COO Brian Ford said of the practice facility, “It will be a flagship, one all others are modeled after. It will be fan friendly and utilized for next year's training camp and special events.” Stroud notes over the years, the team has “made countless bus trips to Tropicana Field and had a practice that ended around midnight” at USF. Sometimes it was an “attempt to beat the heat,” and at other times it was to “avoid inclement weather.” Last year, the Bucs “erected an oversized, no-wall tent behind their practice fields, using it to get their team out of the sun for a half hour each day during walk-throughs” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 6/27).
