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Buccaneers developing new clubs; HOK designing Barcelona arena

Don Muret
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are developing two new clubs at Raymond James Stadium that combine the all-inclusive concept in a suite-like setting.

The Hall of Fame Club and the Ring of Honor Club, part of the stadium’s two-year, $100 million renovation, will open in August for the 2016 NFL season. The two clubs are situated at the 50-yard line on the upper suite level, along the visitors sideline on the stadium’s east side.

Raymond James Stadium will have two new all-inclusive clubs next season.
Photo by: COURTESY OF THE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (2)
Both rooms measure 9,500 square feet and seat 240 patrons. To free up space for the new clubs, the Bucs converted vacated suites after moving existing suite holders to corner units when their leases expired, said Brian Ford, the NFL team’s chief operating officer.

The two new clubs, whose members pay an annual fee covering the cost of food and nonalcoholic drinks plus tickets

to most stadium events, should make up for the loss of traditional suite revenue. The Bucs tested the concept during the past two years in regular suites for NFL games only, themed as the Legends Club, and sold out of the inventory, proving there is a demand for the new premium-seat product, Ford said.

“The biggest thing is the addition of tickets for [almost] every event,” he said. “Over the last couple years, we built prototypes. It wasn’t a club atmosphere but more of a retrofit, so we could bring people in and say, ‘Give us your thoughts on this. What would you change?’”

Ford refused to discuss pricing for the new clubs but he did say the cost of membership covers tickets to all Bucs and University of South Florida football games, the annual Outback Bowl, concerts, Feld Entertainment’s Monster Jam and soccer matches.

The exceptions are the Super Bowl, for which Tampa is one of four finalists for the 2019 and 2020 games, and the 2017 College Football Playoff championship game, set for Jan. 9 at Raymond James Stadium. For that event, club members have first right to buy tickets in their space.

Charlotte-based Wagner Murray Architects is designing Raymond James’ renovations, including the Hall of Fame Club and Ring of Honor Club. Dave Wagner, the firm’s president, designed similar “suite clubs” at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte that opened this past season.

At the Carolina Panthers’ facility, membership in the 32 Club and Fifty One Club is tied to a $6,500 annual fee plus the purchase of a $20,000 personal seat license. The investment covers food, beverage, parking and tickets for all Panthers preseason and regular-season games.

The combined seating of those clubs is 50 people, much smaller than the two new clubs in Tampa. Overall, the trend has turned up in Detroit as well, where the Lions turned individual suites into larger club spaces such as the MGM Grand Detroit Tunnel Club.

In Tampa, wherever they turn, club patrons will see televisions as part of the visual experience. There are a total of 250 flat-screen TVs of various sizes. It’s like walking inside a Best Buy with dozens of TVs but with the high-end finishes of a four-star hotel, Wagner said.

The clubs have no outdoor seats, but the 220-foot-long retractable glass system fronting each space will give them the feel of being part of the action in the seating bowl when those large windows are open, he said.

“I think it’s a trend you will see continuing across the league, because more fans lack the premium opportunities without purchasing a suite,” Wagner said. “These new clubs will push the Bucs back again to the cutting edge of the NFL. It will be a stunning experience.”

> BUSY IN BARCELONA: HOK’s global sports practice has a lot going on these days, between its work designing new NHL arenas in Detroit and Edmonton, a new NFL stadium in Atlanta and the $450 million renovation of Sun Life Stadium in South Florida.

Now, you can add an international project to HOK’s list — a new 10,000-seat arena in Barcelona, future home of FC Barcelona’s basketball team. HOK teamed with local firm TAC Arquitectes to win a design competition for the job.

The new facility will be built on the site of a small stadium across the street from historic Camp Nou, FC Barcelona’s home soccer stadium. At this point, the project cost has not been determined. HOK’s London office is handling the arena development.

Don Muret can be reached at dmuret@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @breakground.

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